The shift from high school to college can be a wild ride. A lot of the constants that you held to throughout your high school career are going to stripped away, and there will be times when you feel naked without them. However, you select few are McConnell Scholars, and this program and the people in it will soon prove themselves to be not only a constant, but an amazing time in your life.
As someone who has just finished his last final, and, thus, his freshman year of college, let me give you my advice for your year as Freshman McConnells.
1. Listen to Sherry. Sure, she may seem mean sometimes, and sometimes you may think she doesn't like you, but if you're in the program, that means she at least likes you a little bit. Sherry knows what needs to be done and is only delegating tasks to you so that the Center can run more smoothly. Plus, it will help you avoid The Look, and no one wants their soul crushed by The Look.
2. Be proud, but not cocky. It is an amazing honor to be a McConnell Scholar, and you are able to receive some amazing opportunities and privileges. However, do not go around campus bragging about your McConnell status. It's a sad truth, but many people view the program as a group of Republican Elitists (which, you will soon discover, is not at all the truth) and as a political prep school. Don't allow the program to make you too big for your britches.
3. Seize every opportunity. In the McConnell Program, do not count the number of lectures, seminars, or events that you have to go to; rather, count the ones that you get to go to. The Center, over just the last year, has brought in some amazing speakers - and not just Clinton and McCain - people like Mark Baurelein, the author of "The Dumbest Generation," people like Dr. Thomas Kidd, an expert on evangelical Christianity in America and its relationship with Islam, and Amy Sturgis, an authority on childrens' literature and utopian novels, just to name a few. The Center provides you with opportunities to travel, to learn, and to grow. Take every single one of these opportunities that present themselves before you.
4. Do your reading. Most of our seminars and some of our lectures or events come with required reading for the discussion. Please, please, please do the reading. It is very easy to tell in seminar who has and who hasn't read anything. Trust me, when everyone does the reading, the discussion is unbelievable, but the opposite is true if you haven't. I'm guilty of it myself, and let me tell you: when you haven't done the reading for a seminar, it is the longest two hours of your life.
5. Talk to Dr. Kleber as much as you can. Trust me; you'll see.
6. Say hi to Tina every time you enter and bye every time you leave. (Variations thereof are acceptable, but just show her you love her.)
7. Have fun. These next four years are going to be filled with opportunity, excitement, and events that you will never forget as long as you live. Cherish it and make the best of every day as a McConnell Scholar.
Everyone here is excited for you all to become a part of our Program, and welcome you with open arms. But be ready to be a productive Scholar and to contribute your all to the program.
As someone who has just finished his last final, and, thus, his freshman year of college, let me give you my advice for your year as Freshman McConnells.
1. Listen to Sherry. Sure, she may seem mean sometimes, and sometimes you may think she doesn't like you, but if you're in the program, that means she at least likes you a little bit. Sherry knows what needs to be done and is only delegating tasks to you so that the Center can run more smoothly. Plus, it will help you avoid The Look, and no one wants their soul crushed by The Look.
2. Be proud, but not cocky. It is an amazing honor to be a McConnell Scholar, and you are able to receive some amazing opportunities and privileges. However, do not go around campus bragging about your McConnell status. It's a sad truth, but many people view the program as a group of Republican Elitists (which, you will soon discover, is not at all the truth) and as a political prep school. Don't allow the program to make you too big for your britches.
3. Seize every opportunity. In the McConnell Program, do not count the number of lectures, seminars, or events that you have to go to; rather, count the ones that you get to go to. The Center, over just the last year, has brought in some amazing speakers - and not just Clinton and McCain - people like Mark Baurelein, the author of "The Dumbest Generation," people like Dr. Thomas Kidd, an expert on evangelical Christianity in America and its relationship with Islam, and Amy Sturgis, an authority on childrens' literature and utopian novels, just to name a few. The Center provides you with opportunities to travel, to learn, and to grow. Take every single one of these opportunities that present themselves before you.
4. Do your reading. Most of our seminars and some of our lectures or events come with required reading for the discussion. Please, please, please do the reading. It is very easy to tell in seminar who has and who hasn't read anything. Trust me, when everyone does the reading, the discussion is unbelievable, but the opposite is true if you haven't. I'm guilty of it myself, and let me tell you: when you haven't done the reading for a seminar, it is the longest two hours of your life.
5. Talk to Dr. Kleber as much as you can. Trust me; you'll see.
6. Say hi to Tina every time you enter and bye every time you leave. (Variations thereof are acceptable, but just show her you love her.)
7. Have fun. These next four years are going to be filled with opportunity, excitement, and events that you will never forget as long as you live. Cherish it and make the best of every day as a McConnell Scholar.
Everyone here is excited for you all to become a part of our Program, and welcome you with open arms. But be ready to be a productive Scholar and to contribute your all to the program.