Crimson Key Society

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Junior Parents Weekend

March 5, 2013 in Kemie's Blog by Kemie | 1 comment

It’s about 11:30 pm on a Tuesday. I have set up shop on the third floor of Lamont Library because I’m supposed to be writing a paper on the meaning of “union” following the American Revolution, but I can’t stop reminiscing about the weekend.

Daydreaming in Lamont

Daydreaming (procrastinating) in Lamont

I am fixated on the weekend, now days behind me, because it was not simply your standard Harvard weekend.  This past weekend was Junior Parents Weekend (JPW), a special time when the University invites the parents of third year students to visit campus and enjoy a weekend of college-sponsored programming. There’s also a similar weekend set aside for first years students in the fall called Freshman Parents Weekend. But this weekend was all about my mom and me.

I still can’t believe my mom was just here.  I’m from Northern Virginia, so the trip from home to school is not a particularly epic journey.  It pales in comparison to the trips that my west coast/international friends have to deal with every time they go home.  In fact, I’m just a short ninety-minute flight from the comfort of family and home when I’m at school.  That being said, my mom is a full-time elementary school guidance counselor and a mother of four, so she doesn’t make it up to Cambridge very often.  JPW was just her fourth time visiting campus (she also came for Move-In Day, Freshman Parents Weekend, and random visit this past July).  Given the rarity of our mother-daughter visits, my mom and I made the most of our time together.

Friday morning, I packed a carry-on bag full of clothes, toiletries, and books for the weekend so that I could move in with my mom for the weekend.  Honestly, I think that my bag for my trip from Currier in the Quad to my mom’s hotel room on the River outweighed her luggage for her trip from Fairfax, VA to Cambridge, MA.  The span of time from check-in on Friday to check-out on Sunday was pretty much a blur of friendly introductions and good food, but a few moments stand out in my memory.

The highlight of the day on Friday was having my mom tag along on my weekly tour.  Every Friday I give a historical tour of Harvard Yard through the Crimson Key Society.  The tours are open to the public, so it was a lot of fun seeing my mom’s reaction to my tour and watching her interact with the tourists in my group.  The best part of the day on Saturday was taking my mom to see this year’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals show.  Like I mentioned in some of my posts from last year, a lot of my friends are involved with the production of the show, so that made sharing the experience with my mom even more special.  She also got a kick out of the male students dressed as women, since the show is essentially a drag-musical! Finally, the standout memory from Sunday was ordering room service and sharing breakfast in bed with my mom before her flight home.

Me, Mom, and John Harvard

My mom and me with John Harvard after my tour.

Overall, the weekend was fun, relaxing, and a great way to center myself before tackling midterm papers this week.  Speaking of which, I should really get back to work now! I can’t keep daydreaming about Junior Parents Weekend and missing my mom. Although, honestly, I miss the restaurant meals at least as much as I miss her…

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YOSYO (You Only Senior Year Once)

September 22, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 6 comments

It’s such a strange feeling being a senior. The start to the semester has been incredibly busy, and I echo Caroline’s sentiments about senior year being a completely different experience than any of the others. I’ve also been putting myself out there in the job search, trying to get my foot in the door somewhere. I’ve been learning a lot about different industries and trying to see where I feel like my skills could have the most impact. It’s a pretty daunting idea–the thought of entering the working world scares me a lot. I love school and have found a home in Harvard that I don’t want to leave.

Before the job search, I was able to have fun with the Crimson Key Society (CKS), which is a service organization Caroline, Kemie, and myself are a part of. CKS is essentially Harvard’s welcoming committee, and we give campus tours and run Freshman Week (what we call first-year student orientation). Some highlights include the First Chance Dance, the Freshman Talent Show, as well as our annual showing of Love Story. We all dress up in 70’s gear and dance outside the Science Center to songs by music groups like The Jackson 5 and The Bee Gees before the showing of the movie, which is always a lot of fun!

My friend, Jill, and I before our showing of Love Story!

My friend, Jill, and I before our showing of Love Story!

