Welcome all Hoos (and Future Hoos!)
                                                               
 My name is Carly and I am a second-year in the College of Arts & Sciences here at The University of Virginia! I'm originally from the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia and while I love RVA, Charlottesville has quickly become one of my favorite places to be! As the classic "What's your major?" question continues to invade my daily life, I like to think I'm on track to figuring it out. Right now I'm loving my politics (I love to argue) and media studies classes (we watched an episode of the Sopranos last week!) and hope to continue pursuing both of those fields. I'm also pondering the far off possibilities of either UVA's Batten Public Policy masters program or law school, but I think I'll try to tackle this semester first!

Outside the classroom, I love giving admissions and historical tours of grounds as a member of the University Guide Service and answering questions at Peabody with the Virginia Ambassadors. I also work at the Rotunda, serve on the Student Council Public Service Committee, and tutor rambunctious and hilarious 7th graders at a local middle school through Madison House. Some of my other favorite pastimes include obsessing over UVA sports, exploring the downtown mall, and spending entirely too much money at Bodo's Bagels. 

Anyone who knows me also knows how much I love UVA (seriously, one of my first-year hallmates used to call me 'the UVA Queen' because I never stop talking about it). I inherited a love of UVA from my Dad, an alum, very early on in life and completely embraced it. I truly feel like I'm living the dream and can't wait to share my UVA experiences with you all!

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. 

WahooWhy?

Hello Readers,

Let me introduce myself, and the "college student intro" format you will hear and use for the next four years of College beginning at Orientation all the way through Graduation. (name)My name is Emily, (year and school) I'm a Second Year in the College of Arts & Sciences on the (intended track/major/minor) Pre-Med Track, planning on majoring in Biology and a humanity I love once I figure part that out. (hometown, explanation of where it actually is) I'm from Chesapeake, Virginia about 15 minutes from Norfolk's Navy Ships and 15 minutes from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, so needless to say before my move to Charlottesville I was never far from water and definitely never saw any mountains. (activities) At UVA, I am a Resident Advisor in the McCormick "Old Dorms," a member of a Sorority within the PanHellenic Community on grounds, and active in Pre-Med clubs as well as other activities around grounds and at the UVA Hospital. 

So, why choose UVA? What's so great about Virginia? What do all of those top rankings for campus beauty and academics really mean? What are the students really like? And, seriously, what is up with the Hogwartz lingo and all the pearls?

The college decision process comes with an abundance of questions, as it should when choosing the place you will live and learn for the next four years of your life. Along with the other student bloggers, I will be answering the questions I know I had upon beginning the college decision process, as well as some questions I come across myself even now as a second year. Look for my posts to especially answer questions about the Pre-Med track here at UVA, the real scoop on Greek Life, and closer looks at the traditions of our great school and the adventures that can be had both on and off grounds, beyond your typical admissions fact sheet info.

Until next time, 

GO HOOS!

"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life, and thanks to a benevolent arrangement the greater part of life is sunshine." -Jefferson 

Hey HOOS! My name is Sarah Pate and I am a second-year here at the beautiful University of Virginia. I am from Fredericksburg, Virginia (which is about halfway between Richmond and D.C.). I am one of those kids who has virtually no idea what she wants to be doing for the rest of her life . . . for now, I am taking several business classes. I feel like I always knew that I was going to be a Cavalier. I feel completely at home here at UVa! Charlottesville is so beautiful all the time! It is hard not to just stop and admire the architecture on your way to class.

Just look at that! That is what I get to see everyday here! It is literally like living the dream. I love everything about this University. I have yet to take a class that I haven't liked. I have taken some very difficult classes (*cough*accounting*cough*) but I really feel like I am learning useful information, which is great (especially compared to a rather dry high school curriculum). There are so many things you can be involved in here! You will never be bored unless you choose to be. I love doing community service, helping with VA Ambassadors, and being in the Cavalier Marching Band. 

Being it the marching band is such an amazing experience! Just imagine--you march/run onto the field from the tunnels where you have been "hiding" from the crowd. Then, you look out and all you see is orange and blue. You start playing and before you know it, the football team is running through you, not even ten feet away! Then you see the animatronic Cavman destroying the other team's mascot on HOOvision (which is always an awesome way to get revved up for the game). Next thing you know, you are up in the stands playing the Good Old Song because our team just got a touchdown. There is no where else I would rather be on game-day than Scott Stadium with my orange and blue band uniform on. 

