What's so great about being a Wahoo?

Today I am beginning my blogging journey for the University of Virginia. I am very excited to write this blog and tell you about UVA’s great qualities, but this isn’t just some blog to tell you that UVA is the ONLY school for you. Yes, UVA may be the school for you, but I did not decide to attend UVA until May the 1^st, aka National Decision Day. I had narrowed my decision down to two schools and weighed my options, but I still could not choose. I flipped coins, picked a college name out of a hat, and even took votes from my friends based on where they thought I should go. It was senior year and I was the last one in my senior class to make the decision on where I would go to school. Ultimately, (after all the coin flipping and voting) I knew that I had to make a decision and stick with it.

I originally became interested in the University of Virginia when I saw someone wearing a UVA sweatshirt; I decided I liked the school colors (that was back in middle school). In eighth grade I had decided I would attend UVA based simply on their school colors, but I knew nothing about what majors they offered, what grades I needed, or what the term “WAHOO” meant. Throughout high school I played Varsity Field Hockey and Lacrosse, volunteered at a local children’s hospital, actively participated in school clubs, and tried to squeeze in some time for homework. All my involvement in high school played a huge part in what university I chose. It came down to the decision and I realized that UVA offered everything I could want in a school: a beautiful campus, challenging classes, hundreds of clubs, a variety of majors, a football team I couldn’t wait to cheer on, and delicious food on the corner (that’s definitely a plus).  

Now that you know what I when through in choosing a college I feel I should tell you what I have been up to since arriving on Grounds in August. First of all my name is Lauren Russell. I am a first-year in the College of Arts and Sciences and plan to major in Biology or Psychology with a minor in Spanish. I am hoping to attend Medical School, so I am also fulfilling Pre-Med requisites as well. My desire to be involved in extracurricular activities continued so I joined clubs such as Sigma Alpha Lambda (a public service honor society), Physicians for Peace, Alpha Epsilon Delta (a pre-med honor society), and Pancakes for Parkinson’s. I have also just agreed to volunteer for the “early bird” shift (5:00-8:30 AM) at the UVA Medical Center (I’ll have to keep you updated about how that goes…) and I am planning to venture to Honduras for Spring Break with the Global Medical and Dental Brigades. Although I may sound busy with school or clubs, my favorite aspect of UVA thus far is that I have made amazing new friends. I have become extremely close with many students here and now call UVA and Charlottesville my home away from home.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about Charlottesville, dorm life, or questions about the University in general. I hope through my blogs you can get to know what UVA is like and learn more about all it has to offer, but regardless of whether you choose UVA, I wish you the best of luck in the college application and decision process.