W&M Blogs
A peek into the lives of those who learn, teach, research and work at the College.
Day 1: A Busy Beginning
May 17, 2013 by Ariana Guy
Following account of Ghost Army viewing provided by guest blogger Kelsey Sakumoto.
As the sun rose over our nation’s capital, the William & Mary National Security Fellows were preparing for the first day of the institute. We dodged government employees and tourists, braved the blue line to Farragut West, and rushed through crosswalks to arrive, promptly, at the William & Mary Washington office – where sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, drinks, and an assortment of desserts waited for us. After taking full advantage of the free food, we proceeded to learn all the specifics about being part of the William & Mary D.C. Summer Institute program.
After reviewing safety, networking techniques and academics, we proceeded to break off into our corresponding programs and start class. Professor Floyd wasted no time in starting our discussion regarding national security. We went over the readings due for that day, which questioned the definition and norms of national security, setting us up for future discussion regarding the different aspects of national security. The class was fast-paced and dense with information, as we deliberated current events in addition to our previous knowledge of governmental operations and foreign affairs.
We then traveled to a private screening of The Ghost Army, a PBS documentary that detailed the incredible story of deception and bravery that helped the Allies trick Hitler’s army. Nineteen veterans recounted how the Ghost Army used inflatable rubber tanks, pre-recorded sounds and fake radio dispatches to mimic troop movements. Their disguise was so masterful that the unit completed 20 battlefield deceptions without being discovered by the Germans.
Afterwards, our group met with Ghost Army veteran Jack Masey, self-described “liar and deceiver,” and director of the film, Rick Beyer. Roy Eichhorn, a former Director of Research with the US Army Combined Arms Center, who helped declassify and publish the story, also attended the Q&A session. The talk ranged from anecdotes to the larger discussion of deception as strategy. Eichhorn noted that even with new technology, deception remains a key military tactic, a testament to the power of individual creativity.
The day was chock-full of information and interesting perspectives—a theme sure to continue throughout the summer. The challenging, authoritative presence of Washington, D.C. inspired feelings of intimidation, but also those of excitement as I began to imagine myself outside the context of school and in a city that demands confidence and limitless resolve. As we made our way back to the Buchanan apartments, I pondered how we all may transform in some way this summer: whether it is in regard to self-assuredness, independence, or just knowing the city better. We are definitely growing up, and I am so glad that Washington, D.C. – a city that attracts the best of the best – will be part of that experience.
Move-In Day for the William & Mary D.C. Summer Institute: National Security
May 16, 2013 by Ariana Guy
Hello! My name is Ariana Guy and I am a rising senior at the College of William & Mary, majoring in Government with a minor in French Studies. I am the blogger for the William & Mary D.C. Summer Institute for National Security because I enjoy writing and am incredibly excited to document everything this program has planned for us students.
A mere four days after leaving the hallowed grounds of William & Mary, I set off to Washington D.C. for the National Security Summer Institute. Yes, I was still tired and slightly muddled – thanks to two intense weeks of finals; however, once the Washington Monument came into view from my car window, I smiled in delight as I came to realize that this summer would be filled with unforgettable sights, people, and experiences. After moving into my luxurious Buchanan apartment – complete with five friendly roommates – my parents and I set off to explore the Crystal City area. I was most excited to see a Chick-fil-A no more than one street over from the apartment building, along with a Coldstone Creamery, Corner Bakery and a Starbucks (of course). There were a myriad of other restaurants and attractions; but this is a blog, not a travel guide – thus, I shall act accordingly.
Looking at the syllabus for the first day of the National Security Institute, I saw that we were going to spend a large amount of time getting introduced to the program and start our course on national security – taught by the very knowledgeable and D.C.-savvy, Professor Kay Floyd. After our academic discussion, I then read that we would be meeting the directors and engaging in a private viewing of the film, Ghost Army. I could see that it was going to be a full day, so I went to bed at a reasonable hour, eager to find out what the next day would bring.
Upcoming blogs will showcase different students each time, giving every National Security Fellow the opportunity to describe a specific event or speaker. I will be adding the names of these contributors at the end of each blog.
