Summer ‘14

It was good

Finishing up my spring semester I decided my sophomore year at JMU was very successful. As an RA I made many fantastic friends and would simply not trade anything about my Huffman Hall resident advisor experience. My other successes include “rooting fer Dukes” as Director of Special Events for the Student Duke Club, being in the Riders of Brohan, and being accepted to the College of Business.

My last day being at JMU was pretty stressful. The Virginia Cap2Cap was the Saturday morning after planned on moving out and I had committed to riding with my mother. Friday: battery dies in my Vibe and therefore kills my vibe. Two hours wasted. So I pack and I pack and roll out of Harrisonburg at midnight on the long road to Richmond (much like the Union Army). The next morning I conquer 25 miles of Virginia’s flattest terrain in the Williamsburg Section of the Cap2Cap.

After a few weeks of relaxation I took my talents back to Jefferson Lakeside Country Club. Reunited with 5 am mornings, gentle greens, gasoline powered carts, federal and state taxes I did enough outside work to never want to pick a weed in my own yard again.

The highlight of my summer was spending a week with the fam in the Smokies. We visited Biltmore. I lost half my front tooth brushing my teeth. Didn't drink moonshine. Witnessed the Myrtle Beach of the Smokies known as Pigeon Forge, TN. Saw a Tennessee Smokies baseball game. Visited Great Smoky Mountains National Park where the family went hiking to Grotto Falls.

Richmond, Virginia is where I want to call home after I graduate from JMU and so I decided I wanted learn and be a part of an influential organization in Richmond. I inquired about an internship at the nonprofit Venture Richmond (the people behind the RVA stickers). In June I began interning at Venture Richmond. If you want me to tell you why Richmond needs a ballpark in Shockoe Bottom or why Richmond needs a more comprehensive vision I will tell you. What I can’t tell you is how a group of less than 20 people can stop developers from turning parking lots into revenue generating developments that improve schools, make RVA attractive to investors, create a central transportation hub, open the Boulevard for development, and give the tragedy of slavery a proper place to be reflected upon. I really am beyond biased at this point.

I greatly appreciate the opportunity Jack Berry gave me to peer through the looking glass of a practical Richmond visionary.

Here I am. One week before my departure for Belgium, halfway packed, sitting and writing. I bought a new suit…aye…and two electrical adapters/converters.

Departure is T-minus 8 days and 21st birthday is T-minus 7 days.