Incoming Freshmen’s Visit to Washington Landmarks Highlight Quill Camp: Republic

Andrew J Schappert — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 13:58:57 +0000

Incoming Freshmen’s Visit to Washington Landmarks Highlight Quill Camp: Republic Andrew J Schappert Wed, 08/11/2021 - 09:58

At the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.’s West Potomac Park. Photos by Ron Aira/Creative Services

The second Quill Camp season brought together dozens of incoming students for multiday, extended orientation activities designed to immerse freshmen with college life and familiarize them with new surroundings as they embark on their academic careers at ��AV.

The idea, say the camp organizers at Mason’s Office of New Student and Family Programs, is to help new students discover friends, make connections, find mentors, meet faculty and staff members, and learn their way around the Mason campuses ahead of the stimulating rush of “regular” orientation. The students, many of them from distant home towns, selected their camp from six themes, choosing the most appropriate for their individual interests.

Quill Camp: True Crime was an immersive experience into criminal justice (including observing mock crime scenes and criminal trials); the Vision camp offered students a chance to explore leadership and service opportunities in Northern Virginia; Sneak Peak offered night-cycling and base-camping outings; and Project Peak, taking place August 15-18, takes students into the wild for a four-day, three-night camping/canoeing/multisport excursion (registration is full).

University photographer Ron Aira traveled in mid-July with the 20 participants in Quill Camp: Republic to capture in images their adventure to the landmarks of Washington, D.C. The students, many of them majoring in undergraduate courses taught by professors in the Schar School of Policy and Government, received a condensed tutorial in how national, state, and local governments function, in addition to visiting the international landmarks.

The familiar dome and columns of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial loom in the distance over the Tidal Basin.

Quill Camp: Republic counselors Rebecca Boyd, left, and Angele Cipriotti share a laugh from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument in the background.

Quill Camp participants pose in front of one of the most iconic statues in the world, Daniel Chester French’s Abraham Lincoln. The statue was dedicated in 1922.

New Student and Family Programs’ Jade Durant calls the campers back to the bus for the return trip to the Fairfax Campus.

Topics

Undergraduates

Quill Camp

Schar School News August 2021

Quill Camps help incoming freshmen set down roots at Mason

Colleen Rich — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 17:44:08 +0000

Quill Camps help incoming freshmen set down roots at Mason Colleen Rich Mon, 08/09/2021 - 13:44

Participants in the second annual Quill Camp take a tour of Washington, D.C., landmarks. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

��AV is a large and diverse school with more than 39,000 students. For incoming freshmen, that can be overwhelming.

Quill Camp is an extended Orientation program that helps them navigate their transition to their new home at Mason.

“Coming into Mason, I did Quill Camp, and that’s where I found my major,” said Angele Cipriotti, a Quill Camp student leader. “That’s where I found some of my best friends today.”

For new students, just being able to see a friendly face around campus can make a big difference, said Samantha Greenberg, associate director of New Student Programs at Mason.

Maliah Peters, an incoming government and international politics major, said that through Quill Camp, she has “probably made lifelong friends in the span of three days.”

Incoming first years in Quill Camp: Republic met virtually with Ellie Quinlan, manager of public visitor programs at the United States Institute of Peace. Photo by Shelby Burgess/Strategic Communications

It is an immersive experience, Greenberg said.

Students can tour the university in person. They can build connections with other students, Mason faculty and staff, and community members and gain confidence before coming to campus for the start of the academic year.

Trysten Jackson, an incoming forensic psychology major, said she and her roommate came to Quill Camp as a bonding experience.

For Jensen Huey, an incoming forensic science major, the camp was “something I wanted to look at not only as an educational experience, but also to get to know the kids that are interested in the same things as me.”

There are six different Quill Camp programs, each offering its own unique focus, that are open to all majors.

Quill Camp: Republic, centered around government and politics, hosted 14 students. Quill Camp: True Crime, focused on criminal justice, hosted 20 students.

The Quill Camp program is especially useful for students not familiar with the Fairfax and greater Washington, D.C., area. More than half the students at this year’s Quill Camp: Republic and Quill Camp: True Crime were from out of state.

Quill Camp attendees also participated in some icebreaker and team-building activities. Photo by Ron Aira/Creative Services

Those in Quill Camp: Republic met virtually with Ellie Quinlan, manager of public visitor programs at the United States Institute of Peace. Quill Camp: True Crime attendees had an in-person panel with probation officers and other members of the Fairfax County Courts.

These educational presentations, the students said, offered valuable information about internships and how to get jump-started in their fields of interest.

Fun activities, such as Quill Camp: Republic’s monument tour around Washington, D.C., and Quill Camp: True Crime’s Escape Room experience, fostered camaraderie that prepared the students for more serious workshops around strengths, career readiness and identity.

The identity workshop, Greenberg said, is “an opportunity to learn a little more about themselves but also the community that they’re joining and the rich diversity that Mason has.”

“[Quill Camp] drops resources in their laps that they would otherwise have to seek out,” including University Career Services, said Rebecca Boyd, a Quill Camp student leader.

For Peters, attending the earlier leadership-focused Quill Camp: Vision allowed her to “see the different activities I could do to become a leader here at Mason,” she said.

Topics

Students

Orientation

New Students and Family Programs

Quill Camp