Waitlist Update — The Process Continues Slowly but Surely
May 15, 2013 by Admit It!
We Admit It! We wish the waitlist was a fast-moving process. Unfortunately that is not the case. It’s definitely a step-by-step, day-by-day process. As many of you know, we activated the waitlist on May 3 with the intention of making a few select additional offers of admission. Over the course of several days, we made phone calls to the first wave of admits who the Committee saw as the most competitive students remaining on the waitlist. Many of those students accepted our offer (because the Tribe is awesome of course, at least in our humble and biased opinion). Others needed some time to make a decision. Others, very understandably, had moved on and gotten excited about another institution.
So every day we count new deposits, follow-up with those who have been made an offer off of the waitlist but haven’t responded, determine whether or not anyone who initially committed to W&M is withdrawing their deposit and assess whether or not we need to make additional admission offers. As we make additional offers we do so on a case-by-case basis; not so much in waves but one offer here, another offer there. So just because you haven’t heard anything doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t.
We do ask that if you are no longer interested in remaining on our waitlist, please email us at admission@wm.edu and ask that we withdraw your application from consideration. This helps us to avoid considering any student who no longer remains interested, and therefore makes the process more efficient. And remember, all students remaining on the waitlist will hear from us via email with a status update in mid-June.
Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Associate Dean of Admission
The Two William & Marys
May 13, 2013 by Elizabeth Miller
To the newest William & Mary alumni:
Close your eyes and picture this campus. The William & Mary you see is the one you’ve built over the last however many years it has taken you to get to this point. You’ve certainly had help along the way. This place is filled with people who worked to make your life better from day one: family, faculty, staff, classmates, the Griffin. You’ve had help along the way, but it’s been your W&M you’ve built. All the people and experiences you’ve discovered here have made this place what it is for you. And that is the William & Mary you get to keep with you, even as life changes, as your geography, social circles, job, hairstyle changes. The W&M you’ve built abides. Even as one of the things that changes is this campus.
As a young alumna who never really left this place, I’ve seen it happen and been a part of it happening. This campus remains alive. New buildings, new people, new thoughts, ideas, failures and successes. This place changes because of you. Because each of the incoming students has a W&M to build as well. And that’s one of the incredible parts of being an alum. You now have ownership over two William & Marys. The magical place you’ve experienced from freshman memories, GER struggles, final papers, people you’ve loved and people you’re ready to take some space from. That W&M is carried by you. And you also have this place that has been around a long time, that you can always return to. You now get to be that alum who jumps on a campus tour to say, “When I was a student here…” But you also get to be a part of honoring the change this campus undergoes, supporting the William & Mary new students are trying to build.
The W&M you carry with you from this day forward and this one right here that you can return to, they are not the same. Your relationship to this college is different now. Life is different now. Thankfully, W&M has prepared you for that change. Maybe some of you feel less prepared than others. Perhaps there is stress and intimidation about leaving these brick pathways. I can’t offer you a certainty of what comes next, but you can carry with you the certainty of these brick pathways. And of the helpers. There are so many alumni excited to support you in this part of the journey. And you’re a helper now too, someone current students will reach out to with their own uncertainties.
This place will be here and this place will always change. I encourage you to honor that because the same is true for you. The things you built into who you are while you were here – the friendships, the knowledge, the values – you get to carry that with you, and you get to change. You get to experience the shifts that happen with time passing. That can be hard and that can be incredible. Just as this place remains, who you were here is captured within you and within the friends, faculty, and staff you knew here as well. As an alumna, though, I welcome you to change because those changes will be part of your W&M alumni story. I am so grateful that I can welcome you to this branch of the family, and I want to congratulate you on your time at W&M. I know you’ve done incredible things here because this campus remains incredible and vibrant. This college is the powerful, beautiful, life changing, sometimes overwhelmingly daunting, but also loving place that it is because all of us, including alumni, join in making it.
