Homecoming- Shelby Strattan

This isn’t the one on the football schedule. And surely not one you need a new fancy dress for, nor high heels with an accompanying boutonniere (and good thing seeing I never really did figure out how to pin one of those on correctly). This is the homecoming of a student to college, and in my case and many others, the return to Tulane University in the city of New Orleans. As the days of summer slowly dwindled until mid-August, my excitement to return to such a unique place became nearly unbearable. I went through pictures from freshman year to print out and hang in streams of colorful memories along my new dorm room walls. When I started the process I imagined it would be fun, but it soon proved to be torturous as I could only picture myself in these vibrant Nola scenes with my close friends from all over the country. Deep breath- the time will come soon enough to return.

I couldn't wait to return to Tulane to start my sophomore year.

 Now this is not to say that I didn't enjoy summer. Summer is always a wonderful season and I was fortunate to spend mine back home with my family in Nebraska. However, the first few weeks were a bit rough as I had to have my tonsils and adenoids removed. After a long but smooth recovery, I went on to intern full-time for a local insurance company in the actuarial department. My coworkers took great interest in my life at Tulane. They asked about the school, the food (as they came to know what a huge foodie I am), the festivals, and Mardi Gras. I did as best as I could to detail everything accurately so they could build elaborate mental pictures in order to properly envision the life of a Tulane student. I would tell them stories about my friends and our adventures and they would just smile, telling me to treasure my time as a student while I could. But no one had to tell me that - I was totally stoked to get back and take it all in again! But deep breath - the time will come soon enough to return.

My coworkers heard plenty about my friends and Boot pizza.

Aside from work, I spent a large amount of time with my fantastic family. These summer months were also full of many new memories made with old close high school friends. There was one night in which I ventured to a free outdoor concert where a New Orleans jazz band filled the stage with the sweet sounds of my second home and imbibed the crowd with a taste of the Big Easy. In the middle of their performance they stopped to share a few words with the audience. “‘Y’ALL EVER BEEN DOWN TO NEW ORLEANS?” the performers shouted to the enthusiastic Midwest crowd. They didn't stop there. The musicians delineated the sights, smells, tastes and traditions of their hometown for those who had never been. My heart was tearing as I began to feel a type of separation anxiety that could only be satiated with two plane rides. How my soul longed to return to its quagmire romance with a city so far from my first home, so different than what I’d grown up with my whole life. My skin missed the humid air often accompanied by heavy rains that brought about the promise of a cool night (and perhaps a canceled class? Rare, but possible). My ears could almost hear the streetcar passing by the front of our campus - the doors of Gibson serving as a welcoming sight to all tourists and locals that pass by on a means of public transportation that is equally as convenient as it is sporadically unreliable. In my mind I envisioned the streetcar rolling on by, clearing the way to the splendid and well known Audubon Park right across Saint Charles Avenue. My eyes wished to see the alluvial grounds that fostered such lush vegetation, sparkling a brilliant green under the hot summer sun, almost as if glitter fairies were dancing above with the Voodoo spirits protecting the city. This place is magical and my mind was cluttered with thoughts of returning to a city that makes me feel so alive. Deep breath - the time will come soon enough to return.

The end of summer rolled around and I realized I was terribly behind in regards to the whole packing thing. Thankfully I never unpacked all my belongings in the first place as I was initially in a state of denial that NOLA would not be a part of my life in the months of summer. I was a flustered mess my last day in Nebraska, trying to get things ready that should have been done about a week prior. The easy going, laid back style of New Orleans really settled deep into my bones just after a year of living there. However it miraculously all managed to get taken care of just in time to fly out - credit due to my wonderful mother - and surprisingly no suitcase was over-weight. #Blessed.

I was also #Blessed to work as one of the student leaders for Greenie Camp!

Alas! I had finally arrived in my favorite place in the world! The first days are always filled with joyous reunions and familiar smiles. Parents of the freshman meander around campus wishing they could relive their college experiences at such a lovely institution. With the influx of new students and returning classmates, each day of first semester proves to be a new adventure. From morning spin classes, to meals on Magazine Street, to gallivanting in the streets of the Quarter with your best friends eating beignets, everyone jumps back into a NOLA schedule mixed with work and play. For those who are new at Tulane, enjoy the many firsts, for there is not another place in the world like this that you could choose to go to school. For all prospective students, I hope you look for qualities in a school and city that allure you oh so strongly, that you absolutely cannot bear being separated from the undeniable energy in the air. As a whole community, Tulane really makes coming back as big of a deal as it should be. And for all my fellow returning students who are well aware of this already, here’s to another magical year that we have been anxiously awaiting all summer, because the time has finally come. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

-Shelby is a sophomore studying Biomedical Engineering. She's involved in Greek life, Greenie Camp, Green Wave Ambassadors, and is one of our wonderful Admission Interns.

The Tulane Reading Project - Danny Fitzpatrick

The Tulane Reading Project

Danny Fitzpatrick

What should I pack? What clubs should I join? Have I signed up for the right classes? Why do I have to read this required reading book?

While those are all valid questions during the summer before coming to Tulane, the only one that I am going to attempt to answer is the fourth one.

For fourteen years, the Tulane Reading Project has served as a preview for what to expect in college courses. In every TIDES class this fall professors will lead discussions about this book. Throughout the first weeks and even months of the semester, the Reading Project events provide a place for academic discussion across all disciplines. It is one of the very few experiences in college where the students in the School of Architecture will be discussing exactly the same text as the students in the School of Business.

On top of that, two things make this year’s Tulane Reading Project even more exciting than usual:

Firstly, this year the committee selected Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward. Not only is Jesmyn Ward a National Book Award winner and has been called a, “substantial talent” by the New York Times, she is also an Associate Professor at Tulane!

Jesmyn Ward

In the memoir, Ward writes her story of growing up while simultaneously discussing the deaths of five young men who were close to her throughout her youth.

In the book, Professor Ward discusses everything from poverty, to race, to mental health,to addiction, to gender roles, to familial love, to homesickness and does so through her singular strong voice.

Regardless of what we learn and take away from Men We Reaped individually, it is full of messages and ideas that the class of 2019 and the entire Tulane community can discuss together.

The second major reason why this is an exciting year for the Tulane  Reading Project ties to a larger effort on campus. The Tulane Reading Project will serve as a major component for the Forum Tulane Initiative. Starting this year, Tulane will work to thread a theme throughout various discussions and activities during the school year.

For the 2015-2016 Forum Tulane the theme will be Resilience. This theme could not be any more appropriate for Tulane’s campus, the memoir Men We Reapedand the city of New Orleans.

This was my first year on the Reading Project committee and it made me realize how much effort goes into deciding which book to pick for the year. The committee reads books throughout the year, read some more during the fall, and then read more over winter break. All the reading in hopes of finding a book like Men We Reaped , that is both a well-crafted text and something that will connect with the incoming class of students.

With Men We Reaped and Forum Tulane now aspects of campus we are sure to all be in for a great school year!