An Enthrilling Place To Be

W&M students are amazing creative, clever, and quirky.  In my decade tenure here, I’m not sure those traits have ever been more evident than they were this past Sunday, April 19, 2009.  If you had been on campus that day, you would have seen a sight to behold; a sight that would have made the King of Pop proud.  William & Mary is famous for its firsts — the first law school, the first collegiate honor code, the first fraternity — and to that list we recently added another first; our first world record.

In the Sunken Gardens, on a spring afternoon, 242 students, faculty, and staff gathered in the Sunken Gardens to perform Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  Previously, a mere 147 people had danced the famous dance simultaneously.  After practicing, preparing, and even preparing appropriate costumes, these dedicated members of the College community danced their hearts out and now William & Mary holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for largest Thriller dance.  This milestone was so impressive it even made Anderson Cooper’s broadcast.

This place never ceases to amaze me.  What students have done — both the serious and the silly — leave a mark not only on those who participated but on this campus and often on the world.  It is truly thrilling to be a part of this storied College.