So congratulations on being part of creating the W&M of today. Congrats on coming into the great unknown. And congratulations on now joining a new phase of building the W&M of years to come. Through all that comes next, this place is always your home. You’ve earned that above all else. (Although the diploma’s nice too.)
Goodbye and welcome all rolled into one.
Candlelight Address to the Class of 2013
May 13, 2013 by Anne Charity Hudley
Dear Class of 2013 and those who love and support you,
I am so honored to have been asked to speak to you tonight on behalf of my faculty colleagues. This weekend is filled with such joy and celebration of your accomplishments—all that you have achieved leading up to and during your years here. I speak on behalf of the entire faculty when I say to you, “you are fabulous!”
You will get asked a lot of questions this weekend and in the weeks to come. Questions about your degree, your future plans, probably even your final GPA; did you graduate summa cum, laude, magna cum laude or thank you laude.
Rightly so—most of the weekend focuses on what you have accomplished: undergraduate and graduate degrees, achievements in departments and programs and your activities, which are too numerous to mention. And I am all for celebrating your achievements. You’ve attended a tough yet wonderful college during a tough yet wonderful time in history and came out ahead! So since for most of the weekend, we’re going to celebrate your achievements, I’m a take five minutes here and celebrate from a slightly different angle—I’m a celebrate you! Just you—who you are—and who you will become. For the next few minutes, you are you and not your major, your degree, you are not your class year, you not even your future plans.
If you want to know what I’ve done, (Why she up there?) Google it up. Instead, I’ll tell you a little bit about who I am.
Who am I—I am on Route 5 through open fields trying not to get a ticket—I’m the gal whose breath is taken away every time she sees her husband walk out in a suit and tie on to Ukrop Drive through those fancy Mason School of Business doors! I’m trying to think of everything that I and the College of William & Mary didn’t get to do to support you during your time here that I can get right with the class of 2017—help me with that. I’m on a journey to make sure everyone is included here — in this place, so that I can walk around the Wren building just smiling.
So who are you, class of 2013? To me, that’s the most awesome part.
In many senses you will always be the you who you were when you first were here — several years younger, running through the Sunken Garden, I hope with your clothes on.
You are fun nights at the Delis before some of you moved over to the Crust. You are forever the one who played hooky and rode the Verbolten or the one who spent 20 hours straight in Swem.
You are rugby rough and community research strong, you are cheering football teams on and sad people up, you are driving classmates you didn’t know before home through Hurricane Irene just because someone emailed and asked you to.
You are on all sides of political activism with passion and intellect.
You are Virginia’s promise, New Jersey’s dream, China’s spirit, part of the TJ posse, and that one kid to make it here from your hometown—ever!
You are somebody’s sibling—either by blood or oath or hope.
You are about to give your mother her best mother’s day ever—even if she can’t be here with you or if you’ve never even met her—even if she is a he.
Some of you are fashion plates and some of you have had on the same sweat pants for 4 years or 8.
But OH MY GOODNESS—I can’t wait to see WHO you will become!
I spend my spare time with my students and have no shame about it. Why? Because each of you is an individual masterpiece. And that’s what makes what I do intertwine with who I am (someone who will be here years from now happy to see you on your return, no matter if you knew me before just now or not.)
A couple of things to think about as you are becoming, you—post-graduation style:
- You could become someone who cleans up your social media. Cuz you know some of that confession stuff ain’t gone look so cute in a year or two. Because who you are is likely to be slightly different and context can be everything. And if it isn’t, share on—do you, boo boo!
- You could become someone who still always takes time to write a few thank you notes. It is amazing to be someone who takes that minute and they mean so much.
- You can become someone who continues to make friends in your class even after tomorrow- you’re gonna meet new people because of where you’re standing or what names are on the chairs in W&M Hall and in your department ceremonies! Say hi all eager like you did in Orientation 2009! It’s not too late! That person may be headed to your new town, or interested in the same type of music, or job as you.
