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An exciting campus tour

December 4, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Avery Park

The opportunity to travel is always something I like to take advantage of, and this past weekend I went on a trip to Halifax.

This was only four days, but I was able to learn and do a lot in that short time. The reason for this trip was to tour the campus of the University of King’s College, and make a decision on whether I would be able to go to school there for four years.

Luckily, I have family that lives 10 minutes away from the campus – my Aunt, Uncle, and three cousins. I stayed with them for the duration of those four days, and my amazing Aunt booked me a campus tour for the Friday. I was so excited to see what this small University would look like.

Two of my cousins brought me to the campus and went on the tour with me, after we found the building that we were meeting our group in. It started with a small tour of the main building, then we went into a room and we were able to ask our tour guide questions.

My group wasn’t very talkative, but I had a lot of questions, so of course I asked them. Majority were specific to the journalism program, and I learned a lot about applications, the schedules for all the years, and studying abroad.

Next, a different guide took us to listen in on a lecture that was taking place. Although I wasn’t reading the book that they were talking about, the ideas were still relevant to me and I found it quite interesting. There were some in the class who didn’t find it as interesting, such as the girl who was wearing dark sunglasses and knitting the whole time. Many students started discussions and shared their ideas, and it showed me what a lecture would look like for me if I were accepted for next year.

We then went and looked at their chapel and gym, where I learned about all of the teams I could join, like volleyball and rugby. After that we went to look at the library, with its rare books room and amazing architecture. We also visited the bookstore, where you can buy books for your course, and King’s memorabilia. Lastly, we saw the residence building, which was very nice. The rooms were their regular, small size, but none of them had kitchens or bathrooms in them, you had to go to the public room of that floor to use their kitchen and bathroom.

After the complete tour, there was an option of a free lunch, but my cousins and I decided to go out for a nice brunch instead. For the rest of the day, we ran errands and just drove around Halifax. When my cousins went to work, I just stayed at their house and worked on my portfolio.

The next day we went and walked around Downtown Halifax, and I saw many of their well-known spots. First, we went to the top of the Halifax Central Library and stood on the roof, enjoying the view until we got too cold. After that we walked around and found our way to the Public Gardens, where my cousins get their prom pictures taken. We took some pictures together, and walked around until sunset, when the garden closes. Then we went across the road and made our way to the top of Citadel Hill and watched the sunset over the city.

I’m positive that my family wanted me to get the full experience when I was there, because they want me to come next year. For a family that lives so far away from each other, we are unbelievably close. I won’t see them for years, but when I do it’s like we were together yesterday. I love them all so much, and to have that experience of living with them for four years of my life would be an amazing opportunity for me, to grow but also have people around that I am close to.

Although King’s is on the smaller side, especially compared with it’s neighbour Dalhousie University, King’s students do get to use Dal to their advantage for courses and studying abroad, just to name a few things. King’s is a smaller community, and offers more one-on-one time with your professors and your peers. Their reading list for the first year looks very interesting to me, as you read books from the Ancient World, through every era, to the Contemporary World. These aren’t just books written about that time, but in that time by authors like Virgil, Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Rousseau, and Virginia Woolf.

Everything about this school interests and excites me. I have high hopes that my application will impress, along with my portfolio and references. These are the things that will help me achieve my goal of attending the University of King’s College next autumn.

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