Five Senses of Wake Up Wednesday

September 14, 2022

by Betsy Chapman

Our Campus Life division has been offering a fun event: Wake Up Wednesday, which is free coffee & treats from Campus Life leadership at the table outside of ZSR Library – no strings attached! Today is a beautiful day on campus and I thought I would bring you a Five Senses post about this event. I was there from 8:45 am, as the event began, until about 9:30.

I see…

A long skirted table with all sorts of food and drink.
A number of our Campus Life leadership team members greeting students as they get in line for the food table. Other staff are behind the table helping direct students to the food and drink.
A short line for the food and drink table when I first arrive at 8:45 am. Students are always excited to get free food.
Dr. Shea Kidd Brown (known to students as Dr. Shea), Vice President for Campus Life, chatting with students and asking them about how things are going for them. She has a way of making our students feel very comfortable.
A variety of food: donut holes, fruit cups, coffee, tea, and sodas.
Some free swag for the early birds. Some appear to be insulated coffee cups (or water bottles – I am sitting at a discreet distance). Later I go up to the swag table and see there are tiny containers of mints.
The longest line/wait to get to the table was maybe 15 students during my time there.
Students who were walking towards/past the library and saw the hubbub out front. Looks to me like they were trying to figure out what is going on, and if this event is open to them (it is!). Some of these students get in line for food and drink, some keep walking; ostensibly they have to get to a 9 am class.
A wide variety of student attires: some shorts and hoodies or jackets, some sundresses, some pants (pants seem baggier now, by the way). It makes a lot of sense to layer in this weather, as you never know if you will need to add or subtract a jacket.
Big smiles on two young women who are talking to one of our administrators. They appear to be having a great conversation.
Later in the morning, I see the swag items being replenished.
An impossibly long pole that is being used to wash the windows on the top floor of ZSR. No lie, this pole must be 40 feet at least. It’s impressive to watch the highest windows being washed.
Some student athletes arrive in what looks like official team gear. I wonder if they just came from a morning practice or team workout. They seem happy to have refreshments.

I hear…

Dr. Shea’s voice talking to students about their experience. She introduces Dr. Warrenetta Mann to a handful of students; Dr. Mann (who had been the Director of our University Counseling Center), was recently named as Assistant Vice President for Health and Wellbeing (she’ll continue as the UCC Director until a new director is named later this fall).
Snippets of conversation: “How are you doing?” “a midweek treat!” and other chitchat between staff and students.
“I mean I guess if you go to a *football* school…” from a female student. I wish I heard more of that conversation.
A student saying “I have an exam this morning.” Hopefully these sweet treats will give them a boost on their test!
Periodic bursts of laughter from the many small conversations happening in the line.
“Good to see you!” and “How are you?”
The a-choo! of a sneeze. After all, it is pollen season.
Many “Thank you“s from grateful students who seem delighted to get some coffee, food, and/or swag items.
A pair of shoes dragging along the sidewalk as a student walks by, making a soft, scuffy noise.
“Are y’all first years?” asks one of our staff members. It sounded like they were.
“Happy Wednesday!” a voice brightly exclaims.
A scraping noise, which I discover is a worker washing the ZSR windows. I expected that sound to be more squishy and liquid, but it was more scrapey than anything else.
A staff member asking students if they are planning to go to the George W. Bush-Jon Meacham Face to Face event tonight.
The jangling of a student’s keys. They seem to be hanging off his backpack and hitting his water bottle as he walks past: a rhythmic, metallic clinking.
“What’s your name?” as staff meet students and then introduce themselves.
Music coming from the speaker that has been set up at the food table. I catch a few bars of the new Britney Spears-Elton John tune and someone refers to it as “post-conservatorship Britney.” I loved that phrasing.
“Coffee or tea?” asks one of my colleagues to a student in line.

I feel…

Delightfully cool. The morning is crisp and it feels like a fall day. These temps are absolutely ideal.
A light breeze blows my hair around my face.
Really happy to see so many students here chatting with our administrators. This is a perfect, low-risk way for students to make a connection with our Campus Life team. Students may not necessarily cold call/walk in one of these administrator’s offices, but once they have a chance to chat here, they are likely to be more comfortable going to their offices if needed or talking to them at future events.
Delighted to see two student athletes taking a selfie with Dr. Shea. They all look happy. I wish I saw the end product.
Enormous energy from the pack of students waiting in line and chatting. For being early in the morning (at least in student terms), Wake Up Wednesday feels like a lot of fun. It’s amazing how getting a free morning treat boosts your mood.
Cool, because my bench is in the shade. If I were in full sun, I might feel differently. Such is the beauty and paradox of NC weather.
A sense of relaxation in the ‘lull’ moments when it is not full of students. There is a definite ebb and flow to student traffic: it was very busy between maybe 8:45-9:15, then it slowed down a bit.
Proud of our first-year students who were putting themselves out there to attend this event. Sometimes it can feel hard to ‘be a joiner’ at campus events when you are a new student, if you are on the introverted side, etc. But these first-years are really doing themselves a favor by making connections and getting to chat with campus administrators. Well done, ’26s.
Gratitude to my Campus Life colleagues for making this little bit of joy happen for our students. And extra gratitude to my colleague who sent me some pics of the event (below).

I smell…

Coffee, of course!
The particular scent of a cool fall morning: crisp air.
A man just walked by me and I got a whiff of his cologne, which was a pleasant scent.
The scent of my laptop fan’s exhaust. It’s sitting in my lap as I type and think I am blocking the normal vent.

I taste…

A delicious Camino Bakery flat white, my drink of choice.
Prior to Wake Wednesday starting, I had gotten a Camino blueberry muffin, which was so moist and delicious. They do a great job with a light coating of cinnamon and sugar on top, which tastes wonderful to me.

If your Deac didn’t make it to today’s Wake Up Wednesday, fear not: there will be others! They can check out the Events page of The Link and look for future offerings once the dates are posted.

Hope you enjoyed this Five Senses and could picture what Wake Up Wednesday was like!