Thursday, April 30, 2009

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

This semester has been a rough one both academically and physically. In addition to taking an intensive course load, including chemistry, I have been dealing with some health issues. Over the course of about a month, I have had two serious bouts of tonsillitis that landed me in the hospital. My plan was the same all along, to hold out until summer and have surgery at home after the semester was completed. When the second round of tonsillitis stopped responding to antibiotics, my doctor advised me to have my tonsils removed immediately to avoid a systemic infection. He also advised that I discontinue my school and class work as the medication I would be receiving after surgery would impede my ability to focus.

I was devastated. There was only five weeks left! The last thing that I wanted to do was withdraw from school and delay my graduation. So, with withdrawing out of the question, I called the dean of students, Cathy Kramer. Cathy calmed me down and we created a plan that allowed me to remain a Wilson student while I dealt with my medical concerns. I dropped chemistry as I would not be able to attend enough labs to satisfy the course. Each of my other professors met with me individually to discuss my coursework. They offered to meet with me in their own free time to fill me in on the material that I had missed. Everyone accommodated me to the fullest. When I was recovering, I received “get well” calls and emails from both my professors and supervisors.

Finally, I am left in aw of Wilson again. Never have I felt such a part of a community. It is situations like these that make me grateful that I call this tiny mountain school my home.
-CC

P.S. I have returned to work and I will be completing my classes in the next two weeks without my tonsils!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Work Day - Breakfast

Usually, when students are interacting with Landscaping supervisor Tom LaMuraglia, he’s wearing a green flannel shirt, a Leatherman on his hip, and a cap on his head. He holds a walkie-talkie in one hand and a forever-ringing cell phone in the other. He has motor oil on his finger tips, grass clippings on his shins. If Tom had a motto, it would be, "eat, drink, landscape, and be merry."

Today, Tom is relatively clean, sporting a white t-shirt and a fresh pair of Carharts. But that doesn’t mean he’s not working hard. He moves around his kitchen with his chin to his chest, beating vats of raw eggs, sculpting mounds of sausage patties, looking up only momentarily to give a hearty welcome and a slap on the back to every student that enters his front door.

In the living room, past and present members of the Landscaping, Tree and Blacksmith Crews mingle about, happily drunk on the smell of what’s about to come out of the kitchen. It’s 8:30 in the morning, and Tom’s house is packed. He’s just the kind of guy that can pull 50 college students out of bed that early in the morning for a meal that most of them aren’t even accustomed to eating anymore. No one’s complaining about the early call time today though.

After breakfast we play bocce ball in the pasture behind Tom’s house, Scrabble around his sofa and Jenga on the dining room table. The Tree Crew pops in a CD of 80’s pop songs with techno remixes. A dance party ensues around the Scrabble players, who must shout to be heard: "Europe is a proper noun, but I’ll let it slide!"

This is the most fun I’ve had before noon in a long time. God bless Work Day.

Christopher Biddle '11

Friday, April 17, 2009

"Start small, go slow, but go.”

My life as a Warren Wilson College student is about to end. On Saturday, May 16, 2009 (short 4 weeks from now), I will graduate from this fine educational institution with a degree in Outdoor Leadership Studies. Whoa.

I transferred to Wilson from Hood College, which is another small, liberal arts college in Frederick, Maryland. Hood was my fallback school, and when the college I had my heart set on fell through with financial aid, I realized that I needed to fall back. It was not a good fit. I won’t sit here and complain, but basically, students at Hood are not focused on the community as a whole and I had a difficult time making friends, despite my best efforts. I found solace in the art club (which was made up of mostly commuter students) and in the knowledge that I was not going to stay an entire four years.

During spring break of my first year, I looked at schools in California and in the fall of my sophomore year I looked at schools in Vermont. I decided that I was somewhat interested in majoring in Gender Studies at Burlington College in Vermont. On Christmas Eve, however, I was talking to a friend who had graduated from Wilson in ’05, and she said something about how she had never heard of another school where students could work on a farm or graduate with an Outdoor Leadership degree. I got excited; I decided right then that I wanted to go to Warren Wilson College to major in this Outdoor Leadership thing. So, having never visited the school, I applied two weeks before the spring semester started, was accepted a week later, and three days before orientation I drove on down south with my mom to find out what this place was all about.

It was, without a doubt, the best decision (and the riskiest!) I have ever made. I love going to school here. I have met people who have changed my life (including the daughter of Maura Bussiere, who I know is reading this blog), learned things about the world and myself, and experienced things I don’t think I would have had I attended a different school. I fell in love with the mountains of western North Carolina, which I not only see every day while on campus, but also lived in for 48 days during a North Carolina Outward Bound Course. I know the town of Asheville and its many splendors, my favorite of which are the Sisters McMullen Cupcake Corner and the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. I met Rue McClanahan, a star of my favorite TV show (The Golden Girls), at a local bookstore. I have also found a great tattoo artist, which is a mixed blessing because it means that now I’ll have to come back to Asheville every time I want a tattoo. And, most importantly, I know that I will do something worthwhile with my life because I came to Warren Wilson College.

I realize now that all of that gushy “Go forth young man/woman” graduation crap is not actually gushy crap. I’m starting to feel nervous and excited about starting my life as a college graduate, and all of the stuff I rolled my eyes at before I’m starting to relate to. This is when I’m supposed to start becoming a real person, and that’s a little scary. I’ll have to do things like pay for health insurance and my cell phone and try to make friends outside of a school setting and try to be a good person and contribute positive things to the world. It’s a lot to think about! Luckily, I don’t have to become an adult all at once, and I have my whole life to get things right. One of my favorite professors, Dr. Marty O’Keefe, says something that I like a lot: “Start small, go slow, but go.” And that’s what I intend to do, to go.