Besides getting back into the swing of things, my dorm building, Quincy House, recently had our annual Field Day and Exorcism. There are 4 teams each year: sophomores, juniors, seniors, and staff, and every team has a different colored t-shirt. While Field Day sounds like a sporting event, you actually don’t need much athletic ability at all. And yes, the entire staff of our House show up to compete, from our Housemasters, Lee and Deb, to our House administrator, Larry, to our Resident Dean, Judith, and our entire staff of Tutors and even their children! We compete against each other in balloon toss, dizzy bat races, limbo, and tug of war (to name a few), and it’s just an overall great welcome back event that gets everyone involved in some friendly competition. I was the limbo champion last fall, only to experience a bit of an upset when I got eliminated in the second to last round this year. An even bigger upset, however, was when my class (2013–the defending champions from last year), came in second behind the staff.

...seconds before an epic fail of falling in the second to last round!

…seconds before an epic fail of falling

Senior year has been quite a ride already and it’s only been a few weeks! I’ve met some amazing new people and I’m super excited for what’s to come. I’ll keep you all updated–best of luck to those students in the States who also just recently started school! #YOLO #YOSYO!

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My Fourth Freshman Orientation!

September 5, 2012 in Caroline B's Blog by Caroline Burke | Permalink

Upperclassmen at Harvard have the opportunity to be really closely involved with freshman orientation, and many sophomores, juniors, and seniors jump at the chance to help new students with their transition to the College. Whether it’s by leading a pre-orientation program (Dorm Crew, FAP, FUP, FIP, or FOP), running events during Freshman Week, or advising first years, there are a hundred different ways to get involved. Personally, I am one of a rare few (in fact, there are only three of us) to get completely submerged with all things “freshman” by participating in the trifecta of orientation opportunities: advising freshmen in Wigglesworth Hall as a Peer Advising Fellow (PAF), leading orientation activities with the Crimson Key  Society, and backpacking through New Hampshire wilderness on FOP 20. This definitely means I’ve seen a LOT of the Class of 2016 over the past two weeks, but it’s been worth it!

First Up: First-Year Outdoor Program and FOP 20 

I’ve written a lot about FOP in past posts, between my time on Steering Committee and my training trip from this past spring, so I won’t go into too much detail, but I was lucky enough to lead my last backpacking orientation trip this August and I had an absolute blast. This year we had a group of eight freshmen and I co-led with Michael, a junior from Lowell House. We were in the Pemigewassett Wilderness in New Hampshire and hiked along “the Bonds,” a series of peaks with incredible views of the surrounding mountains. Aside from literally five minutes of rain, we had picture perfect weather the entire trip, which made the whole thing even more enjoyable. Leading my last trip was admittedly a little bittersweet, but I was so glad I took the chance to go out one last time before the craziness of senior year.

Senior FOP Leaders just before heading out to meet our trips!

My trip! FOP 20 in New Hampshire

Peer Advising in Wigglesworth

After two years of advising students in Matthews Hall, this year I’ve moved to Wigglesworth F to work with a group of 23 freshmen alongside two other PAFs and a new proctor. So far, the experience has been great – it seems like the entryway is already getting along super well, and it was a ton of fun getting to talk to them all during orientation. While PAFs have responsibilities throughout the course of the year (planning study breaks, holding advising meetings), our efforts are particularly focused during orientation and shopping week, during which time we’re expected to help freshmen get settled into school and talk them through picking their first classes. As a full entryway team, we had several meetings over the course of orientation to talk about life in Wigg F and what freshmen should expect out of their first few weeks of school. In addition, I’m personally assigned to work with eight freshmen, meeting with them individually and offering advice on everything from class selection to extracurriculars to roommate issues.

I got a chance to sit down with all of my advisees over the course of this weekend, and it was so nice to get to know them on a more personal level. As a senior, it’s a bit of a time warp listening to freshmen talk their way through major decisions impacting their life: whether to take top or bottom bunk, how to make the most of the activities fair, or whether or not to go to the First Chance Dance with the rest of the class. I definitely experienced many of the same questions and thoughts during my own freshman orientation, and it always “brings me back” when I’m talking to brand new students during their first few days on campus. What a great reminder of all I’ve experienced to do this right before launching into senior year!

John Harvard dressed up for Move-In Day

FWK and CKS 

In the Crimson Key world, Freshman Week (or, as we like to abbreviate it, FWK) is the biggest event of the entire year: many of us spend the weeks and months leading up to it counting down and planning in anticipation. Of course, a lot of the excitement comes from the fact that Key gets to plan and execute many of the major events that occur during orientation, including the Freshman Talent Show, First Chance Dance, and small scale social activities for the new class. While the freshmen do have to spend a lot of their time going to formal meetings and seminars on life at Harvard, they also get to attend a bunch of fun activities during Freshman Week – and Key gets the pleasure of providing this “fun”. As might be expected, there are a lot of hours required to pull off FWK, which means that it’s all hands on deck for Crimson Key members. Each of the 90 members are expected to put in a number of shifts over the course of the week, ranging from 4:45 am move-in shifts on the first day to late-night clean-ups after the freshman dance. We get to wear bright red t-shirts (yes, the same shirt all week) and enjoy the fun ourselves, though, so it makes the time well worth it.

