Welcome Week 2009
It's been a crazy couple of days! But this is the time of year that I love the most: Peer Leader Training and Welcome Week!!! For 2 weeks, you are thrown together with 44 other people who are completely different from you in every way possible and 20 seconds after you're introduced to each other there are tasks to be completed, sessions to be learned and new students to meet. It's the fastest way to gain a family that I can think of....and after that 2 weeks that's exactly what they are: FAMILY. I think that's why this is one of my favorite things to be a part in at Belhaven. Not many other groups/events/organizations can bring this many people together that well and that fast. It's been such a joy to watch complete strangers work toward a goal like this and come out fast friends.
This year has been a little different for me because I am a PLA (Peer Leader Assistant). The previous 2 years I've been a PL. I ate it up! I enjoyed everything from filming the video, the task list and getting to spend the week with 15 new freshmen and transfers. Those 15 quickly became my "kids" and I had really good partners both years, the second year I even got to partner with one of my "kids" from the previous year :) But this year I'm on BLC and was an intern all summer in the Office of Student Leadership so it just made sense that I became a PLA. It's a little more intense and involved but I'm eating it up too! It's only the second full day of training and I'm already exhausted but none the less excited! Sunday night and Monday went off with out a hitch, but today we hit a little snag: Our Video guy was a no show. It but a kink in our schedule but the team was so flexible and we were totally able to switch gears and I think we're back on track now. So incredible to witness!!
BLC has been a completely different bird, not in a bad way, but I'm slowly beginning to realize how huge a responsibility this really is. I definitely didn't think is was going to be, but I'm learning the details of how much work this is actually going to be, and I couldn't be more pumped!!
I do have to give a shout out to my Boss and friend Jo Beth Petty. 3 years ago, I was a freshman coming up on the end of the year and no less a wall flower than I had been when I stepped on campus for the first time. That first year of Peer Leading was a turning point in the way I saw myself and my role in college. Between then and now, JB has helped me to grow so much through her leadership and encouragement. I highly doubt that I would be who I am today if she hadn't seen what she did in me that first year of Peer Leading and gave me opportunities to grow my strengths, allowed me to make mistakes and put her trust in me at times when I doubted if I could do it or not. I know for a fact I wouldn't be on BLC or have the confidence in myself to be PLA. She has definitely been a defining person in my life.
Here's to Welcome Week 2010!!
