Tomorrow, the Class of 2010 will begin their week of Orientation.  It’s a strange time for me—this period of transition.  The reality of having graduated has sunk in as new faces fill the Hall of Flags and as I prepare for my impending move to New York.  I’ve been helping Sarah plan for the upcoming week in the Student Affairs office, and it’s made me feel rather sentimental about my experience at Fletcher.  I leave this place in one week, and nostalgia has set in already. 

In the interest of welcoming the incoming class, I thought I’d leave y’all with some tips:

• Invite your professors out for drinks and/or to a dinner party with your fellow students.  They will come.
• Incite controversy on the Social List.
• Teach or learn how to make s’mores on the camping trip.
• Get up on stage—for a Culture Night, for the Fletcher Follies, or for a contribution to one of the extracurricular Fletcher lectures/panel discussions.
• Make an appearance at a Yellow House party (or Green House, or Simpson House, or the Greek Icelandic House or Max’s house).  It’ll be the American college experience you never knew you wanted.
• Sled on the President’s lawn.
• Contribute to one of Fletcher’s publications, whether it’s The Fletcher Ledger, the Fletcher Forum, al Nakhlah, or PRAXIS.
• Go the ski trip. 
• Let your involvement with a Fletcher student organization overtake your life for a few days or a month; it’ll be stressful but incredibly rewarding.
• Paint the cannon.
• Give a toast at PJ Ryan’s.

Studying is a given, of course—and you’ll enjoy that, too.  But remember that one of the many things that sets Fletcher apart from every other school of international relations is its community.  Don’t squander the possibility of making lifelong friendships and connections with incredible people by spending all of your time in Ginn Library.  Two years will be gone before you know it.  Enjoy it.  And welcome to Fletcher’s mafia. 

Ciao, Fletcher

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