Crimson Key members staffing the Information Tent on Move-In

FWK is also highly anticipated because it offers a rare chance for the upperclassmen from Key to just hang out and enjoy each other’s company for an entire week before classes start. Key is a group of fun, outgoing, ridiculous people, and we always do a good job of entertaining ourselves over the course of FWK – whether that be on shift, going out in the Square, or just relaxing in someone’s dorm room. Many of us refer to Freshman Week as “Camp Harvard,” a time when we all get to hang out and enjoy campus and each other without the pressures of classes or extracurriculars weighing down on us.

Senior CKS members dressed up for our Love Story movie screening

Move-In and the First Day of Class 

While I definitely have spent a LOT of time with freshmen over the past two weeks, I’ve also been busy moving myself into my own dorm room, hanging out with my roommates, and picking classes for my fall semester. We’re living on the fourth floor of Dunster this year, and while our incredible views of the river make the trek upstairs well worth it, moving all of our furniture up four flights was definitely…an adventure. A few Zipcar rentals and a hearty helping of elbow grease later, though, we managed to get our three (count them – 3) couches into our big senior common room. As far as class selection goes, I’m still definitely in the throes of shopping week – for once, I don’t have any requirements to fulfill this semester, which leaves me the challenge of finding awesome electives for this fall. It’s both exciting and a bit overwhelming to head into course shopping with little definition of what I’ll be taking, but I’m eager to see what I come up with at the end of the week!

The full blocking group at the Dunster “welcome back” cookout

Move-in struggles

And to close out the post, I’m including a photo of my roommates and me from this morning – our last first day of school!

Last First Day of School!

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Hanging out with Crimson Key!

April 22, 2012 in Caroline B's Blog by Caroline Burke | Permalink

Yesterday marked a FANTASTIC end to the week: in addition to it being generally beautiful out (75 and sunny!), I got to spend nearly the entire day with friends from Crimson Key Society. Crimson Key is one of the main extracurriculars I’m involved with, and is a group that I’ve really come to love as an undergrad, so it was awesome to hang out all afternoon with friends. Key is what I like to think of as the official “welcome committee” for Harvard College: in addition to giving historical campus tours three times a day, we run freshman orientation, staff freshman and junior parents’ weekend, and help out at Commencement each spring. As might be expected out of a bunch of tour guides, Crimson Key is generally really enthusiastic, energetic, and outgoing, so it makes for a really fun group of friends to hang out with.

Crimson Key during freshman orientation

My day with Key started with an afternoon game of softball across the river by the Stadium. One of my favorite (random) things about Harvard is that a few of the student organizations on campus run a softball league in the spring, which is really laid back and just offers an opportunity for students to enjoy the spring weather and hang out on the weekends. The league includes a wide variety of groups, ranging from the Harvard Band to Hasty Pudding Theatricals to the Crimson; yesterday, we were playing the Advocate (a literary magazine). The one downside about the league being so laid back is that we don’t actually have any formal equipment – we like to call it a BYOG league (“bring your own glove”). Unfortunately, since neither the Advocate nor Crimson Key remembered to bring a baseball bat, our softball game turned into an impromptu kickball game played with a soccer ball, which ended up being a blast! Luckily Key had brought a couple ex-soccer players, so we ended up beating the Advocate 15-8. It was so nice to be able to enjoy the weather!

Key celebrating the softball/kickball win!

Key softball/kickball then transitioned into pick ups/welcoming of new Key members who just got into the organization. We have 33 new members in total! Over the course of spring semester, Crimson Key runs a “comp” process where students who are interested in joining go through a couple rounds of interviews and evaluations. “Comp” is a concept employed by a number of organizations on campus – while it originally stood for “competition,” comp now stands for “competency” and just means that each group determines a way to train and evaluate potential new members. For Crimson Key, students have to prepare a “model tour,” where they memorize the full historical tour and present it for evaluation in front of current members.  Last night was when “compers” found out that they had gotten into the organization – overall, 33 new members were welcomed! It was so much fun to get everyone together and celebrate the end of comp and the start of a new year with Key.

