I knew them when…

The title of this blog post seems to really set a perfect scene for the types of people with whom I have the opportunity to interact on a daily basis here at William & Mary. Growing up in a small town, I had a select few people (in fact, two, if we want to be specific here) who I knew I would be able to look back and say “I knew them when…” at some point in the future. One of them is headed into her first year of Med School at UVA after graduating with allllll kinds of honors from N. C. State University, and the other is about to begin her junior year at the one and only Cooper Union in the big NYC. However, I’m having some issues now that I’m at William & Mary and am no longer that big fish in a small pond.

That issue is? The fact that I meet so many people who are all “I knew them when” people. I figured to prove it to you, I’d just give you a slight introduction of the insanely high caliber of people that I’ve met at William & Mary…

• Brian Focarino – one of my good friends here, he’s doing all sorts of crazy things. I had the pleasure of being his co-leader for the 2010-11 William & Mary Haiti Compact and not only did I get to know him better, but got to figure out all of those even better things that he does outside of our time together – getting the highest percentage (79%) in history for the Senior Class Gift, applying and being accepted into the top Linguistics graduate program in the world (yes, world…), and studying for the LSAT’s like it’s his job. I definitely knew him when we spent many a crazed hour together interviewing prospective WMHC members, riding up a mountain on tiny horses, and dealing with every setback imaginable.
• Alisan Van Fleet – already a graduate of William & Mary (class of 2010), Alisan did so much that I can’t even begin to explain. She was in my a cappella group (Passing Notes), studied abroad at St. Andrew’s, and is now at UPenn Law School. I have no doubt that one day, I’ll walk into a court room (okay, hopefully, I won’t actually physically walk into a court room) and she’ll be there, prosecuting the heck out of someone, and I’ll say, I knew her when the two of us used to go grab lunch together, sit and talk for long times after a cappella practice, and talk about our future husbands (who will be Southern gentlemen with conveniently side-by-side lake houses).
• Grace Golden – a graduate of the class of 2011, Graceyface (as I affectionately call her) was not only a member of my sorority, someone who I had the opportunity to travel with to Firenze, Italy last summer, but also someone who I don’t doubt it about to make a hardcore impression on the business world. Oh wait – did I forget to mention that she’s an All-American lacrosse player and basically broke every single record in the CAA for Women’s LAX? I knew her when the two of us frolicked around Burano, Italy in the rain, went on clues during clue week for her little-little, and most importantly, shared a few beers in a bar in Venice and then headed on the most epic gondola ride ever (and created the term “shake and bake” for the remainder of our journey).
• Jonathan Grimes – I always give Jonathan a little shout out on my tours, not only because he’s a friend, but more importantly, because he defies all stereotypes of football players being “jocks” and “stupid,” which he (and our other football players, too!) are not by any means. Not only is he (quite possibly) the most impressive football player that has set foot in the CAA Conference in some time, but he also is a jazz pianist and a good one at that. I know without a shroud of doubt that when he’s playing in the NFL in a few years, I’ll be able to say, I knew him when we used to eat lunch together every Tuesday & Thursday for Family Lunch and he used to pick on me in Swem.

Here’s the thing – I could’ve gone on for the next 5 years describing to you various people with whom I’ve had the chance to be involved on campus and I will be able to say “I knew them when…” – that’s just the caliber of students that attend William & Mary.

xoxo.

Kylee