- You can be someone – who even if you don’t care for W&M as a monolith who love the people affiliated with W&M individually – the students who come after you are desperately looking to you for advice and glimpses of what their dreams may look like realized. You can become someone who walks out of here tomorrow never to return or you can become someone who doesn’t miss a reunion or homecoming and either way I hope you’ll connect with the students – come guest lecture, speak at events in your old organizations, Skype with someone from around your way who has a dream of making it to William & Mary— make it a time and a priority commitment.
I’m becoming someone right now because of who my grandmother was that wasn’t even legally possible at the time of her dream. And in turn, the spirit of my grandmother has become the grandmother of a granddaughter who is giving this talk and the grandmother of a grandson who is graduating from here tomorrow. I can think of no better example of the fact that who you will become may actually take generations.
So honestly, there are no words for who we are in moments such as these. For those times when the who and the what are indistinguishable—our ancestors live again and the future is written. And that’s the true definition of swagga.
We’re doing our best tonight to honor that privilege and experience tonight through your triumph, some silence, and flames.
The Class of 2013 Banner
May 10, 2013 by Madelyn Smith
I walked towards the banner today. Slowly, watching it grow larger as I approached from the distance. The last time I saw this banner was four years ago…
The day was hot and muggy. We were all decked out in our preppy attire eager for the grand convocation welcome, and exhausted from a week of orientation. I remember sitting there next to the girls of Spotswood Third Upper day-dreaming about the next four years of college; the adventures, college parties, clubs and organizations that I would join, when all of the sudden the president took the podium. I vaguely remember what he said, other than a resounding welcome for the Class of 2013. What I remember is the faces of the students around me. Excited and smiling, faces full of wonderment and curiosity of what the next four years would bring. A few of us in the row squeezed hands as he acknowledged the bond between the freshman hall and how these friendships lasted a lifetime. It sprinkled rain at one point, but no one seemed to care; we were the class of 2013 and NOTHING could take us down! As the ceremony came to a close there was an overwhelming roar of cheers from the Class of 2013. However, when the crowd quieted down the noise didn’t stop. Somewhat confused my fellow classmates and I looked at one another and shrugged, maybe our ears were playing tricks on us? The next thing we knew the doors to the Wren building flew open and on the other side of the building one could see the heads of hundreds of students all shouting and cheering. Never in my life have I felt so loved and welcomed. One by one each freshman passed through the building and walked out into a sea of upperclassmen smiling, waiting to greet us. The year 2013 a distant thought, it seemed nearly impossible to imagine.
Four years later I walked towards the banner. I smiled thinking how fast this time has gone, and how grateful I am for the many moments here. As is normal these days, I smiled and then I burst into tears… There is no way to put into words the emotions of Commencement. Four years of dedication, hard work and persistence and then, like that, it’s over. Underclassmen, treasure it. It truly does go by fast.
As I looked at the banner hanging above the door to The Wren Hall I couldn’t help but think of the diversity in the Class of 2013. Listening to the ambitions and dreams of my fellow classmates over the past few weeks has been a humbling experience. Nonprofits, business corporations, private entities – you name it, we’re doing it. Our class boasts some of the best and brightest in the nation, yet they are humble and driven by a desire to do good in this world. I could not be more proud to be a member of this remarkable group of individuals.
Sunday morning we will walk under the banner once again. This time, a more solemn tone, but a celebratory walk nonetheless. To the Class of 2013, WE DID IT! I hope each of you will walk with your head high and your heart beaming knowing that you are a part of something bigger than yourself, you are a part of the Class of 2013 and the College of William & Mary!
