Ben, ‘11

December 27th, 2007

Now that I have had one semester of college under my belt, I figure that it would be good to give all of my readers a brief summary of what I have done. I have had a lot of posts, but the purpose of this one is to combine everything and make it very concise. I think that the best way to do that is through pictures, so here it goes.

I began my college adventure from Hudson, WI and traveled 1,500 miles with my parents and younger brother and sister. We stayed in a pop-up camper and it was an intensive trip. We enjoyed the Little League World Series, Kelly Island State Park in Lake Erie, Gettysburg, and Washington D.C. Finally, after a stressful week of traveling, we arrived at the University of Richmond.

We left Wisconsin at 5:00 AM and had quite a trip

The first day was spent unpacking and getting settled into our rooms. My roommate and I had a difficult time with furniture, but we finally got it. After unpacking everything, we had a few days of Orientation. I didn’t care for Orientation, but it was required. It was a lot of speeches, but I did meet new people.

Getting settled on move-in day

After a month of improvements, this is what my living space looks like

I was ready for classes to begin and the first few weeks went fairly well. I wasn’t overwhelmed and I was happy. Some classes interested me more than others, but that’s the way it goes. I took Microeconomics, Introduction to Public Policy, Intensive Intermediate Spanish, and CORE (a required Freshmen course). That gave me 15 credits my first semester. As the semester went along, I fell behind in some areas (which was my fault), but managed to bring everything back up at the end. I had two long papers (8 pages) and several shorter ones for CORE, but I was able to get everything done without having to pull an all-nighter (although I did try, but fell asleep). Now that my finals are taken and my grades have been posted, I am very pleased with what I have been able to accomplish my first semester.

These were all of the books that I read during my first semester

If my friends and I needed a late-night break from homework, we went to Sheetz

Two weeks into classes, I went on a retreat with InterVarsity (the non-denominational religious group on campus). We went to the border of West Virginia and spent the weekend getting to know each other and having deep discussions. It was a great time to make new friends and get a break from school.

We found this disgusting pond on a hike and decided to go swimming

The Freshmen Guys of InterVarsity

As the semester progressed, I ended up doing a lot of events with InterVarsity. I did a grill out, scavenger hunt, karaoke night, capture the flag, Man Night, dance party, NFL Kickoff Party, Dollar Burger Night, and a lot more. Of course, we also had our weekly Wednesday night worship services. I also got plugged into a freshmen guys Bible study that meets on Tuesday nights. InterVarsity is probably the biggest consumer of my extracurricular time.

The campus-wide Scavenger Hunt was my favorite InterVarsity event

Also through InterVarsity, I participated in intramural sports. I joined the InterVarsity football and volleyball team. I have very little football talent, yet I still had a good time. Our volleyball team was a different story. We were very competitive and very talented. We ended up winning the championship and getting cool Intramural Champions t-shirts. Intramural volleyball was definitely one of my favorite events of the semester.

Our Intramural Champion volleyball team

On a final religious note, I found a home church in Richmond and they are awesome. It took me months, but I settled on River Road United Methodist Church. I’ve made new friends there and also celebrated Christmas with them before I left for break.

The UR students and church leaders of River Road UMC at Bottoms Up Pizza

Besides InterVarsity, I attended a ton of extracurricular events through the Modlin Center. I went to see many cultural, musical, and artistic performances, and most of them were free. I attended Diavolo (an amazing acrobatic dance group), 1984 the play performed by a professional touring group, Macbeth performed by fellow students, New Faces (a hodgepodge of comedy sketches and music performed by UR students), an Eastern European Jewish klezmer band, Lionheart (an a cappella Gregorian chant group), an Indonesian music and dance festival performed by students and community members, and an electroacoustic music festival. Some were not very exciting, but others were quite entertaining.

The Electroacoustic Music Festival

The Indonesian Gamelon Festival

On the same note, I have fallen in love with a cappella music. We have four great groups on campus and I have attended half a dozen of their concerts. Plus, I’ve already bought a CD by one of them. They’re very talented.

Chouer de Roi, one of our a cappella groups, performs

There are also lots of on-campus activities that are not through the Modlin Center. Our Campus Activities Board brought Robert Randolph and the Family Band to campus for a concert. They also play weekly movies that are fresh out of the theaters, such as Superbad, the Bourne Ultimatum, Knocked Up, and many others. All of these things were fun.

Robert Randolph and the Family Band

Additionally, a lot of the student groups put on socials or fun events. I’ve attended an Arabian Night, a Multicultural Dinner, a Senior Citizens Prom, and many other events that I randomly see. Most of them are well done and have great food.