Three of your favorite bloggers! Kemie, Scott, and I are all in Key together

In totally separate news, this weekend is Visitas, or visitation weekend! I snapped the picture below when I was at a New England reception that was being held in the Quad. It’s sort of scary to realize that my own prefrosh weekend was three years ago!

Springtime (and prefrosh) in the Quad!

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Comp Key!

March 25, 2012 in Scott's Blog by Scott Yim | 2 comments

One of the organizations I am a member of is the Crimson Key Society (CKS), which, according to our official website, “is the premier organization dedicated to serving the Harvard University community. Throughout the year, CKS leads daily campus tours and participates in TEACH, a community outreach program for Cambridge Middle Schools. We also run Freshman Orientation Week each fall, usher Commencement services in June as well as help plan and organize a host of campus-wide activities, including Arts First weekend and the visiting parents weekends.” I joined my freshman spring, after making it through our “comp.”

While many extracurricular clubs on campus are open for anyone to join, there are some organizations that have a “comp” process. Comp is a time period that can last anywhere from a week to months, depending on the club, where students essentially “try out” to be a member. Some organizations accept all students who complete the comp, while others are more evaluative and selective. Key’s comp consists of a written application, an in-person interview (where the candidate presents one stop of a campus tour), and the presentation of two full, hour-long tours to two different current members who evaluate you. However, each comp is usually unique to that organization. For example, my friend Ginny is comping The Crimson as an article contributor, where she has to write 14 articles within a few weeks, after which she’ll be evaluated on the quality of her pieces, making deadlines, etc.

Crimson Key Society Comp Social

Kemie and I at the Crimson Key Society Comp Social!

This weekend, CKS had our Comp Social, where compers had the opportunity to talk to current members and meet the people who would be evaluating their tours. Kemie is actually a CKS board member. Her role is Tour Coordinator, so she’s one of the people who assigns all tours, as well as TEACH shifts. There are currently 82 candidates left for (I think) 32 spots! I got to meet a freshman and a sophomore that I will be evaluating within the next two weeks. They were both really nice and enthusiastic, and I can’t wait for their tours. It’s refreshing to hear someone else’s tour, because I’ve given mine using my own style for about two years now. I always end up learning something new on someone else’s tour because besides the bare historical facts and dates for the buildings, everybody puts their own spin on things. I love knowing Harvard’s history, and walking around campus each time I give a tour reminds me how lucky I am and how much I enjoy studying here. The anecdotes and history of the buildings are super interesting, so I definitely recommend that you head over to the Information Center at the Holyoke Center and sign up for a tour if you’re ever visiting campus! Well worth the hour–you won’t regret it!

 

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#backtocambridge

January 20, 2012 in Kemie's Blog by Kemie | 4 comments

Greetings from Cambridge!

As you might know already, I am an Information Office tour guide through the Crimson Key Society (Key).  I just gave my first tour of the semester, and I have to admit that it got me really excited about the upcoming semester.  I’ve been basically bumming around campus since I flew back to Cambridge on Sunday, but now it’s time to start thinking about classes and activities for the spring.

Monday is the first day of Shopping Period, which is the week or so when students are allowed to sample the courses that they are considering for the semester.  I plan on taking four classes this semester, one of which will be my History and Literature tutorial for concentrators.  My tutorial will meet for three hours every Monday, which sounds painful but I actually think that it will be my favorite course this semester.  My field in History and Literature (or Hist and Lit) is America, and the seminar will focus on New York City.  I was checking out the syllabus earlier this week, and the readings are on point.  I’m genuinely excited to read and discuss The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald), The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton), and Angels in America (Tony Kushner) to name a few.

Cugat's Cover Art for The Great Gatsby

Francis Cugat's cover art for The Great Gatsby.

Honestly, my biggest problem right now is figuring out where to put all of my books for the coming semester.  I didn’t sell any of my texts from the fall, and I couldn’t take them all home with me over break, so my bookshelf is kind of running low on space.  Aside from my tutorial, the rest of my schedule is up in the air, so this Shopping Period will be heavy on the shopping.  I’ll let you guys know what I decide in my next week or next.

My Book Shelf

Books on books on books.

