Philly send-off for Syracuse

I just came back from the Philly send-off for Syracuse, and I'm now 2x more ecstatic for orientation. It's an annual event for incoming Syracuse freshmen hosted to welcome them into the 'Cuse family and to offer any advice and answer questions. I went with one of my best friends Chris (Unruffled Feathers), expecting many awkward moments, good food and incoming freshmen. The food "buffet" was disappointing, and there were quite a lot of awkward "uhhh" moments, but I'm certainly glad that I went...especially with a friend. I sat near an alumni who works for Comcast and was constantly reminded of how Newhouse has connections that will always help you when it comes to job hunting after you graduate, which is great to know. The alumni and current students who attended were so helpful, offering tips and assurance that I will do well in college.

1. Don't take freshman year too seriously. Many people repeated this tip numerous times, and I'm glad that the transition from high school to college wouldn't be as bumpy.
   
2. Don't be disappointed if you don't get a paid internship this upcoming summer. I'm going to compete against sophomores and juniors, so unless I have an extremely impressive resume, I shouldn't get my hopes up. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't try my best.
   
3. Be involved in clubs or attend events that you wouldn't typically go to. Good tip! I'm definitely planning to join in a lot of clubs that I would've normally never even considered in high school, such as Mock Trial. Hopefully it'll be an interesting, fun and diverse freshman year for me.
   
4. Don't travel in groups of more than 4 or 5 friends. Apparently we'll get called out from the upperclassman driving or walking by; definitely do NOT want that to happen.
   
5. Don't drink on your floor, unless you're cool with your RA...because you will get caught. Not that I plan to do this but...good to know?

At the end, the President of the Philly Alumni Club announced the 4 winners of the scholarship awards, one of them being Chris! I am so unbelievably proud of her and the magazine she created. She wrote that as a philanthropist, she will donate her time and money towards the BP oil spill disaster because she believes that everyone should help preserve the environment. She undoubtedly deserved the $500.
To wrap it all up, the alumni decided to hold a 'Cuse trivia game, which I definitely need to brush up on. He had an awesome orange foam finger that I really wanted, but it was a sports question that I had no idea what the answer was. At least I know it exists, and that it's sold in the Syracuse bookstore. I'm definitely going on a bookstore shopping spree. I need t'shirts, sweatshirts, foam fingers, mugs...the list goes on!


the foam finger!