junior program summer site : conversations : second session



	Andrew from Massachusetts (8/5) Andrew, a seventh grade residential Voyager, is busy working on his still life drawing in "See it, Sign it, Sketch it." In "Explo Isles," he's in the process of creating his own island kingdom, named after himself. On his island, everyone gets a free car, but don't plan on visiting if you're afraid of commitment -- it's real estate only, no vacationing! So what were you up to yesterday? Yesterday I had activities in the morning. Then, I went to my classes which are “See it, Sketch it, Sign it” and “Explo Isles.” What are you up to in “See it, Sketch it, Sign it”? It's drawing, mostly with charcoal and also doing a little painting and stuff. We've been doing mostly still lifes. Like, our teacher will set up a still life and then help us draw it and shade it. I've done some drawing and art before, so it's stuff I'm used to, but we do some new things too. And what's “Explo Isles” like? It's cool. We're making islands. We have to figure out the weather, the physical scale of the island. We have to figure out the government and agriculture and all of that. We split up into groups every day and do one task at a time. My island is pretty tropical, but it still has all four seasons. You get a free car if you live on it, so it's pretty nice. It's not much of a vacation island, though, and we haven't figured out the government yet. It's named after me. Classy move. What are your teachers like? They're pretty fun. Kielynne is my art teacher. She's a lot of fun and she's helpful whenever we're having trouble drawing. Marissa teaches “Explo Isles.” She's a lot of fun and her class is really cool. It's exciting because we get to create an entire island and everything about it. How do your teachers here compare to your teachers at school? My teachers at home are a lot stricter. You have a lot more freedom here at Explo than you do at school. Like, at school we have tests and homework, and everything about that is really strict. But we don't have that here. Awesome. What's your favorite thing that you've done so far at Explo? The trips! I'd say the simulated skydiving trip was probably the best one so far. It just feels like you're falling through the air and it's a lot of fun. They put you in a suit with goggles and ear plugs and everything, and then you enter a vertical wind tunnel. . . you stay in for about three minutes. It was unbelievable. We went mini-golfing after, and that was a lot of fun too. I did it two years ago, but I don't remember it being as much fun. We didn't go mini-golfing after, two years ago. After three years, what does the word “Explo” mean to you? When I think about Explo, I think about having a good time here, because I've had a good time here for the past two years, and I'm having a great time now. Tell me a bit about your residential hall. My hall is a lot of fun. Living on West Campus with the rest of the seventh graders is cool, too. We have some more privileges than Main Campus, and it's cool to kind of have our own space to ourselves. In my hall, we're always hanging out and doing stuff. . . playing games and just having fun. We usually just hang out in different people's rooms. Everyone is nice in the hall. Our RA's are fun, too. If Explo was a dessert, what would it be and why? That's too hard. No matter what, it would be a tasty one that looked awesome, too. It's kind of like how Explo looks like a lot of fun . . . and is really cool, too. more conversations > first session \| second session