Outside of the classroom I am looking forward to dedicating lots and lots of time to Crimson Key.  I can’t remember if I mentioned it in any of my posts last semester, but I ran and won a spot on the Crimson Key Board as a Tour Coordinator.  My job is basically to work with the Information Office to staff historic tours of Harvard Yard.  I love Key and I love tours (and I especially love a good e-mail) so it’s actually a match made in heaven.  Also, Crimson Key runs its comp* from February through April so that’s where I’ll be focusing a lot of my time and energy this semester.

Last but not least, I have some disappointing news to report.  Unfortunately, I have already failed to stick to one of my resolutions for 2012.  I’ve only been back at school for about 5 days, and I have already indulged in numerous non-HUDS (Harvard University Dining Services) treats.  In this short window of opportunity I have been basically hemorrhaging money thanks to two visits to Pinkberry, a stop at Broadway Market for Sushi, a soup and sandwich meal at Crema Café, a Boloco burrito dinner, and numerous mid-day Starbucks drinks.  I am a sham and a failure.  Hopefully I’ll show more discipline in regards to my other resolutions…

I’m looking forward to writing next week!  Hopefully you all have been stronger than I have been in the New Year.

*Comp, which is kind of short for “competency”, is the process of joining a student organization here on campus.  Some student groups have comps, some don’t.  Some comps are more competitive than others.  At the end of the day it is just another dimension of student life. (Paraphrased from Inside Harvard by the CKS)

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#auldlangsyne

December 30, 2011 in Kemie's Blog by Kemie | 2 comments

Greetings from the endless haze of naping, reading, and snacking that is otherwise known as my life during J-term (winter break)!

Since New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to share some of my Harvard/Cambridge related resolutions with you all.  I’m usually not very good about sticking to my resolutions past the first week of the New Year, but maybe sharing this list in a public forum will help hold me accountable.

Happy New Year!

1. Stop buying food in Harvard Square during dining hall hours.

I made a nasty habit of eating non-HUDS (Harvard University Dining Services) meals last semester, and it really took a toll on my bank account balance.  In the beginning it was harmless.  I started off with a mini cup of frozen yogurt from Pinkberry (coconut yogurt with granola and honey, if you please) here and there, but the next thing I knew it had escalated to a regular sized burrito (buffalo chicken!) from Boloco’s with a nutella milkshake multiple times a week.

I love the food in the Square, and I’m not willing to sacrifice all of my little indulgences.  As a compromise, I think that I could stand to stay away from these treats when the dining halls are open.  Especially since eating in the dining hall is free, so it’s a money-saving alternative.

2. Spend more time in Widener.

I love a good study space.  Freshman year I lived in Canaday, so I was all about getting my work done in the Canaday basement, Cabot Science Library in the Science Center, and Lamont Library.

This year (my sophomore year) I decided to switch things up.  Since I live in Pforzheimer House (Pfoho) in the Quad, it doesn’t really make sense for me to study in the Canaday basement or Cabot Library anymore.  Last semester I went to Lamont whenever I wanted to get work done on the River, and I would go to the Pfoho Library (Pflibrary) when I wanted to be productive in the Quad.

However, towards the middle of the semester I stumbled into the Loker Reading Room (and the Atkins Reference Room) in Widener Library, and it was a total game changer.  Widener is a striking building from the outside, but the interior is absolutely stunning.   Plus, people that go to Widener generally mean business so there’s this peer pressure to be productive.

The Loker Reading Room and the Atkins Reference Room

3. Take the time to explore Boston.

Whenever I am home and catching up with my friends and family, people always ask me, “How’s Boston?” and I am never able to give them a legitimate answer.  I tell them that Cambridge is amazing, but I can’t tell them anything about Boston-proper because I rarely venture out of the Harvard bubble.  In fact, the only time that I step outside of Cambridge is when I feel the need to hit the shops on Newbury Street.

It’s a shame that I haven’t taken the leap, because there are some things that I am dying to do in the city.  Here are a few:

a. Have a picnic in the Common, the city’s oldest public park, on a sunny afternoon.

b. Spend an afternoon in the Museum of Fine Arts (especially to view van Gogh’s Houses at Auvers).  I’m not actually that much of a visual arts enthusiast, but after I spent last summer in Barcelona I came to appreciate the calm of a good museum visit.  I especially want to take a look at Houses at Auvers because I visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York last year and saw The Starry Night. I just thought the texture of the painting in person was the coolest thing, and so I want to take a look at another van Gogh.

