Today is the second (and final) Campus Day for Accepted Students.  I have been perched in Zick’s all morning because it is raining.  Had Campus Day been *any other day* this week, the weather would have been beautiful.  We got a bad roll of the dice today.

So here are your Five Senses of the Start of Campus Day

I see…

A rain that is sometimes steady, sometimes pelting, sometimes just a misty sprinkle.

Lots of umbrellas.

Some parents that seem to be scrambling for umbrellas.  I predict the Deacon Shop will do a lot of business today.

A couple of really killer sets of rain boots on some very stylish moms.

Flat hair or frizzy hair – you fall into one camp or another.

Smiles on a lot of the students’ faces, tinged with a hint of anxiety.  Choosing a college is hard, and this is a big transition.  It’s a mix of feelings.

Lots of people coming in to Zick’s scrambling for hot coffee.

tableMany friendly parents and families coming up to our Parent Programs table to chat.  We met families from GA, FL, NY, NC, PA and some others.

An intermittent strobe light looking thing – which turns out to be my friend Ken Bennett taking pictures of a student outside Zick’s.  The flash is coming through the window.

One of the large TVs in Zick’s showing images of Prince singing.  (RIP Prince, you were a big part of my late high school/early college years). Sadly that TV is on mute.

Very few current students at this hour.  The ones in the Quad residence halls must be sleeping in or don’t have 8 am classes.

 

I hear…

Squeaky shoes as the wet soles hit the wood floor of Zicks.

The plastic coffee lids being snapped on the cups.

The sloosh sloosh of the coffee being poured out of the dispenser.

NBC Sports Network is on one of the big TVs in Zicks, so if you listen in a given moment you can hear the talking heads dissect the sports issues of the day.

The kitchen of Zicks is banging pots and pans and silverware around in the distance, presumably prepping for lunch.

Pride in parents/families’ voices as they tell me about their student.  Part of that is pride in their kid, and part of that is pride in being accepted at Wake.

 

I feel…

Cold and damp, as I am sure all the other parents do.

The wet of my shoes.

Warm hot coffee as I take a sip, happily warming me from the inside.

Blasts of cold air as the doors open or close.

A sense of calm when the bulk of the parents and students go to Wait Chapel to start the program.  We’ll hopefully see them back during the break between this session and the next one.

The comfortable chair I am sitting in.

 

I taste…

Coffee, which is much needed.

A delicious Krispy Kreme, a staple of Campus Day. (THANK YOU, ADMISSIONS!)

 

I smell is pretty much covered by three things: coffee, donuts, and rain.  All told, that is not a bad combo.

 

So that’s your early 5 Senses of Campus Day.  Enjoy your weekend, Deac families.  Call your kids today 🙂

 

— by Betsy Chapman

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