By JOHN RETTEW
“North, North!” yelled the crowd of boys emerging from the woods.
They were on their way to the square dance that marked the unofficial closing of orientation activities at the Advanced Studies Program (ASP) and everyone in the group was decked out with bandannas, flannels, and other ‘square dance’ clothes.
The boys were not just dressed up and shouting because they were excited for the dance, though: their actions and appearance were their way of expressing their pride for the dormitory in which they lived, North House.
Many teenagers arrive at the ASP having never spent over a month away from home. Almost all are placed in dorms with other unfamiliar kids that they are forced to get to know and learn to live with for five weeks. For many, the ASP can be hard to get used to, which is why interns, house supervisors, and assistant directors all work to encourage and foster a sense of dorm pride.
As soon as they arrive at the ASP, students begin to form a close bond with others in their house. Interns working with each house hang themed name tags on dorm room doors and they encourage students to come up with creative ways to bond as a house through social activities like serenades and feeds. These efforts aim to help students as they start to develop dorm pride, a quality that enables students to get to know each other and unite as a group.
This bond between dorm mates is also encouraged by ASP administrators as well, as it helps students establish relationships within their dorm and eases their transition into a new atmosphere.
When asked how dorm pride helped her adapt to the ASP atmosphere, Assistant Director and ASP alumna Hillary Paul said, “it’s nice to come into a place where everyone is in the same situation as you, and everyone is going to have the same problems that you are going to have, and working through those problems together creates a really great dorm bond.”
Ford House formed their bond by creating a list of words to live by that including respect, caring, unity, and friendship. The girls say that their dorm pride helped them all come together under the common identity of Ford, and helped the girls to get to know each other better.
“Dorm pride is crucial to establish relationships right off the bat,” said North House intern Nate Green.
Ford residents Ellie Rettew, Hayley Berg, Lauren Wingate, Victoria Bassi, and Lindsey Luker also used a spin on the Ford Automotive catch phrase to create their dorm motto: “Ford girls, built tough”.
Wing House resident Morgan Matthews fractured her toe at the beginning of the program and had to sit out of many of her dorm activities as a result. She felt miserable until her dorm mates recognized her suffering and rallied around her to cheer her up.
“On the second day, we felt like we had been together for the whole five weeks already,” Ms. Matthews said.
Dorm pride is a necessary part of the ASP because it allows students to gain friends through planning dorm activities like serenades and feeds together. It lets students becomes comfortable in an unfamiliar living environment that many of them have never experienced before.
Without a doubt, dorm pride is essential to surviving and thriving at the Advanced Studies Program.
No comments:
Post a Comment