Coming home, all smiles

Wow, where did the summer go? I can’t believe that we just dropped off our daughter, Julia, last weekend! Julia is an equestrian, and equestrian team members were the first to arrive back to school so they could start getting the horses and equipment ready for the new season. So we packed up our cars and her horse, and down the road we went to Sweet Briar! We live in Northern Virginia, so the majority of our route is down U.S. 29, and what a beautiful drive it is. We had a nice sunny day for the trip. A stop at Effie’s along the way for a peach ice cream sundae for me and real milkshakes for Dennis and Julia (if you’ve never been and you like ice cream, Effie’s is a “must stop”!), and several hours later, we could all feel the excitement start mounting as first we saw mountains, then the sign for Amherst County — by the way, strictly adhere to the speed limit in Amherst County and be sure your daughter knows too — and then the sign for Sweet Briar.

FrontDrive

Julia was bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement when we were still minutes away, with a smile so broad and full of joy it made my heart burst with happiness. She took pictures of the Sweet Briar College exit sign and video of the scenery. She could barely contain her excitement and joy as we came up the drive onto campus. Dennis and I, too, felt especially grateful. Our hearts swelled as we slowly rolled up the driveway, past the security gate and up to the equestrian center.

We were almost in tears because we thought when we left last semester that, although we would fight the school’s closure to the very end, it may have been our last drive down that beautiful entry road, our last visit to that impressive equestrian facility, and our last time seeing our daughter with her Sweet Briar sisters. But instead, here we were. Dennis and I both breathed a sigh of joy and relief and amazement that, yes, we were really bringing our daughter back to her (and our) beloved Sweet Briar! We were all impressed at how much work had been put into spiffing up the campus in such a short period of time – fresh paint on the entrance road (including the dip!), crisply mown expanses of lawn, a bubbling fountain, colorful tended gardens, and lots of fresh paint. You couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces if you tried. 🙂

It felt a little weird driving through campus because almost no one else had arrived yet. We had never seen the campus and parking lots so empty! First, we drove to the equestrian facility, found Lizzie Fisch (the IHSA team coach) and exchanged warm hugs and happy greetings that we were all back. Quest’s stall was ready and waiting for him, and he happily walked right in and made himself at home.

After tending to Quest’s needs and unloading horse stuff and trailer, it was on to the dorm. While we could only deposit Julia’s stuff in her room (equestrians are temporarily staying in another dorm for a few days while the main dorms are finished), it still gave us chills of happiness to carry those boxes to her room, and a sense of satisfaction after we finished that, yes, it was real, she was REALLY going back to Sweet Briar! And of course you always expect that when you pack you forget some things. So we all had a good laugh when Julia realized that, in addition to a few minor things, she had forgotten her pillows! No worries, we expected that we would be bringing down a few things next weekend, so I just added pillows to the list.

But if you live further away and have to mail a care package (of all the things your daughter forgot but you don’t want to re-purchase), no worries! The post office is still open and able to handle all of your packages. Returning students keep their previous P.O. Box; new students will get an email that includes their P.O. Box before arrival at school. For important tips on sending packages and luggage, click here.

If this is your daughter’s first time at Sweet Briar and if she won’t have a car on campus, you might plan on a visit to Lynchburg after your daughter moves in. Inevitably there will be items she forgot, or didn’t realize that she needed until move-in day, that make more sense to buy locally than to ship from home. We found Walmart and Target in Lynchburg (about 20 minutes away) to be very useful stores. 🙂

New students should have received an email this week that has their dorm room and roommate assignment and their P.O. Box number. If your daughter has not received hers yet, please contact Kerri Bond at (434) 381-6346 or kbond@sbc.edu. By now I’m sure you know that move-in day is Monday, Aug. 24 for returning students. Other useful dates (for new and returning students) can be found on the Sweet Briar academic calendar (the “New Students Arrive” date is Aug. 23, but all of the other dates are correct).

Speaking of move-in day, I will be on campus on Monday to greet all of you parents! I will be walking around the dorms to greet people while they move in, and help you get answers to your questions. However, if I don’t happen to see you, just email me when you are on campus and have time to meet for a few minutes (if you include your phone number, that would be most helpful). I have my phone setup so that when I get an email in my SBCParentToParent@gmail.com inbox, I get a special sound, and if I’m on campus then we can coordinate where to meet. I’ll keep a close eye on my phone on Monday!

I look forward to meeting y’all, and if I can do anything to help you get answers to your questions while on campus, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Finally, in case you didn’t see it already, here is the latest message from President Stone:

“Making history at Sweet Briar! The entire nation has learned about Sweet Briar during the past months. At first it was for sad reasons — a decision to close. The tone of the stories then turned to what was thought to be a futile, even desperate, attempt by the alumnae, faculty, parents, students and others to prevent the closing. Then about the excitement of success, transition and rebirth! The stories are now more about the special qualities of Sweet Briar and how we are making history. We are leading the fight to reaffirm the value of small, independent liberal arts colleges and we are especially leading the charge for women’s education. All of you are part of this history-making experience. The whole nation is watching. Together we will be successful! I look forward to seeing all of you on campus soon.”

I’m so thrilled that you and we are part of making history at Sweet Briar, aren’t you?! How exciting it will be to see the campus full of life again! I hope that your daughter’s move-in goes smoothly; please let me know how it goes and any suggestions for improvement. And please don’t hesitate to ask questions if you need help. 🙂

That’s all for today. 🙂 What are YOUR concerns? Send them to me at SBCParentToParent@gmail.com, and I’ll address them in upcoming posts, or sooner if needed. Until then, talk to you soon!

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