senior program summer site : conversations : first session



	courtney from new york (7/21) Courtney is a New Yorker entering the 11th grade. This is her first year at Explo and she's staying for both sessions. She loves the people she's met and the science and art courses she's taken so far at the Senior Program. So what did you think of the first session? I thought it was really cool. I got to meet a lot of new people from all over the world. My roommate was from France and I met some people from Italy and Egypt, Mexico and Spain. Did you and your roommate get along? We got along really well. She spoke English really well, but I got to learn about France more and different cultures and it was nice. I think France is really cool. Would you like to visit France now? Yeah, I want to go there. Do you enjoy being a residential student? Yes, I do. You kind of get to know a group of people really well, and I got really close with my suitemates. You get to meet people from your classes, too, but you really become good friends with the people in your living group. Do you have any favorite experiences from the first session? I like the main events a lot. The hypnotist was really cool. Were you on stage for that? No, I wasn't, I was too scared at first [laughs]. So the hypnotist was cool. Anything else? The carnival night, I liked that. I hadn't really talked with a lot of people outside of my living group, and it gave me a good opportunity to talk with different people who I normally wouldn't have and meet a lot of different people. What were your classes from first session? I took environmental chemistry and painting and I thought both of those were really cool. I'm interested in the environment and I love art, too, so it was fun. Are those the sort of thing you might study in college? Yeah, I want to study environmental studies in college, so it was good. Have you started looking at colleges? Not really, but the college night helped with that. It's where representatives from a lot of colleges come and you can ask questions about the college and they give out information and ways you can contact them. So you started thinking about colleges there -- any in particular? Not right now, I'm still thinking about it. Did you go on any college trips? No, but I'm going on the Brown/Providence one this session. I'm excited. What about your second session now, what else are you looking forward to? I'm planning on going to more optional activities. I didn't really go to many of them and a lot of people in my living group went and found them really fun, so I want to do that. What kind of things did you do instead last session? Well, I had Princeton Review, so it was kind of tiring after that . . . but I went around town with my friends and went to the gym sometimes, it was fun. Do you enjoy the town? Yeah, I do. I like how it's kind of very close, you can get to places fast. And I like the stores there, and I always end up running into somebody I know there, so we end up talking. Do you know what your new classes are already? I think as of now it's immunology and photography. I'm excited for those because, again, I like science and art. Since you were here between sessions, you went on a trip yesterday, right? Yeah, we went to Providence to the mall and I saw the Batman movie and we went to see a Paw Sox game. It was fun. What did you think of the movie? I loved the movie. It was so good. Are you helping the transition of the new students for this session? Yeah, it's easy to talk to new students and kind of help them understand what's going on. If I had had some other people who had been here before helping me, I know that would have helped a lot. Are you living in the same place now? Yes, I am. And are you excited to meet some new suitemates? Yeah, I am really excited. Of my living group, there's no one staying so it will be all new people, I'm really excited for that. What do you think of the food here? It's good. Some of my friends were scared, like, "Oh, it's college food, it's not going to be good!" but it's actually good, I like it. How do you feel about being on a college campus for Explo? Does it help prepare you for college? Yeah, I think it's maybe less scary. Not the being away from home, because I used to go to camp for three weeks . . . but more being independent and having to live by myself and do things for myself. Do you find yourself enjoying that challenge? Yeah, definitely. What does Exploration mean to you? It gives me a means of meeting a variety of different people and learning about different cultures and people, making the college experience seem less scary, and doing things I normally wouldn't do at home. Is there anything this week you're looking forward to? If the hypnotist comes again I definitely want to try to get picked, it seems cool. What will you miss most about Explo? Probably the people because the people are all really nice, and I know that I already miss my suitemates a lot. My suitemate even left me a note on my bed that says, "I miss you." If you had to describe Explo as an object, what would it be and why? I guess maybe a circle. You kind of don't lose contact with anybody, you know, keeping friends for a really long time, like a circle of friends. Will you stay in touch with your friends still? Yes, I already am, I still talk to the people from the first session, and I just texted my friend too. If you were a kitchen appliance, what would you be? Umm . . . any kitchen appliance? Probably an oven, because that makes food and food is good. Especially Commons (dining hall) food, right? Yes, definitely in the kitchen in Commons I'd want to be an oven [laughs]. more conversations > first session \| second session