I am the second one in from the right in the front :)

Hey, hey, hey, it's Fat Albert! Just kidding, let me introduce myself. My name is Ashley Patterson and I'm a second year at the University. I feel like now is the time where I tell you guys my major (undecided), where I'm from (NoVa- Northern Virginia, for those of you who aren't from Va), why I decided to come here (umm...), and what my favorite thing about UVa is (the trees on the lawn during fall). However, I'm not the most exciting person in the world (unless I've been in Club Clem until 2 a.m, and then my friends would say I am one of the most entertaining people to be around) so I would rather tell you about all the exciting thing that I get to do everyday here at UVa. From heading up to Carter's Mountain for apple picking, to Puppies and Pumpkins on The Lawn, to Lighting of the Lawn, UVa is full of events that unite the students and faulty and create a bond and family among thousands of unique individuals. My goal is to provide you guys with at least one event each week and give you something to look forward to within the next few years. Feel free to comment with questions or find out about events that might be going on when you're visiting. 

Now that I told you about these amazing events and activties that happen I want to take you to a place not to far from UVa, in Albermarle County, called Carter's Mountain Orchard. Almost as much a tradition as streaking the lawn, apple picking has become a favorite fall tradition of many University students. Just this past weekend my friends and I took a break from the stress of midterms and headed up to the orchard. The whole ride there my friend kept telling us about the "amazing views" that we should expect, but we were distracts by J. Biebs on the radio. However, as soon as we got to the top of the Carter's Mountain we stopped in our tracks, speechless. The view was unimaginable. When you go to school here it is easy to become blind to the beauty that surronds you, but heading up the mountain changed that. We stopped and took a few pictures and then headed into the trees.

Now I don't know if any of you have been apple picking before, but it is a lot harder than it sounds. For some reason I was expecting to find apples the size of the ones at the grocery store but there were only baby apples. We searched and searched for the big ones, but we finally settled on the delicious selection of small fuji apples. Now here is a little secret about Carter's Mountain, most people don't go for apples (shh!) As we emerged from the orchard, we headed (more like casually jogged...okay, okay, we full on sprinted) to the food stand where we ordered apple cider, apple pie, and apple cider doughnuts. Let me say that again, APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUTS!! They are the most mouthwatering thing you'll ever taste, in fact, your mouth should be watering right now just thinking about them. These doughnuts only come around once a year so we enjoyed every bite knowing that next year we will be a year older and year closer to not being able to enjoy these moments of apples, doughnuts, and fall with our close friends.

Taking a Leap of Faith

        Classes have commenced, activities have begun to get back in rhythm, and my schedule fills up more every day. However, as I began my third year in August, I made a pact to myself and to a few girlfriends that we would do more "new and fun things" both at U.Va and around Charlottesville. The pact began and has stayed in place as we explored the farmer's market, went to art museums at Charlottesville Fridays after Five in the Downtown Mall, and U.Va commencement activities including Rotunda Sing which brings dozens of the University's acapella groups to the Rotunda. However, of all of the adventures that have taken place thus far this year, the most bold and distinct would have to be Aqua Caving.

          I joined Greek InterVarsity this year in hopes of getting to know a different group of people within the Greek community. Bringing various sorority and fraternities members together to discuss God, religion, spirituality, and life in the Greek system, Greek I.V. provides an outlet to discuss deeper issues and ideas with a group of new people who share similar experiences at U.Va. So far, the group worships have included amazing speakers talking about friendship, life transformations, and finding what their purpose is both at school and in life. It motivates and regenerates me every Wednesday night to go and live intentionally, which is why when the opportunity to go caving in a remote area of western Virginia presented itself, I jumped.

