First Steps in My New Home

October 27, 2011 in Shaun's Blog by Shaun | Permalink

In my time on campus, I have experienced some wondrous events. In these last few weeks, I have battled against chess masters who sit outside Au Bon Pain, met the Princess of Jordan, completed the varsity tennis team challenge(20 dominators), and have attended lectures from world-renowned professors.

Since arriving in August, I have engaged in several orientation programs, aimed to help the freshmen transition to college. The first major event was the 2015 Freshmen Convocation.

Freshman Convocation: Harvard Yard, August 30, 2011

At Convocation, Dean of Freshmen, Thomas Dingman gave an opening speech and welcomed the class of 2015. Several other professors gave speeches, as well as a member of the class of 2012. Convocation served to welcome the class of 2015 at Harvard, and this event made me realize that I was a part of Harvard.

After Convocation, several other club/ groups held events to welcome freshmen. In my opinion, the one that stood out the most was the A Cappella Jam. Here, every a cappella group at Harvard gave a 5-10 minute performance.

The Lowkeys perform in the A Cappella Jam in Sanders Theatre

Each group brought fresh music and mash-ups to a roaring crowd. The groups who performed were: the Harvard Opportunes, the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones, the Harvard Din & Tonics, the Radcliffe Pitches, the Callbacks, the Lowkeys, the Harvard Glee Club Lite, KeyChange, and Harvard Krokodiloes.

Tennis practices also started, and I got my first taste of the 15 min walk across the beautiful Charles river to the athletic facilities located on the other side. I met the tennis team and was introduced to the workout schedule for the school year. As our first team bonding, we decided to go to the Varsity Men’s Soccer game against Northeastern.

The soccer game was the first sporting event I had been to as a Harvard student, and it was one of the most electrifying atmospheres I have ever experienced. The whole crowd came into unison, chanting and roaring after Harvard scored the first and only goal of the match, winning 1-0.