#WMDCfall2011

by Mallory Meaney October 31, 2011 No Comments

While I have fond memories of my freshman orientation experience, I wasn’t particularly sure what to expect from the William and Mary In Washington program orientation. I was excited to be in DC and wanted to explore, so I was hoping that orientation wouldn’t cramp my style with tons of information sessions. Not only was orientation jam packed with fun activities that really got us around the city, but it was also an unforgettable experience. It started off with a literally earthshaking informational session and continued to get more and more thrilling.

Outside the Philips Collection

The first event of orientation was a safety and logistics information session at the William and Mary in Washington office in Dupont Circle. Just as we began to talk about what to do in the event of a natural disaster, the building started to vibrate. We weren’t sure what was going on so we assumed the building was undergoing some kind of construction work. When the blinds fell down, we realized what was happening. While I hope I never go through another earthquake, it was an unforgettable start to orientation.

Orientation was filled with exciting experiences and DC hotspots. The first night we went to “DC hotspot” Matchbox and ate delicious thin crust pizza. After dinner we met up with our wonderful Washington Monuments tour guide. While her three hour tour of the monuments was just as hard on your feet as you might imagine, the time flew by because it was so interesting. We went to the Jefferson Memorial, George Mason Memorial, FDR Memorial, Korean Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and WWII Memorial. The tour was especially unique because it was the opening night of the Martin Luther King Memorial. Even though we couldn’t actually get in to the opening reception, the MLK Monument was visible from the FDR memorial. The tour was completely exhausting but I would recommend it to anyone.

The next day we had a Library of Congress tour and got our Library of Congress library cards, met with the William and Mary counseling center, and went on a private tour of the Phillips Collection. After touring the Philips Collection we headed to the Kennedy Center to see Shear Madness. It is a murder mystery play set in a hair salon. Anyone who knows me knows that I love murder mystery plays, so this was definitely the highlight of orientation!

With Teddy at the Nats game!

The final day of orientation we got up early to take a kick boxing class at a local fitness center. I’ve taken “kickboxing” classes before where I punched the air with twenty extremely fit moms, but kickboxing in Crystal City was a totally different experience. The main difference was that there were actual punching bags hanging from the ceiling. We all got to pick out wraps and boxing gloves which was both exciting and terrifying, because I knew this was going to be much more intense than I had imagined. The class pushed the limits of my athleticism, but it was a great bonding experience. The day of physical activity continued with a twitter scavenger hunt around DC. Perhaps you saw #WMDCfall2011 trending on twitter? The day ended with some great American fun at a National’s game.

Orientation far surpassed my expectations. It helped me gain confidence navigating the city, and opened my eyes to the endless options that DC has to offer. Even though William and Mary in Washington orientation wasn’t all fife and drums and convocation, it was still a once in a life time experience. Thanks to Roxane and Javier for planning it for us! We had a great time!