I just switched to Admissions Crew at the beginning of this semester. I used to work at Cow Pie, the vegan cafeteria on campus, and was ready for a change of work crews. I spoke with Ian Robertson, our Dean of Work, several times and he helped me with the process of picking a new crew. And here I am on Admission!

Last week, Keri, one of the Admissions Counselors here in the office, asked me to write a letter to prospective students. She wanted me to tell the students what I liked about Warren Wilson, the things that drew me here, and the things that make me feel at home here. We then printed out my letter and sent it to the students who have been accepted but are still deciding which school to go to. Below if the final draft of the letter.

Dear Student,
Yeah, I get it, it’s stressful, all this college stuff.

There is pressure from every angle imaginable to decide which college to attend. The last thing you probably want is another piece of mail from a college. I get that. This isn’t one of those advertisements, praising a school for its high national ranking. I’m not going to tell you statistics or tuition costs. This letter is just me, telling you about Warren Wilson College from a student’s perspective. I hope that this letter, my perspective, will help make your decision a littler easier.

I’ve come to love Warren Wilson. I love the small class sizes; I love that I get to know my professors; I love that almost everyone eats outside when the temperature reaches seventy degrees; I love that I learn not only through my classes and text books, but also through my work crew and service adventures; I love that there are compost bins in every dorm; I love that I stayed ten minutes after class today to chat with my adviser; I love that I’m a person, not a number; I love that there are a myriad of opportunities to make personal connections.

I love that we don’t all fit the Warren Wilson stereotype.

We don’t all have dreads, hair on our arms, and in our armpits. We aren’t all vegans. We don’t all love being outside all the time. We’re not all Environmental Science majors. And the best thing is that there is a place for all those different types of people here. There are students who love mixing chemicals and running through chemistry problems, and others who learn the craft of analyzing literature or study the effects of globalization. There are people who love being on forestry crew and people who would much rather work in an office. There are people who wouldn’t dream of eating cheese or even honey, and there are people who eat meat at every meal. There are people who go on trail runs every day, and there are people who would much rather play video games. There are Buddhist, Quaker, Pagan, Jewish, and Christian groups on campus. There are a myriad of different interests at Warren Wilson. And they’re all accepted here, and they all exist here.

I’m not going to lie, even though I visited campus in my junior year of college, Warren Wilson was a really overwhelming and unfamiliar place at first. It took me a while to get used to this culture, this place, so different than my hometown, a rather homogenous place. So it took me a while, but I’ve found my niche, too. I’ve fallen in love with Anthropology and enjoy my small class sizes, and how close I am with my professors. I’ve been on three different crews: Chapel Crew, Cow Pie Café, and now Admissions Crew. I’ve finally found my niche in service, focusing mainly on food insecurity and working in community and school gardens and food banks. I’ve taken up knitting again since I’ve been here, and enjoy meeting other young knitters on campus and at a yarn shop in downtown Asheville. I try to go on a hike once a week on one of the beautiful trails on campus, and jump in the river when it’s warmer out. And the best thing: I’m comfortable here at Warren Wilson.

The take away message: come as you are. Enjoy all that Warren Wilson has to offer. It’s an amazing place, something to be experienced.

I hope you’ll join us for the fall semester!

Peace,
Hannah