7 Places in Paris I Want to Pack for the Flight Home
May 8, 2013 by Kaitlin Noe
I’ve already dedicated quite a few lines to complaining about the size of legal airplane luggage. I think it can be pretty universally agreed that it is not anywhere near sufficient for transporting a semester’s worth of supplies to a European country. What I didn’t consider, however, is how I would transport all the experiences and accumulated debris of a semester in Europe back stateside. As the countdown to departure reaches an anxiety-inducing 4 days, I face the final question: how to condense it all into one standardized checked luggage bag? All the days trudging through biting wind as rain seeps in through the growing holes in my black flats, my hood pulled low as I seek cover inside the nearest boulangerie… Or the nights when I turn the corner past the arab au point, between the curving marble buildings and spiraling black bannisters, find a spot to lean against the cold stone and watch the Eiffel Tower glitter as I wait for my friend to let me in…The Wednesday lunches when the Iéna marché is open and I walk through several blocks of friendly merchants calling out to me to not be shy, to come look at their fresh cheese, meats, crepes, clothing or African art, and I smile and walk to my favorite kebab stand to order a chicken kebab for 2,75. …The smell of the boulanger’s full roast chicken in the morning on my walk to work, the warmth of a Nutella crepe in my hand as I hike up the curling paths of Montmartre to Sacre Coeur, the feeling of arriving at the metro platform to a blinking ’00′ and a train pulling up just in time to meet me…These things don’t fit into airline regulated suitcases. So, I present to you, the seven places in Paris I want to pack with me for the flight home.
1. The Grand Mosque of Paris.
I may have fallen in love. Despite the fact that the men who work here are sometimes even slower than Parisians (a feat), the exotic architecture is outstandingly beautiful. Parts of the mosque itself are available to tour, yet somehow I always seem to be drawn to the courtyard tea room and restaurant that are attached… Killer couscous served by the pot, mint tea (I’ve always said Middle Eastern restaurants have the best tea around), and for dessert, an entire platter of fantastic assorted pastries. Having not the slightest clue what each one is, we have developed a simple rule to select the perfect pastry: the less appetizing it looks, the better it tastes. Counter intuitive, and hasn’t failed us yet.
2. The Lapin Agile
What felt like one of the most typical perfect French nights. A little pink building tucked into the side of the hill in Montmartre, Lapin Agile is one of the original Parisian cabarets. The kind of place that all the little artists would go during the heyday of Montmartre’s artsy youth. It has an original Picasso hanging casually on one of its walls and a livre d’or chock full of artist sketchings and signatures confirming its importance to the creative elites. They still do shows – a quirky blend of musical and theatrical – put on by boisterous and animated actor/singers. Sitting there, listening to them sing out the old classic “Aux Champs Elysées”, tucked into their dimly lit cave of a performance room and sipping on their house cherry wine, I was immediately under their spell. We stayed until the show closed down at 2 am and wandered our way to the metro singing “rockin’ at the Lapin Agile”. Perfect night. Life goal is to be best friends with all of the performers one day.
3. Butte Chaumont
This place is not French. It’s not Parisian. To enter this park is to leave the neatly ordered rows of flowers and perfectly cut grass of french gardens and enter the jungle. A jungle filled with young children hopping around rocks lapping up ice cream cones, hundreds of “bobo” french lounging across the steep hills like a festival, and hidden caves dripping stalactites. And an odd monk-temple-looking thing. I dedicated (along with what seemed like all of the youth of Paris) the entire duration of the first warm day in Paris to claiming my patch of grass there and gorging on sun-warmed baguettes and Camembert with strawberries. Careful, though, or a twenty foot black hole crevasse will swallow one of your flats and you will have to do a 40 minute metro commute home with only one shoe…
Perhaps one of the best things about Butte Chaumont is that when you finally climb your way up to the Monk-temple-place, and clamber out onto the jagged rock-cliffs, you have a view of the city that looks like this:
4. Bar Dix
The only sign on the outside of this bar is the number ten written in what looks like white chalk on the black painted exterior. There is only one thing on the menu—pitchers of sangria, medium or large. They only take cash, exact change preferred, and when your sangria pitcher drips a sticky mess on the table, a plump little old man who insists on wearing tiny black round sunglasses even indoors comes around with a ratty sponge to wipe it down. The whole bar is decorated with a kind of art nouveau theme, dark and romantic and so hidden-feeling. It’s actually fairly well-known but the bare front, the straightforward attitude, and the funky interior make you feel like you’ve found a secret gem.
5. The Seine at Night
Magical. Addicting. Breathtaking.
