Programs Blog

– Gillian Murphey, DePaul Universityhttps://sea.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/BlogPhotoS290GillianCouch.gifWhere to begin a description of our house on campus in Woods Hole? I could begin with our stadium seating couches and continue all the way to nerf wars, and, then, more importantly, how did SEA get such a diverse group that still blends so well? I am a shipmate of House B where I live with 8 of my now closest friends. I’ve known them all for only three short weeks, but it feels as if I’ve known them my whole life. I can’t know if this is a fluke or if all of the crews bond like this, but I have to assume we are the exception rather than the rule. We began as any other group of college kids meeting each other for the first time, all rigid handshakes and bland greetings, but within 2 days I already had a housemate shaving my head. Despite using a beard trimmer and having little to no prior experience, he did a great job, and I love my new ‘do. This was my, or more truthfully, our first lesson in taking risks and exploring new and exciting horizons.

This isn’t something that is isolated to our house but has spread to the whole program. Just the other night we were invited over to C house for an impromptu “all houses meeting.” Unbeknownst to most of us a small group of Amelia, Ella, and Ava-Rose had created a full powerpoint presentation where each slide had a selection of colors. Each one was curated for a member of our crew, and we all tried to guess which ones belonged to who. It’s insane to think how connected we all already feel that a whole aura powerpoint could be put together. Another big move forward for us was the purchasing of nerf guns. Nerf wars are often a nightly event and a huge stress reliever for the whole house. It didn’t take long for our new hobby to spread to the other houses and now it’s just another part of our daily life. Even on the first night our house had begun a tradition of asking a question at dinner, but not just any “how was your day” question. We basically create our own Buzzfeed quizzes where we ask questions such as “what condiment would we all be?” Or “what fast food restaurant would you be?” That’s just one more part of house B that makes me happy to call this place my home, even if just for the moment. And if not for this program how else would I know that Juliette would be garlic aioli and Julian would be Chik-fil-A.

– Gillian Murphey, DePaul University