Laurel

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I woke up at 6:15 on Easter morning to bundle up, since it was below freezing at that time, and walk to the Formal Gardens here at Warren Wilson College for the Easter Sunrise Service. I walked over with fellow early-riser from my dorm and met some friends at the Garden. There were some chairs set up, and standing room in the back. People were bundled up with hats, scarves, and mittens holding bulletins awaiting the sunrise. My good friend had gotten up extra early that morning to bake bisuits to share with others at the service, and they sure hit the spot – warm and delicious. We stood outside as the sun painted the sky various shades of pink and orange and the birds woke up from their slumber and began chirping above us. We prayed together, sang together, and even danced together a little bit as we welcomed the sun and the warmth and celebrated.

For many, Easter is a very special time and Warren Wilson does an excellent job making it special for those who cannot be at home with their families. While many students were able to go home for the weekend, many of us were still at school and were happy to have a lovely service to go to that morning. Leah McCullough, the new Spiritual Life Director, lead the service and it was an excellent opportunity to meet her. She lead a wonderful service and we were all happy to be awake and celebrating together.

After the service we all walked back to our dorm rooms to warm up our frozen feet and hands before continuing our days.

Adrianne

Friday, April 10, 2009

So Long

One of the graduation requirements is to write a Senior Letter, a reflection on the years spent learning, working, serving, and living at Warren Wilson. It can be pretty much anything that you want it to be, but it is supposed to incorporate each branch of the triad specifically and the ways that the triad influenced your college experience as a whole. As a graduating senior, I thought it might be helpful, to those of you considering WWC for your college experience, to post some excerpts from my letter in hopes that it will effectively convey what a wonderful education I have received here.

Senior Letter (Excerpts)
Major: English Literature with Honors
Minor: Vocal Music

To The Faculty and Staff of Warren Wilson College:

This is an interesting assignment for me, and I feel as though I have had a lot of practice explaining my college experience as a result of working on the Admission Crew for nearly two years. In fact, it may be difficult for me to identify the negative aspects of my Warren Wilson experience because I am so used to having to explain every piece of Wilson life in a positive light to sometimes skeptical parents. I guess my point is that in having to think of a positive spin for everything about WWC, I have grown to appreciate things that I might not otherwise. In the eyes, expressions, and questions of people seeing our community for the first time, my love for this place is constantly rejuvenated.

Another area of personal growth that is a direct result of my work on the crew is that I am an infinitely more confident person than when I first came to school four years ago. Assuming the role of tour guide has allowed me to overcome some self-consciousness and to show my best side. I get to be funny, knowledgeable, intelligent, and captivating all at the same time, and I get paid for it! I cannot express the importance of meaningful work in my life. I know that the friendships that I’ve forged with fellow crewmembers, admission staff, and my Scrabble buddy, Marge, will last as long as we all do. As for academics, I could not be happier that I chose to major in English. I think that it is one of the strongest departments on campus, filled with brilliant, engaging professors. I particularly enjoyed any Carol Howard class that I took. Anyone who can make Restoration Literature bearable has got to be a great teacher.

Aside from the classes within my major, there have been a few notable ones that I’ve really appreciated. Lynn Pohl’s history course was one of the most challenging classes I took. I avoided philosophy like the plague until I accidentally took a political philosophy class, disguised by the alluring title Law and Order in Film and Literature. I got to reread things that I had totally written off in high school and see films that I might have never seen otherwise. I got to sing with the jazz band and play Betty the prostitute in The Threepenny Opera for course credit. I went and ate Indonesian food at Siti’s house at the end of my very first semester with my peer group. I traveled to London with Mycoff and Sharon, saw lots-o-plays, and drank lots-o-Guinness. I then flew to Belfast, Northern Ireland to visit Jemma, a student who was studying abroad at Wilson, after my course formerly known as Worldwide was over.

After all of those great experiences, my life is currently consumed by two things: my thesis and photography. I cannot thank Ron B. and Carol enough for assisting me with what still seems to me a monumental undertaking (only 11 and ¾ pages to go!). I have really enjoyed reading all of these great plays as well as my discussions with Ron and Carol. I am especially thankful that their support allowed me to pursue a topic that I really wanted to do, AIDS Drama, despite the fact that I am working with plays that the majority of the English faculty have neither read nor heard of. As for photography, I just wish that I had started my first semester. I took Photo I because I was in two upper-level English courses, one of which was my senior honors course, and I really felt that I needed a different kind of work to stay sane through it all. I have found my artistic niche in photography, which is equally process-driven and creative. One thing that I have learned through photography is that if you act like you are supposed to be somewhere, people generally buy it. A Nikon SLR can provide access to people and places that you wouldn’t believe. It was through photography that I truly got to know downtown Asheville, fully explored this place. Eric Baden has also taught me to strive for my personal best and will usually accept nothing less.

Aside from Academics and Work, the Service-Learning aspect of the Triad has also been a valuable part of my college experience.

…second semester of my freshman year, I found the perfect service project for me. I have been attending games night at Presbyterian Homes for Children for over three years now, and I am still as terrible at sports as when I began. Fortunately, being good is not really the point; in fact, I think the kids like that I suck so much (it makes them look good). Sometimes the kids will talk about things or seek counsel from me, but more often they just want to have fun. I think that my continued presence there makes more of a difference than any individual conversation or bit of advice given ever could. Now, some of the kids who were wee freshman, when we were also, are getting ready to graduate high school.

As for my future plans, I know that I want to stay in Asheville. This place is my home. Other than that, I have no future plans, and my well-rounded liberal arts experience has given me the strength and confidence to know that not knowing exactly is okay.

RH