6. The mysterious Thai place near my classes, the boulangerie down the street, La Durée, and Omnibus Café
…I really like food. I also realize I am probably cheating by putting all four of these places under number 6. Oops.
7. The Lord of the Rings Tower
This tower, as my friend Christina recently informed me, is the most useless monument to transport anywhere. It also has absolutely no relation to either the Lord of the Rings books or movies. But my very first week abroad, lost and bumbling around the streets of Paris, I stumbled upon this tower and without thinking exclaimed, “That looks just like the tower from Lord of the Rings!” (I am very cool). I must have developed a strange attachment to the tower in that moment, because ever since it has been a landmark to find my way, a site to meet up with friends, and a strange anecdote to share with my friends visiting from other cities. So admittedly it is probably completely useless, but it makes my list.
Good ol’ states, here I come! Trading baguettes and fromage for a good burger and some Mexican food…Hope Air France can handle this luggage.
Waitlist Update — Some New News, Some Good News
May 6, 2013 by Admit It!
We Admit It! The waitlist process is far from a standardized one. It takes a lot of back and forth, a lot of incremental steps, a lot of analyzing and reanalyzing. But here’s what we know for certain: we are able to go to the freshman waitlist for a select number of additional students (whether or not we go to the transfer waitlist won’t be determined until mid-to-late May). The exact number of students who will be admitted is always a moving target (more on that below). What we do know is that our enrollment numbers are just a bit shy of where they need to be. Therefore we are going to the waitlist for more than a handful of students but still for a relatively select group. All students who completed the online waitlist response form (linked in your decision email) are being considered for those spaces we do have available in the entering class. Below is more about how we make decisions from this point forward and how those who are admitted from the waitlist hear from us.
Why is the number of remaining admission offers a moving target?
There are numerous reasons actually. The first is that we continue to receive enrollment deposits from those admitted initially. The second is that we have to be careful not to under-enroll our class (we are working to avoid that now but admitting students from the waitlist), but we also have to be careful not to over-enroll. So if we make an offer to student A, we may have to wait his/her response before making an offer to student B. Now of course we’re going to the waitlist for more than one student but hopefully that illustrates our point. Third, as other colleges and universities activate their waitlists, some students who initially committed to W&M may decide to go elsewhere. This may mean we get to make even more offers than initially expected. Finally, there are often students who have admission buyers’ remorse (meaning though admitted to W&M, they turned us down for another school and then decide W&M is a better fit). As those requests come in we need to carefully consider them and how allowing those students to deposit late would impact our class size.
How we make decisions about the waitlist?
Well, essentially our process begins anew. Each of our regional deans is asked to assess all of the students within their region who remain on the waitlist. We then, as a staff or Committee, try to determine who the most competitive students are that remain on the waitlist. We will continue to do this throughout the process until our class is full.
How are students admitted from the waitlist notified?
Step 1: Initially we reach out to any student by phone (we will first call the cell phone if provided in the application and then the home phone if listed). If we are not able to reach a student at any phone number we will leave messages and follow up via email. These messages will ask you to get in touch with us (specifically the regional dean who reached out) within a day or two. The initial contact will be done to assess whether or not you remain interested in attending W&M. SO CHECK YOUR VOICEMAIL AND EMAIL (and yes that’s bolded and in shouty capitals for emphasis).
Step 2: If you remain interested, we will send your Good Things email that evening and put an admit pack in the mail to you the next day. If you do not remain interested, we will withdraw your application. If you do not respond to our messages, we will do one more follow-up email and then withdraw your application.
Step 3: If you are admitted, we ask you to make the enrollment deposit as soon as humanly possible. We do allow two weeks to make that final commitment if necessary, but we ask that students be as expedient as possible with this process. First, it’s in your best interest (the sooner you make your decision the sooner you can move forward with new student transition materials for W&M). Second, if you are not serious about the offer, please decline it so that we can make the offer to another interested student.
Step 4: Once you submit an enrollment deposit you will have access to the online site designed specifically for entering students. Those admitted from the waitlist have not missed any deadlines or programs. They are on the same footing as those admitted in April.
