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First-Time Orientation Leader - Class of 2013
Email Will!Major: Philosophy and Economics
Will came to Illinois Wesleyan from Great Falls, VA, where he attended Langley High School. He chose IWU for a variety of reasons. He knew he wanted a small school where he could really get to know a lot of people. He also wanted small class sizes where he could build relationships with his professors. He also chose IWU because it was a new opportunity in a different part of the country than where he grew up.
Currently, Will is an intern investigator at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. He is also a baseball umpire, working games from Little League through High School to Men's Leagues. A member of the Sigma Pi fraternity, Will was also a member of the Fraternity and Sorority Programming Board. Will was also a member of the Ambassador Club. The reason he is saying "was" is because he is currently a part of the Pembroke Connection. For his Junior year Will will be studying with six other IWU students at Pembroke College (one of the colleges at Oxford University).
Will spends his free time working out, relaxing and hanging out with friends. When the weather is nice, the quad at IWU is a great place to spend time with old friends and make new ones. The advantages of a small school really come out in times like these. His favorite memory from orientation is all the fantastic people he met. Whether it was his roommate, people in his orientation group, or his orientation leader, he made some incredible relationships that are still going strong today. As annoying as the icebreakers could get, he tried to embrace them for what they were: an easy way to meet a lot of new people. Instead of complaining about how childish those icebreakers were, he walked away from them satisfied because they did their job.
Will's advice for new students:
Keep everything in perspective. Your first few weeks of college will be fantastic. Being away from home, meeting a ton of new people and going out are all going to be incredible. But college isn't all about going out. Classes are going to be hard, there will be drama with your friends and you might start to feel homesick. Enjoy the great times while you have them, but don't get too upset when things don't go exactly as you planned it. College is as much about personal growth as it is about intellectual growth and personal growth is not going to happen if everything is perfect. With the good and the bad, always remember that these will be some of the best years of your life.