senior program summer site : conversations : first session



	will from connecticut (7/17) Will is a sophomore from Connecticut and he’s here at Explo for his first summer. He wants to be a journalist and loves public art and Andy Warhol. What is your first course and how has it been going? I’m taking print journalism as my first course, it’s cool. I like to write a lot, and I want to be a journalist . . . so I like it a lot. I’m actually doing an article on ten things you left at home and didn’t pack. It’s actually going to be in the newspaper and I’m very excited about that. What newspaper? In journalism we are making one, it’s called Explozed. It’s pretty cool. What are some of the things people have been forgetting? It varies. There’s soap – which is disgusting – sun block lotion, and a lot of people forgot their camera. I went around and took a poll. I pretty much asked people if they had the stuff or what is something they know they forgot. The first one was actually an alarm clock. That’s pretty neat. What do you think attracts you to journalism? I love writing about people and things. I’m not really much of a math or science person. I love the energy about it; you are always on the move doing stuff. I know I couldn’t do business or something like that, because I can’t sit behind a desk; I need to be able to move and then write about it. What about your second course? It’s public art. We do public art, like graffiti, but it has to be legal. We’ve also done sculptures of people with paper. If you saw the blue people on the gate, that was mine. They are supposed to symbolize different things. We are learning about how to do legal public art, and the history of it and modern public art. I love art. And I love crazy art. So public art is really, really cool for me. Do you have a favorite public artist? I have a favorite artist. Andy Warhol. But you could say he’s kind of pop art/public art because a lot of people do stencils of him on graffiti walls. I love pop art and his ideas of taking peoples faces and making them different colors. He is a very random person and I love random things. You mentioned you made the blue men on the fence, what was the symbolism behind that? Basically, it was three different people holding chains together on the gate. It was suppose to symbolize the unity of Explo. Kind of, like, we are a combined force and even if you can’t find someone who you connect with immediately, you are always going to have a group of people that give you a sense of unity at this Program. We are like a big family, all 700 of us. What about your afternoon academics? I took the PSAT class. It’s really cool, I got a 1520 on my first try, which wasn’t that good, but that was my first try, but then I raised it to a 1720. I was very excited about that. I was very proud of myself, because I'm not that good at math and I had one of the highest raises in math. A lot of work, but it's good. I would recommend it. It’s really worth it, especially for me, at least, because I really have taken no other training in PSAT or SAT. I feel like I have a head start now when I go back to school. Is there a main event that you are looking forward to this last week? I’m very much looking forward to the peace fair. From what I've heard, it’s a bunch of different things to raise your awareness. I’m really into the whole being aware of different issues in the world . . . so if I'm getting this right, there are different awareness zones, interactive booths – like poverty and racism. I’m really excited, because I like when people get out of their ‘norm’ and introduce themselves to different things. What advice would you give someone coming to Explo for the first time? Be open-minded. I was very closed-minded the first day, and that doesn’t really help you. Make friends within your living group because you will be living with them – [laughs] – so get to know them. Also, have fun. Don’t be pessimistic about things. And get involved! Because there are so many great activities going on here, and if you stay in your dorm room all day you are not going to have as much fun as you could. I would just be interactive and open-minded about everything. more conversations > first session \| second session