The Starry Night

The Starry Night

House at Auvers

House at Auvers

c. Visit the Massachusetts State House.  My favorite part about the tours that I give (as a member of the Crimson Key Society) is learning about the architecture and the history of the buildings on campus.  I really want to get a good look at the Massachusetts State House because Charles Bulfinch designed it.  He’s the same architect responsible for University Hall in Harvard Yard.  He’s also a Harvard graduate!

 

Massachusetts State House

Massachusetts State House

University Hall

University Hall

d. Take the time to visit the New England Aquarium.  I don’t have any pets or anything, but for some reason I love zoos and aquariums.  Since I’m from Northern Virginia, I visit the National Zoo in D.C. and the National Aquarium in Baltimore a lot.  I’m ready for something new!

Honestly, the list could just go on, and on, and on.  The point is that there are a million and one things to do around campus, but I need to make a conscious effort to see what Boston has to offer as well.

4. Go to office hours.  Undergraduate professors and teaching fellows hold regular “office hours”, during which students are welcome to stop by and get to know their professors.  The idea is to make the faculty accessible so that students and faculty members can build strong relationships outside of lecture and section.  I’ve never really taken advantage of office hours.

Every semester, I tell myself that I will go, but the second that I get busy I use my schoolwork and other commitments as an excuse to opt out.  It’s really a shame and a waste of a great opportunity.  This spring I intend on attending at least one office hour session for each of my classes.

5. Take a class pass/fail.  This is probably the trickiest resolution, and I’ll most likely put it off until next fall. There’s no sound reasoning behind this one.  I’m really just curious to see how it would effect the way I learn and treat my assignment.

I think that’s just about it.  Those are my Harvard-related resolutions for 2012! Hopefully posting them to this blog will keep me honest in the coming year.  Wish me luck and discipline!  Hopefully you’ve had the opportunity to reflect on 2011 and come up with some resolutions of your own.  Here’s to an exciting new year!

 

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#lazysunday

November 4, 2011 in Kemie's Blog by Kemie | 6 comments

If you’ve taken a look at my short biography on the “Meet Your Bloggers” page, you’ll know that I’m a member of the Crimson Key Society.  The Crimson Key Society (Key for short) serves the Harvard Community by leading tours, helping with large events, and by through a service program called TEACH.   Adding to the tradition of service, I volunteered to spend the day working on a Habitat for Humanity house in Boston with a group from Key.  Here’s the general deal: Harvard has its own Habitat for Humanity house that a bunch of different student groups have been contributing to over time, and the Crimson Key Society decided to get in on the action.  It was such a great experience, and I can’t help but share it with all of you.

It was a really refreshing change from my typical Lazy Sunday.   Key is full of outgoing and exciting individuals, so I knew that I was in for a good time.  We all decided ahead of time that if we were working with power tools, we needed to look the part.  With that in mind, we assigned a “lumberjack” theme to the outing.  It was a fun little spin on the day.  We all came out in flannel and jeans, ready to get some serious construction done.

After a brief orientation, and a few words of caution, we were let loose on the house.  Even though I had signed up to participate in the build, I hadn’t really given much thought to the fact that I would be expected to perform manual labor.  The experience taught me that I have absolutely no future in construction work.  In fact, I can confidently cross it off my list of potential careers.  Regardless of my inability to properly wield a hammer, it was a FANTASTIC day.

Everyone having fun during a work break.

The obligatory post-build photo shoot.

My team worked on placing the siding onto the house, so we were up on rafters most of the time.  It was so scary! There were a couple of moments that really had me frightened, but it at the same time it was kind of great to overcome my minor fear of heights.  We were responsible for measuring, cutting, and placing the panels on the house.  Like I said, I am no handy-woman, but there is something to be said about getting to see the physical results of your labor.  Each time I successfully hammered a nail into a panel this ridiculous feeling of pride came over me.

Separate from the service part of the trip, it was really nice to be able to spend more time with the people I love from Key.  It felt more like a social event, than work.  When it was time to hand up our tool belts, I didn’t want to leave.  Working on the Habitat house was a nice change of pace for me, because I don’t usually take the time to venture into Boston.  It’s too easy to get caught inside the Harvard Bubble, so I know that I would love to do something like this again in the future.  Hopefully Key will do it again, and I can update everyone on the status of the house!

The group of volunteers from Crimson Key Society, as well as volunteers from Habitat for Humanity.

The crew after at the end of the day. All smiles!

 

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