亚洲AV

Quill Camps Welcome New First-Year Students with Immersive Experiences

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Orientation season begins in earnest at 亚洲AV in August, but for a number of rising freshmen, their first year of college began in July during .

A group of teenagers in tee shirts stand pose with the lighted Washington Monument behind them.
Incoming freshmen from Quill Camp: Republic got a twilight tour of Washington, D.C., landmarks. Photos by Ron Aira/Creative Services.

The series of four-day camps鈥攖here are five of them, each with a different academic emphasis鈥攂ring together like-minded students who explore not just the Mason campuses but also the surrounding Washington, D.C., region. For instance, True Crime members are provided insights into the criminal justice system; studio students are provided with hands-on experience in the arts; and Project Peak participants enjoy immersive outdoor excursions. The camps are organized by Mason鈥檚 Office.

A mid-July field trip capped off , which sent new students by bus into the District of Columbia to visit landmarks, tour museums, and get a general idea of where decisions are made in one of the most important political cities in the world.

Not surprisingly, many Quill Camp: Republic students are majoring in degree programs hosted by the . Having some knowledge of what the vaunted 鈥渉allowed marble halls鈥 of Washington, D.C., actually look like provides good background for government majors who will be studying policy and politics.

The camp鈥檚 activities were even insightful for those who had been to Washington before.

鈥淚 didn't see too many things that were new, but it was fun to tour them with my future classmates and colleagues,鈥 said incoming (GVIP) major Griffin Crouch, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, not far from the District of Columbia. 鈥淚 was learning from all the other students what going to Mason would be like.鈥

A group of teens in tee shirts pose in front of the Capitol building.
Quill Camp: Republic鈥檚 incoming freshmen got a tour of a place some of them may work as future interns鈥攖he Capitol.

The tour of the Capitol, the dusk visit to the familiar landmarks of D.C., and an excursion into the National Museum of African American History and Culture 鈥was a great way to see the city with a different group of people and experience everything that鈥檚 here,鈥 he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing,鈥 said Charlotte Bell, a GVIP major from Richmond, Virginia. Even though, like Crouch, it was not her first visit to the nation鈥檚 capital, Quill Camp: Republic afforded 鈥渁 lot of really great opportunities this week,鈥 she said after the visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

I never would've known what this museum was or knew of its importance鈥 without the visit, she said. 鈥淚 really gained perspective. And the monument tour we went on last night was really wonderful. It was beautiful.鈥