The ILC’s Maiden Voyage to Vanderbilt: The First days not always the hardest

We were finally allowed to sleep in today, a rare commodity in the Ivy League Connection program, yet today I decided to wake up early—two hours early. I worked out to control my nerves both in my hotel room and gym before I packed all my bags. I was so excited because tonight I wouldn’t be in a hotel, but with my peers. I wouldn't sleep alone; I would have a roommate. I wouldn’t be visiting the boundaries of a city; I would be in the beautiful arms of the Peabody campus at Vanderbilt University. But first, we had to gather supplies at the local Wal-Mart Supercenter. After about an hour walking back and forth within the Superstore, we finally gathered all we needed to advance to our VSA program confidently. We had so much gear it looked as though we were moving in to some apartment.

Sadly we had about two hours left before we could check in; so we got some ice cream from the nearest Baskin Robbins and headed to Nashville to explore this underrated city. After killing time rolling through these massive structures of steel and concrete we ventured to the Hank Ingram dorm at Vanderbilt to check in. After finally loading all of our luggage and new supplies into our rooms, I had to decide how to structure mine, a simple process for a creative person, but not a scatter brained person like me. I did the best organizing I could, even impressing the likes of my roommate Paul, but it was too late to switch anything else. It was time for the games to begin.

I met my Proctor group, then we headed out for a tour ending in the cafeteria where we enjoyed a nice plate of spaghetti and meatballs.

We finished eating and headed to a beautiful building where we had our official VSA orientation. We were introduced to our proctors, houses, and the rules through skits, then we were shuttled outside for a game of Human Scavenger Hunt and Guess Who. The Vanderbilt Summer Academy so far is full of nice people, and looks to be a truly rewarding experience. I can’t wait to start class tomorrow.