Hamilton College Admission Journals: Amanda Schoen

Accepted Students Day

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:42:41 GMT

Today is accepted students day, and the campus is flooded with members of Hamilton's Class of 2013. Welcome! Today clubs and teams set up tables in the Annex to promote their groups to the new students. Even as a senior, I always love wandering through the dozens of tables to see what Hamilton has to offer. A cappella groups sing, the juggling team throws clubs through the air, and students represent their cultural heritages from all over the world. I'm actually torn at this point, because there are several tables there I should go represent. Adirondack Adventure brings new students to the Glen House to tell them about trips, and show them the equipment they have to rent (anywhere from snowshoes to climbing harnesses), and demonstrate the half-dozen lovely hammocks they have hanging outside on the back porch. Rainbow Alliance distributes buttons and stickers and tells everyone about the events we've participated in this past year, like the Day of Silence and our Gay Prom. The rugby girls sit at the table in their uniforms, passing a ball back and forth and encouraging people to sign up once they get here. And, of course, the streaking team always invariably makes an appearance. It should be a pretty good time. Welcome, Class of 2013!

My Senior Dinner

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:41:45 GMT

Last night I went to my Senior Dinner, where all the senior science concentrators went to the president’s house for food, drinks, and speeches. My friends and I all got dressed up and took a shuttle down the hill to Joan Hinde Stewart’s house. Although she’s away in France this semester, the acting president Joe Urgo was there to welcome us. We got to mingle with our co-concentrators and professors as we were served food and drinks in a huge room, which had a chandelier, couches, and a piano. It was great to catch up with my professors in a social atmosphere and have a relaxing evening with my friends. After we took a while to talk, a professor from each department made a speech about the senior class and our four years at Hamilton. It was great to hear where people are going next year, be it law, medical, or grad school, or new and exciting jobs all over the world. We got dessert and coffee after that, and took a minute to get a picture with the people in my thesis group.

After the dinner was over, my friends and I caught the shuttle back up the hill and hung out for another hour, recapping the night and taking time to unwind. We joked about Dean Urgo’s welcoming speech – his opening remark had been, “I’ve finally achieved my lifelong dream. I have one house to live in and one house to party in.” It was great to hang out in our formal clothes and think about the four years we’ve been at college. It was a night I won’t soon forget, and something to look forward to when you’re a senior at Hamilton.

Things I'm looking forward to when we get back

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:53:50 GMT

Spring is my favorite time at Hamilton. I feel like everything begins to literally and metaphorically thaw. Once it's about 45°, you'll see students in shorts and flipflops soaking up the sun and playing Frisbee out on the grass. I love playing rugby in the warm rain, and the smell of mud after a big game. I can't wait to take my bike out and go for a 20-mile ride and explore the area. Maybe I'll try riding down to Colgate? I want to do my homework out in the grass and sunbathe on a Saturday afternoon. You should see all the students out on the field once it gets nice - it's like something out of a movie. Everyone lies on towels with their books, people play catch, and professors walk their dogs. Some professors will hold a class or two outside if it's nice, which is always a great time. We also have a yearly music festival every Spring, and we just found out that Rjd2 and Super Mash Brothers will be DJing it. I'm looking forward to living it up until I graduate in May!

Spring Break

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 02:13:56 GMT

We're in the final days before Spring Break, when all the exams, papers, and projects suddenly rear their heads. On top of all the work, I've been going on excursions to Amherst, MA, Burlington, VT, and Washington, DC for graduate school interviews. It's been a big adventure. It's been gorgeous here for the past few days, reaching well into the 40's (which is like a heatwave compared to the weather we were getting before that). I'm counting down until Spring Break to see my family and my girlfriend, and then I'm excited to get back here for warmer weather. It's funny, because I wrote a journal entry about going home for Fall Break, and now I have a similar one for the Spring. I like how we can turn over a new leaf and come back to different seasons on the Hill - there's always something that I'm looking forward to.

This time around I'll be bringing home my skis, hockey equipment, and warm clothes. As much fun as they are, it's time to make room for warmer weather activities. I'll be bringing back a bathing suit, my rugby ball, and my bike. At this point I'm not quite sure if I'll be doing HamTrek again, but I think it will be a good time to train for it anyway. HamTrek is Hamilton's yearly sprint triathlon, which my girlfriend Brit actually helped develop a few years ago when she was here. It's a 525-yard swim, 9-mile bike, and 3.1-mile run. Last year I actually broke my thumb playing rugby a few days before the race, but I'm proud to say that I still completed the triathlon with a (waterproof) cast on my arm. I think it will be so much fun to get out and bike, swim, and run before the end of the year.

We don't get too much warm weather here at Hamilton, but I think we're pretty good at making the most of it once it's here.

Telemark Skiing

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:05:55 GMT

Last Wednesday I went telemark skiing for the first time. It was offered as a weekly trip with the Hamilton Outing Club (HOC). I've always alpine skied, and had always wanted the opportunity to try telemark skiing. However, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a huge (and expensive) endeavor - I'd have to find a place that rented the skis and boots, pay for lessons, and pay for a lift ticket. When I saw that the Outing Club was offering trips, I jumped at the chance. I only had to pay for my lift ticket ($15). The
Outing Club lent me skis and provided the transportation and a lesson. The mountain, Toggenburg, is only 45 minutes away, so we were able to simply hop in a van and go.

Telemark skiing is different from alpine in that you have a free heel (Google "Telemark" to see a picture). When you turn, you don't use your hips as much (like alpine skiing), but instead go into a lunge position and drop your knee down. It almost looks like the skiers are moonwalking effortlessly down the mountain, and their lower knee almost touches the ground. I would have taken pictures to better explain it, but it was too dark! It was a lot of fun to be able to try it out for the first time. Sarah Weis, the assistant director of outdoor leadership (who I know well from Adirondack Adventure), brought us out and gave us a lesson. I had to work on unlearning the alpine method of skiing, which I've done for about 10 years now, and it took me a little while to get used to telemark.

We got there at about 5:30 and skied until 8:30. We started on the bunny hill with Sarah teaching us, and when we eventually started to get the hang of it, we went up on the lift to try the main slope. There were only five of us, so we got a lot of individual coaching. My friend Dave was there, who only started teleskiing about a month ago, and has already gone 14 times. He's basically gone telemark skiing every other day and has gotten really good in a short amount of time. Sarah had him demonstrate for us. He's taken advantage of the opportunity, which I'm kind of sorry I hadn't learned about earlier. If I have time, I'm going to try to borrow the skis again and get back to Toggenburg for a few hours when I don't have class or a lot of work. I was just so amazed that we were able to do this.

The Ski and Snowboard Guild on campus provides a bus to Toggenburg every Wednesday, and they go from 4pm until about 10 at night. You can just hop on the bus for free, and also get a Toggenburg season pass for a reduced price. One of my participants from Adirondack Adventure was also at Toggenburg that night, and she had never tried a snow sport before. She took the bus, rented a snowboard, and had a lesson for the first time. I'm excited to get out of class early one day, throw some skis (and possibly Dave) into the car, and spend an afternoon fine-tuning my telemarking skills.