Welcome back, readers. It’s Amanda, again. This Saturday, AGE-UP went on its first-ever field trip to the University of Washington. There, we gathered in a classroom in the Mary Gates Hall along with a few members from Making Connections and the Dream Project.
Our host, Senait, began the day by engaging us in a poster activity where we split into groups and wrote down five main factors that could hinder our likelihoods of going to college. We were grouped with a Dream Project member who aided us in brainstorming likely obstructions. After we listed our factors, we also wrote solutions for each one. Once finished, we presented our posters and were praised by Senait for how shockingly amazing our solutions were.
After, the Dream Project members informed us of their college experiences and told us a bit of why they joined the organization. They were also kind enough to answer questions we were curious about. We ended the morning with pizza for lunch as Senait gave us a motivational speech to get us pumped for college.
With a few of us cramping(alright, maybe just me), we toured the UW campus, led by Olivia, a Dream Project member. To our misfortune, we were greeted by Seattle’s infamous chilly weather and death sprinkles. Regardless, we gazed in awe as we visited the Drumheller Fountain and crossed the Quad. In between, Olivia did a great job filling us in on the historical backgrounds of various buildings and pieces of architecture.
After the tour, we headed to the IMA fields to practice with the UW womens’ team, Element. With the air frigid and the turf damp, our practice began with a warm-up consisting of a steady two lap jog preceding plyometrics, hollywood squares, and agility
work-outs.
Once “gross”(or sweaty in Element speak), we dove into throwing drills and amazed the Element players with our throws and determination in the freezing weather. Finally, we teamed up with our Element buddies and split into four teams to scrimmage for the rest of practice. Although no clear team dominated, the high level of spirit and gameplay present certainly did.
After the scrimmage, our adorable first years, Colleen and Anisah, were given sweet Element discs as spirit awards for their hard work during the drills and scrimmage. We concluded the day in a large huddle cheering, “Element ultimate, ha!”.
