Seniors took advantage of their last year at Washington University to hold special events and bond as a class.
The senior class trip to Madison, Wis. was the first big event of the school year to kick off the last semesters at Washington University. Senior Class Council organized the trip, and they provided transportation, booked hotels, and provided guidebooks. With a turnout of between 20 and 30 students, the number was much lower than last year’s 100.
Wendy Xin, the internal vice president of the Senior Class Council, admitted the turnout was not quite what the council had hoped for, but she said, “Everyone who did go had a good time, so it was worth it for us.”
The rest of the first semester was marked by monthly trips to clubs and bars, including the Sub Zero Vodka Bar in the Central West End, which boasts over 140 different vodkas from around the globe.
Second semester, though, was when most of the main senior events were scheduled because Commencement is on most senior’s minds. One event was the Roast and Toast, which marked 40 days until graduation. Seniors had the chance to drink champagne and roast marshmallows with alums.
The Senior Transition Series, a set of seminars that range from personal finance to dressing professionally to cooking, was designed to provide a transition for graduating seniors to the real world. Dress to Impress, for instance, featured representatives from Brooks Brothers who came to talk about wearing the right kind of suit.
Brittany Wright attended several of the events in the series and thought that they were extremely useful.
“I just needed all of the help I could get. I am very apprehensive about moving to a new city. The personal finance seminar was the most useful. There was a woman from Smith Barney who sent me a budgeting spreadsheet and the contact for a financial planner in Houston. I feel more confident about budgeting and joining clubs for entering into a new city,” she said.
The biggest set of events though, most of which were held during the week before graduation, was Senior Week. A University tradition, Senior Week is usually wildly popular.
“Ticket sales have been great. Packets just got distributed, which is the craziest time ever,” Xin said.
The week is usually a hit because it includes fun and unusual activities such as a Cardinals game, a trip to Mount Pleasant Winery in Augusta, Mo., Final Senior Night Out, Casino Night, Final Happy Hour, Return to the 40, a float trip and the Senior Gala.
Senior Week activities generally remain the same from year to year, but the new Lumiere Place Casino downtown inspired a fun addition to the traditional activities.
“Lumiere Place Casino is new and our president [Karan Chopra] thought it would be a good idea,” Xin said.
The Return to the 40 offers seniors the chance to see people from their freshmen floors, play sports games and have barbecue on the Swamp. The Senior Gala is a formal event that follows the Chancellor’s Dinner for Graduating Seniors, an event that is not actually organized by the Senior Class Council.
In addition to Senior Week, Xin is also excited about the senior class gift, which she says will be a tangible legacy that the senior class can leave. This project, done in tandem with the College of Arts & Sciences and the Alumni Association, has seniors donate money-which is then matched by an outside donor-to provide enough for a student to attend the University. “That student will be here for four years and have the experience that we have all loved at Wash. U.,” she said.
On the whole, Xin believes that this year’s council has done a good job in providing activities.
“Everyone is pumped and excited. We have a Web site and do Senior of the Week. All of the execs have gotten really involved with Commencement activities and in celebrating graduation,” she said.
She is also glad to be an instrumental part in creating memories for this year’s seniors to look back on.
“To be able to be a part of organizing one of these last hurrah type of things for the entire class is such a privilege. Over 1,000 people came to pick up their tickets. [I am happy to] see people so excited and feel like I contributed to something really important,” she said.
As senior Julienne Kane reflects on her college experience, she thinks the senior activities, coupled with contacts whom she has met, have helped to prepare her for the professional world. She does not want the support that she has gained from the University to cease and feels that it is necessary for her future success.
“I will feel ready [for the professional world] if the network of support from my peers and the faculty continue,” she said.