The Senior Citizen’s Prom sponsored by one of our fraternities

Along with all of this great food at the events comes great food at D-Hall. I am nowhere near sick of the food and I am eating well. Unfortunately, I also add a fourth meal somedays as late-night pizza has become a staple of our diet. When you stay up until 2:00 or 3:00 AM each night, you get pretty hungry, so the local pizza place is already in my cell phone’s phonebook. As a result of me going to our amazing athletic center nowhere near as often as our amazing dining center, I have put on some weight. However, I have changed my ways late in the semester and am now on my way to being back on track.

My first meal at D-Hall. This is pretty standard.

2:00 AM Pizza

At this point, I should begin to mention breaks from school. We don’t labor for months on end as it may seem. We had Parent’s Weekend, a four day Fall Break, and a five day Thanksgiving Break. Unlike many other students, I did not go home or see my family once. It wasn’t worth it for my parents to make the long trek from Wisconsin for Parent’s Weekend, so I was an orphan. Fortunately, one of my friends’ family adopted several of us orphan students and provided a nice dinner at their home.

The Parents Weekend Orphan Dinner

Likewise, it simply wasn’t worth it for me to go home during the short period of Fall Break. I stayed on campus and accomplished next to nothing. But it was nice to finally get some peace and quiet. For Thanksgiving Break, I also didn’t go home. I had made it three months without seeing my family, so I figured I could make it a few more weeks. I went to New York City to meet up with my best friend from high school who was attending the Coast Guard Academy. We both could have used some fun and a nice break. So, we spent four days exploring Manhattan, attending the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, visiting all of the famous landmarks, and relaxing. It was a good time.

Me and my friend in NYC

Visiting the Statue of Liberty

Our Thanksgiving Dinner

Since I hadn’t been home in so long, it was nice to get care packages every once in a while. Also, I had frequent communication with my family via phone and e-mail. Finally, D-Hall made some of my favorite recipes that my mom submitted for Home for the Holidays. Still, it was nice to get back to Wisconsin, except for the frigid weather.

My first care package from home

At one point, I was fairly close to home. My scholarship group went on a trip to Chicago in October. We went to see a ballet and WICKED the musical. WICKED was awesome. We also went to a comedy club, Millennium Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Navy Pier. Our group stayed in a 4 star hotel and were flown there for free. All of this was paid by our scholarship family. We estimated that it cost roughly $1000 for each person. It was an amazing trip and I made some new friends. I can’t wait to see where we go next year.

Millennium Park in Chicago. This was really cool.

Seeing WICKED in Chicago was one of my favorite events of the semester

I have to mention my involvement with Student Government. I decided to run for Class Chair and didn’t know if I had any chance of winning. In the end, I was elected by four votes and I added another activity to my busy schedule. It’s been a great way to meet new people and stay involved. I surveyed the freshmen guys and tried to find out what they wanted changed. Also, I helped put together all of the Homecoming activities

My good friend, Buddy, helped me campaign and was one of the main reasons that I won

As Class Chair, I plan events for the freshmen guys. We’ve only have had one event so far, but it went very well. My Cabinet and I held FreshMan night and we played poker, ate pizza, and watched a James Bond film. We are already busy planning next semester’s events.

FreshMan Night

I must also mention my participation in sports games. I am attending as many of the basketball games as I can and was thrilled by our football team. We had the best team in school history and made the Division 1 AA playoffs. We made it all the way to the National Semifinals where we lost to Appalachian State, who later won the Championship. I traveled to Boone, NC to watch the game and, though we lost in a heartbreaker, had a great time. I had some of the most school spirit that I’ve ever had. Plus, I think I was on ESPN 2.

My friend and I cheer for Richmond at the National Semifinals

Naturally, I am a college student so I do my fair share of hanging out with friends and having fun. We play board games, video games, and do whatever comes to mind.

Playing Apples to Apples with my friends. I’m Honorable, Lovable, Fresh, and Friendly

Hanging out after everyone returns from Fall Break

As you may have seen, I am, once again, not very concise. But, I’ve had a very busy semester. I would say that I am much more active than the average student, but that’s how I like it. I don’t know what second semester has in store for me, but you’ll have to keep checking back to find out. Best of luck wrapping up your college applications and beginning the long wait. Feel free to ask me any questions. I’m pretty bored since it’s Christmas Break. This is Ben, signing off on first semester. Over and out.

Quote of the Semester: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” -Sir Isaac Newton
Thought to Ponder: Why do we sing “Take me out to the ballgame” if we are already there?
Shout Outs: My family and friends back home along with all of the new friends that I have made. Also, YOU, my faithful readers