College Ready to Welcome Internationally Diverse Class, Orientation Begins Thursday, August 23

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College is making final preparations to welcome the 405 members of the Class of 2016 to campus, readying dorm rooms and planning a packed schedule of orientation sessions and social events to help the new students feel at home fast.

The new class is one of the most international in recent years, hailing from 23 U.S. states and 16 other nations: China, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain and Sweden. 

Among the Americans, about 40 percent are Marylanders, and 45 of that group come from communities on the Eastern Shore. Females make up just over half the class (57 percent), more than a third (35 percent) were members of the National Honor Society in their high schools, and some 27 percent were recruited for sports. The new students will benefit from some $7.5 million in scholarships and financial aid. One more statistic of note: about 8 percent of the Class are Washington College legacies, meaning at least one family member is an alumnus.  

Although some athletes and international students will arrive a few days earlier, the majority of the freshmen will move into their campus residence halls on Thursday morning, August 23. That afternoon, while the students will meet with their Peer Mentors (members of the sophomore, junior and senior classes whose primary role is to help the first-years adjust to college life), their parents will hear advice from Provost Emily Chamlee-Wright and Dean of Students Mela Dutka about how to let go and cheer their student on from a healthy distance. Everyone reconvenes for a welcome program and reception with Washington College’s first couple, President Mitchell B. Reiss and his wife, Elisabeth, then the parents drive away and freshman year begins in earnest.

Over the following few days, the first-years will take part in numerous programs and meetings aimed at easing the transition from high school to college. Among other planned activities, they will learn about and sign the all-important Honor Code, take a walking tour of Chestertown, finalize their class schedules, party to the music of the band Hot Tub Limo, discuss the first-year read (Nathaniel Fick’s memoir One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer), and be amazed and entertained by the psychic feats of Banachek the Mentalist.. 

Click here for more details on the orientation schedule. 

Upperclassmen are scheduled to return by Sunday, August 26, and will join the new students that evening, along with faculty and staff families, for the traditional “All-Campus Picnic.”  Classes begin Monday morning.

Pre-Orientation Trip Documentary Premier Screening

August 20
7:00 pm Social Time Cash Bar///Hors d'oeuvres
7:30 pm Documentary Screening

Sponsored by the Student Development Office and Orientation

This year we have four trips that a portion of our new students are participating in. For the first time a documentary will be created of all the trips by students under the direction of Brian Palmer. The following trips are happening this year and will be featured in the documentary:

• "Sail the Sultana - History on the Water"
• "Land and Sea Adventure - Kayaking, Fishing and Boating and Rock Climbing"
• Echo Hill Outdoor School "Experience the Chester River Eastern Shore Style"
• "Filmmaking and Photography Bootcamp"

Come and meet new students and their parents and see our first Pre-Orientation Trip Documentary!

To assist in planning enough food for the event, please kindly RSVP to Beth Anne Roy by Monday, August 18 if you are able to attend.

August 14, 2008

WC Semester Begins With Into the Streets Service Project

Chestertown, MD — Washington College freshmen went "Into the Streets and Into the Community" on August 29, learning how to give back to their new home even before classes began. More than 300 new students and group leaders ventured out across the region to perform service learning projects as part of the college's freshman orientation program.

The idea to use a large-scale service learning initiative as part of orientation was developed by two Washington College students, sophomore Gia Grier and senior Katie Preen. The students would get an introduction to the local area and their fellow classmates, while becoming familiar with the value of service learning. Grier and Preen attended a Campus Outreach Opportunity League conference last March and came back resolved to introduce all new students to community service, said Vicky Sawyer, Associate Director of Career Development.

"We wanted to jump-start the service aspect of campus life," said Preen, who estimated that 85 percent of incoming freshmen participated in the event. "We are really happy with how it turned out. We're hoping everyone had a good time and gained some incentive to continue service work."

"They were determined this would happen and submitted a proposal to include this activity in the orientation program," said Sawyer. "They really did a lot to make it happen."

Freshmen are often "bombarded with information" during orientation activities, according to Sawyer, so the "Into the Streets" program allowed the new students to "use energy, be physical, get off campus, and bond with each other." Sawyer said Grier and Preen worked throughout the summer on the "Into the Streets" project. They contacted potential service sites, wrote letters to new students, trained orientation leaders, arranged transportation, designed shirts, and created a positive atmosphere for success.

While participating in the project, new students learned about a broad spectrum of community organizations. Some freshmen and upper-class orientation leaders built wildlife boxes, cleaned beaches, and toured a farm museum at Turner's Creek in Kennedyville, while others restored trails and shorelines at Eastern Neck Island in Rock Hall, Echo Hill Outdoor School in Betterton, Camp Fairlee Manor in Fairlee, and Millington Wildlife Preserve in Millington. Other groups worked to preserve wetlands at Horsehead Wetlands Center in Grasonville, and some students served lunch at Magnolia Hall Nursing Center in Chestertown. Students also volunteered their efforts at Adkins Arboretum in Tuckahoe State Park, Pickering Creek Environmental Center in Easton, and Wye Island in Wye Mills.

"I was very proud, as well as happy, to see all the incoming students who turned out to do meaningful service activities in the Kent County community," said Grier. "I hope that this project will mark the beginning of a great year in service learning and will spark the interest of students who may not have previously been active in service."

Additionally, Sawyer said, instructors teaching Community, Nation and World seminars, required for freshmen, were asked to incorporate the community service project as a component for the course and to link the students' service experience to their studies.

"I think the project has made a major difference in the community," said Sawyer. "The new students offered valuable volunteer help, they learned about service projects and the significance of the sites, and hopefully they found a good cause to serve again."