Welcome to UVA

Hey Everyone,

First of all, Congrats on your acceptance and decision to attend THE University of Virginia. This summer you will have the opportunity to become accustomed to the University and learn how to make the most out of your college experience by participating in the Summer Transition Program (STP). You will be taking two courses this summer, one being Critical Reading, Writing, and Reasoning and the other class is one you have hopefully expressed interest in.

We the interns thought it would be a great idea to offer our advice to you prior to your arrival. Therefore, we established this blog in order to give you advice as to how to prepare for your summer experience as well as offer tips and advice on how to be a college student. We hope that you find our posts useful and helpful for STP as well as for your time at the University.

Before we start giving you advice, we wanted to let you know a little about ourselves.

Erica Elder:

Hello Class of 2016! My name is Erica Elder and I am one of the interns for the Summer Transition Program. I am an English major, and this is my last year at UVa. I am involved in many different organizations at UVa including Slavic Student Association, WUVAonline, and I am one of the Team Managers at the Student Activities Center. When I'm not studying for class, or in meetings for SSA, WUVAonline, or the SAC, I am usually playing my guitars, watching documentaries, running, baking or sleeping.

I'll be honest, and many of you may feel the same way, but I was not looking forward to taking summer classes a few weeks after I graduated high school. My plans for the summer were to spend as much time as possible with my friends and family before I left for college in August. However, I do not regret making the decision to come to UVa. The Summer Transition Program helped me with  time management, study skills, "thinking outside of the box," confidence and integrity. It was challenging, but I am thankful I was given the opportunity to be a part of this program.


Amber Hamilton:

Welcome Class of 2016!!  My name is Amber Hamilton (also known as AmHam) and I am a fourth year from Charleston, SC (yay out-of-state!).  I am a Linguistics major aspiring to attend law school in the future.  When I am not in class, I am either volunteering around Charlottesville with my brothers of Alpha Phi Omega, National Service Fraternity, or helping international scholars with their English Skills as an ESL assistant. I am also involved in OneWay Christian Fellowship and a proud member of the Cavalier Marching Band. In my spare time, I love listening to music, attending Zumba classes at the AFC, or just hanging out on the lawn.

This summer you are going to be at UVa  taking classes and learning to excel in your academics. I’ll admit it's fun as well as a drag but I promise it will help in the long run. You will have the opportunity to take two classes to boost your GPA and you will get to know what it is like to be a college student before your fellow peers arrive.  If you are an out-of-state student, or if this is your first time being far away from home, this is a great opportunity to slowly get adjusted without being overwhelmed. Erica and I are here to help you throughout the summer so do not hesitate to ask us for anything. I am very excited to meet you all come July. 

In our next blog post, we will make suggestions on what to bring for the summer as well as list a few "Things to Do" in Charlottesville.


Until next time,

Amber & Erica