And Then We Came to the End

Wow. It's over. It's really, seriously, over. I still woke up way too early today, but I woke up without wondering whether the Labyrinth got taken in off the quad (it did) or whether the caterer knew where to set the coffee (he did - thanks, Ben).

Last night, because of the more casual feel of dinner, we didn't get a chance to say very many of the thank yous that are owed around campus. Although the two of us (in our pink shirts) were among the most visible of the folks running around the past week, this truly was a community-wide effort to welcome new students.

We'll send personal thank you notes, but everyone who helped us out deserves a very public welcome as well.

To our 78 panelists who came and shared their stories, their advice, and their notes on plagiarism with you: THANK YOU.

To the 34 small group volunteers who came in on a Sunday afternoon to get "trained" and to help us stuff folders, and then totally rocked the following week's worth of programming: THANK YOU. (We even made you do a scavenger hunt! You're awesome!)

To the chapel team, who planned worship every day: THANK YOU.

To Jason, who managed all of the food for BTFO: THANK YOU!

To Denice, who filled our social calendar and kept the party going at karaoke and the coffee shop: THANK YOU.

To Kevin, who took care of childcare; and to Jenny, Katelyn, Will, and Sara who stepped up to help Kevin: THANK YOU.

To Katie, her sister Meg(h?)an, and Scott, who washed more dishes than I would have thought possible: THANK YOU.

To the entire student affairs/Seabury administrative wing (Dale, Mike, Julie, Mary Ann, Lisa, Jan, Anna, and Melissa): thanks for letting us hang out in your conference room, giving us pep talks when we needed them, and supplying us with scavenger hunt questions! (I'm still sorry we used up all of your toner. My bad.)

To Sachin, who made all of our tech stuff work: THANK YOU.

To the YDS custodial staff, who were the first people we saw every morning, and did everything we asked for and more: THANK YOU.

And finally to our unsung grab-bag volunteers, who showed up and did whatever we asked of them: Andy, who grilled and moved chairs; Hannah, who came out of nowhere to help with coffee hour; Sean, who helped move pizzas and made me laugh; Rainey, who took care of everything on Friday; Rachel, who put tampons in all the bathrooms; John, who cleaned the quad; James, who made the thoroughly excellent Labyrinth signs; Delfin, who supported us every evening; Jason, who was a model spouse; and Eric, who grilled, mixed drinks, and did so much else ... to you also, thank you, thank you and THANK YOU.

This post could seriously go on for ever. The way I described to at least one person was "You know, I feel like I did a giant trust fall into the arms of this community, and it actually worked." This totally could have ended up like Mean Girls*, where that one girl just gets dropped, but instead it really, really worked.**

The advice of at least the 2007 BTFO leadership team was pretty simple: do a good job, and then leave. I'm taking them at their word, and heading out later today for upstate New York, where there is not a divvie in sight:


When I get back, it will be September, time for classes to start, and time for me to actually get to know you new kids. Over the past week I've been in programming mode: to me, you have been data cells on a series of Excel documents, blips of information which needed to be moved from the Common Room to Niebuhr. When you tried to speak to me, even to thank me for how well the program was going (for which I resolutely blame our INCREDIBLE volunteer force), you got a confused or vacant look. Excel sheets aren't supposed to talk back to you.

What can I say? I'm a logistics person, and someone who shows love by doing rather than saying. When I made you nametags, when I forced you to line up in the hallway and the stairwell, when I made my camp counselor announcements at lunch ... what I was really trying to say was how excited I am that you're here.

So. Welcome. This place is yours now, just as much as it is mine. It's going to be a great year.

-Kate

*Why can't I find a clip on this on the internet?!?

** Last long metaphor of the blog: the first 1:30 of this video is so fitting! At first, back in March, everyone was around and supportive. Then they all disappeared over the summer, which totally freaked me out. And then, the week before the program, everyone came running back to New Haven, ready to grab a cooler and get to work. Phenomenal.