There’s no W in Kickball…

…Unless of course you are members of the Admission Dean Staff, who for the fifth straight year walked away with a win in the annual staff vs. interns kickball challenge.  Now I was a little nervous at first because this year’s group of interns consisted of true athletes, and as a staff we were a little depleted, but we pulled through as always and walked away with a 7-1 victory.    The game started as the interns decided to chant “pitcher’s got a big butt” to one of their supervisors (yes that would be me), but I used that energy to pitch a 1 run game in the 100 degree heat.  The game started slow until Anuar decided to hit a home run in the third inning.  Being the competitive person I am, I felt I had to answer with a home run in the bottom of that same inning.  After that, the dean staff poured it on with big kicks from Dean of Admission Henry Broaddus, Operations Manager Peter Cruz and even a home run from Assoc. Provost for Enrollment Earl Granger.  In the field, we were solid as well with key outs recorded by Kia Butts (the newest member of the team) and a Willie Mays over the shoulder catch by Betsy Quinzio.   If fashion were part of the game however, the interns would have competed at a high level.  Coming into the sunken garden with matching t-shirts and bandanas, they were definitely a coordinated group, but unfortunately they could not pull off the victory.

This type of environment is really what W&M is all about. Only at W&M can you find the Dean of Admission hitting a student in the head (with a kickball of course).  Only at W&M will you find the friendly competition of a kickball game turn into a fun outing at one of the local delis.   As much as the competition was fierce on the field and the trash talk was unceasing, the kickball challenge is more than an opportunity for the dean staff to embarrass the student interns (jk guys, we love you).  It is a perfect illustration of the relationships students and staff develop in a different kind of way than just professionally.

– Randy Tripp