Step 5: We will continue to assess where our class stands and if additional offers of admission can be made. This process can certainly take several weeks to run its course. As previously noted, we will be in contact with all students who remain on the waitlist by June 15 (via email) to provide an additional update.
Our process will likely be in this state of flux for the next few weeks as we reach out to those initial students we wish to admit from the waitlist. We will do our best to keep everyone informed should there be any additional helpful information.
Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Associate Dean of Admission
Three Days.
May 6, 2013 by Kylee Ponder
I have three magical days left of student teaching. Three days left to get in all of the hugs that I can. Three days left to gaze over the shoulders of second graders as they complete their morning handwriting practice. Three days left to see their eyes light up when they walk in the room and I greet them with a “Good Morning” and a smile. Three days left of excited whispers in the hallway when I walk by on my way to observe other teachers. Three days left to beg, borrow and steal all of the incredible ideas from other teachers at my school. And most importantly, three days left to watch my sweet 20 kiddos sit on the edge of their seats as I sit in my director’s chair with a class microphone around my neck reading the last 50 pages of Charlotte’s Web.
I didn’t plan it this way – to be finishing Charlotte’s Web on the last day of student teaching. I started the book and hoped we’d be finished with it already. But with standardized benchmark testing, PALS testing, Spring Break and an incredibly rigid Reading/Language Arts schedule, it’s been hard to work it in. In fact, I’m almost dreading finishing it. I have a feeling my voice will be quivering and tears will be streaming down my face on Wednesday. In preparation, I was flipping through the book and immediately was drawn to turn to the back, remembering fondly the voice of my parents as they read this to me as a child. I stopped when I read this excerpt –
“Why did you do all this for me?” he asked. “I don’t deserve it. I’ve never done anything for you.” “You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
Powerful words written by a powerful author. These words helped me realize how incredibly grateful I am for so many different interactions that I have had over my undergraduate and graduate career – the ways in which people continually go out of their ways to help me or to make my life better or easier. There’s just something about William & Mary people. Something in the water we drink. Something in the green and gold blood we bleed. Something in the cobblestones that are under our feet. Something in our love of ampersands. Something powerful. Something that draws us together.
In this last week of my graduate school career, I happily am sitting back, embracing the incredible challenges and successes that this beautiful place has brought me, and remembering all of those people who have helped me along the way. Those people who brought me a coffee when I really needed one. Who took a drive with me on the Colonial Parkway when they knew I’d had a bad day. Who took initiative on a project because they knew I didn’t have time then, but that I would soon. Who motivated me to run and finish my first 5k. Who gave me a hug every single morning when they walked into their second grade classroom. Who forwarded along kind words to help me get further in the job application process. Who have had me over for dinner and wine. Who have met me for coffee and breakfast and chit chat. Who have nurtured me and loved me for the past 5 years.
I am so grateful for those people. I am so grateful for William & Mary. I don’t feel like I deserve it. I don’t feel like I’ve done anything exceptional for it. But just like Wilbur, I realize that sometimes, friends are what gets you through things. They push you farther and make you believe in yourself and achieve your dreams, whether those dreams are not getting turned into bacon by the Zuckermans or finding a teaching job.
Hark upon the gale,
Kylee
Waitlist Update — No New News
May 2, 2013 by Admit It!
We Admit It! May 1 doesn’t necessarily bring an end to the admission cycle and the anxiety that comes with it. For students on our waitlist or any waitlist, the hope for good news is still out there. During the past few days, we’ve had several phone calls, emails and social media inquiries about the status of the waitlist. At this point we have no additional information to share.
May 1 is a postmark deadline. Additionally, when necessary, we do grant some extensions on the deposit deadline. So we will continue to collect deposits and analyze the status of the incoming class over the course of the next few days. We hope to have more information early next week or shortly thereafter. When and if we are able to go to the waitlist we will let you know how that process (which can be a relatively short one or a lengthy one) plays itself out.
We ask again for your patience. We hope to have another update soon.
Wendy Livingston ’03, M.Ed. ‘09
Associate Dean of Admission