           Driving to the cave, I didn’t know what to expect. I was with two of my best friends, daringly standing by me and my “new and fun” idea. We arrived and were directed by the lifeline staff members to wear our fleece and layer up- it was going to be dark and cold with water that would feel like ice. Ten minutes later, after hiking into the woods of some unbeknown Virginian hillside, we came to a small opening in the ground. We slid into dark, freezing water that came up to my neck. I reached for my friend who grabbed my hand, and I realized I was feeling actual “fear,” something I can honestly say I haven’t felt in a long time. It was a rush of letting go of all control and the anxiety that was to follow. I was out of every element and comfort zone that my college life has afforded me, stranded in a cave with no way out but a mile forwards.

         After two hours of climbing rocks and wading through bitter cold water with only a small headlamp to help one see, we reached high rocks and deep water. Lifeline is an organization that helps students to grow spiritually, mentally, and emotionally as they experience nature and the outdoors. It combines adventures and inner analysis and helps participants to let go and just experience. Knowing this, I shouldn’t have been surprised when the leaders told my group that we were each going to jump off the rocks into the questionably deep water, all in the pitch black. One by one, we each took a leap of faith and let go of all control. As a college student who likes to control and overanalyze every situation, jumping off a cliff in the dark is not my cup of tea. However, as I stood on the rock by myself, I felt free. I felt like I was about to jump into a world without my brain meticulously examining and planning. Letting go of control in that cave has helped me to evaluate how I control my life. Although I know how much planning and intentionality my days need, I know going into this year that I want to be intentional about the right things. I am putting effort into my classes not for the grade but in order to learn, to challenge my mind to examine and create. I am putting most of my effort into my friendships and into being a good friend and person. I am using my time in a way that is fulfilling and will make memories. College is not a time to waste; it is not “the best years of your life” like so many say. College is the biggest challenging time of your life, it is a transition from child to adult, a time for you to grow and discover yourself. College should not be wasted; it should be embraced and enjoyed to the fullest, because schools like U.Va have so much to offer- they can challenge and guide you with the people that surround you and the activities and adventures they present.

 

My Hoo Story!

               As I embark on my first Hoo Stories blog post, I have decided to begin with a brief introduction. I feel in order to understand my stories to come, it is only appropriate I provide you with a bit of background about how I ended up at the Universtiy of Virginia and how it has helped foster my passions and interests in the past three years. Coming from a military family, I could never call a place home for more than two years. So many friends, so many schools, and so many homes had come and gone. When it came time to apply to college, I realized how big of a challenge it was for me to commit to a place for an entire four years. I had so many expectations from college: I needed a challenging academic curriculum, an engaging atmosphere and student body, a beautiful campus (that provided the typical collegiate fall weather that I had dreamed of all my life), and great people that I could just have fun with. Discovering if a school has all of these qualities is no easy task. College visits helped me determine the campus, the curriculum, and of course whether the fall weather would be up to par-- red and orange leaves were a must. However, discerning the types of young adults, the range of activities, and the way of life for students was difficult. Upon touring the University of Virginia for the first time in my Junior year of high school, I found the ease of the student population perfectly balanced with the exciting and stimulating activities and academics they were engaged in. The grounds were beautiful, and the leaves were falling perfectly off the trees into beautiful piles covering the lawn. I was home. 

My First Day of School at UVa

 

           Now that you have some idea how I ended up in Virginia, I want you to know a little more about me. I am a third year in the College of Arts and Sciences getting degrees in History and the Studies of Women and Gender. I am also in the Curry School of Education getting my masters in Elementary and Special Education in their five year program for undergraduates at UVa. I have tried dozens of different activities in order to find the perfect groups for me. I participate in Sustained Dialogue, which discusses different issues relevent at UVa including "hook-up culture," race, the honor code, and stereotypes. It is the perfect way to meet a completely new group of diverse people looking to talk and share ideas. I work as the Undergraduate Intern in the Admission Office where I plan events and help out wherever I am needed. I'm in a sorority here and currently live in my chapter house. Finally, I participate in Greek IV which is a Christian group on grounds. All of these groups and friends I have made through them have helped create a home away from home for me.

This is my suite in Webb 310 first year

 

           Every week I hope to post an activity, adventure, or story that I have embarked on that week. From the Charlottesville Farmer's Market to Dorm Sing to adventures around Grounds with friends, I know it won't be difficult to come up with hundreds of stories in the months to come! I hope you enjoy my blog and please feel free to ask any questions about UVa or Charlottesville life!