<p>Well, looks like our “kids” (and I use that term with affection only) are well on their way to getting acquainted, so why don’t we do the same. I’m sure this is likely to happen over the next four years anyway, so let’s help move that process along. Between visitations, shadow-days, orientations, and previous threads I’m sure some of us have already met. Whatever the case, the Douglas family (five of us) look forward to meeting you at SU and getting better acquainted during the next several months.</p>
<p>I’m Bill (Chris’dad) and obviously dad to Chris (Douglas) an in-coming first year MT student at SU. We live in the Fairfax, VA area, not quite an hour away from Winchester. We may be one of the closer homes to SU, so we will enjoy having your sons and daughters over whenever they would like to get away. As well, we can go by Dulles International on the way home during holidays and breaks whe the kids can get away, so there will be ride possibilities to the airport as well.</p>
<p>Enjoyed reading Dolly’s postings on earlier threads, and we are going to see her show this coming Sunday. Hope to have an opportunity to meet her as well. She certainly exemplifies the spirit and closeness of what we have seen and felt from all those we have come in contact with at SU and especially everyone connected to the Conservatory. We also saw “Cats” last weekend, the first of the four summer productions, and it was sensational.</p>
<p>Looking forward to establishing a community with you and your “kids” over the next few years.</p>
<p>Well on their way is right...and too soon. Still not ready to pack her up and take her down! 18 years...where did they go? Anyway, Hi to all parents, I am iNaSpotlight's mom! We live "up" here in PA...in Berks County. We are about 3 1/2 hours away...so, not too bad. Shenandoah was always a top pick for my d, and my top choice for her. BUT, after all of the auditions were done, acceptances in, she is the one who chose Shenandoah! She knows kids there now who just love the program...she is very excited to start it all.<br>
We have seen some shows there last year, and will see the performance on July 9, with orientation on the 10th. We are looking forward to that.
It was so nice of you to offer your home and rides, Chris's dad! I do not believe that there are any major airports on our route (hmmmm maybe Harrisburg), but as with Chris's dad, our home is always open! We have another daughter (15) who is very active in music (and horses!) We will probably be going through another round of auditioning for colleges in about three years...ugh!!!!<br>
Well, this is a great idea...thanks chris's dad! If anyone is planning to attend orientation on the 10, let me know! Look forward to meeting everyone!</p>
<p>Hey "notfromme" . . . Thanks for jumping on board. Enjoyed the posts a few of you had going some weeks back, and hope others will check this site and join us. Next time I talk with Margie, I'll ask her to mention it when she speaks with others. Perhaps you can bring it up as well, when you meet other MT students and parents at orientation next week.</p>
<p>Chris and I went up to see "42 Street" last night. Another WOW! This is just about as good as anything you will see in DC. Dolly Stevens was wonderful, as were the other seasoned vets like Dan Shiff. But the SU students were just fantastic. Vanessa Callahan, a rising senior played Peggy Sawyer, and she was fabulous, as were so many others. We got a chance to meet Dolly after the show. What a nice, nice person. Just what I anticipated. I hope I have the opportunity to get to know her a lot better in the future. She just seems like a real down-to-earth, fun person, and of course a great talent. Anyway, do not miss this show. Hope you have your tickets. If not call ahead. Jennifer or Stephanie will take very good care of you. These shows do sell out.</p>
<p>Hope to meet you soon, "notfromme." But like you said . . . not too soon! I'm with you there. That alone is a conversation in itself, and probably better taken off-line.</p>
<p>We are looking forward to seeing 42nd Street. Tomorrow we drop our youngest d off at music camp, then we are off to SU for orientation. We just got back from a week at the beach...literally unpacking to repack!!! Hope to meet you soon-I am sure our paths will cross!</p>
<p>Thanks for the compliments from Chris' Dad! It's always nice to meet new incoming students. As I said in previous posts, I'm very grateful for the education in musical theatre I received at SU..your kids will be happy! If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask!</p>
<p>We were at the performance on Sunday and I must agree with Chris'dad! The show was amazing...and Dolly you were truly a joy! We were so very impressed by all of the talent, and very proud to have our d on her way to be part of this conservatory! When we walked through the doors of the conservatory, we looked at our d and said, "Welcome to your home away from home...how does it feel?" Her relpy was a simple, emotional...."wow". And so, on to the next step of our journey.</p>
<p>My name is Chelsea K. Wengler and i am a Musical Theatre Major at the Shenandoah Conservatory. I was and still am at the moment the Assistant Stage Manager for SSMT this summer, and it seems as though you enjoyed the shows that you were able to come to see :) ! I am going to be an RA this year in Parker. If you have any questions please email me. I'd be more than happy to provide you with any information that you need or questions that you have yet to have answered. And of course if you ever want updates on your kids i'd be happy to get them to you haha ! :-) have a great day ! </p>
<p>Hi Chelz!
Thank you for your offer-believe me, I will take you up on it!! It is always great to hear from current students! I am sure you can remember what we are all going through getting ready for the first year. We are thrilled with Shenandoah-d is excited about going to Shenandoah...really likes the people she has met. So, we are fininshing the lofts, finalizing the "I need" list, and getting ready to start this journey that has come a lttle too soon for this mom!! :( She will be rooming in Racey with someone who she actually has spoken to through this thread!! Not planned, it just happened that way. To top it off, it seems they are clones and keep in touch daily through the web. Everything is going very well...Do you have any suggestions that may help us out??????????<br>
Thanks again!</p>
<p>We were looking for you last night after the show. Apparently, you and Chris have connected online already, and he said he enjoyed meeting you over the web and wanted to meet you face to face. Sorry that we didn't connect, but we will catch you another time, and he'll catch you REAL soon! Two weeks, right? He and I have really enjoyed our every-other-Sunday trek to Winchester to see the SSMT shows. All of you, from front office to the backstage and everything in between have done an awesome job this summer. This is one of the best-kept secrets in the DC area. Great job last night! Fantastic sets, special effects, costumes, music, and always a very well-run and professional production. Missed some of my personal favorites this time, but guess everyone has to take a turn on the back row when there is so much talent. And if you see Jenn Ellerbe, she gets 4 stars from me plus one more. One for each show this summer when she has taken such good care of Chris and me and the fifth for being just a GREAT person and ambassador for SU MT. Looking forward to meeting you soon, Chelsea! :>) Chris'Dad</p>
<p>I do remember, know, and understand what you are all going through, haha it doesn't feel as though it was that long ago. Funny how time flies. </p>
<p>Make sure you bring shower shoes ! haha especially because your daughter is living in Racey :) Try not to bring a whole lot for that same matter. Bed risers are amazing trust me :) ... if you go to Linens and Things they have this great over the bed metal frame that i have, i absolutely LOVE it :) and you can even put that on risers too so it fits just right, if you end up purchasing that and need help setting it up just give me a call and i'll be over in a flash :) as for anything else ... hmmm, make sure to have a notebook for every class, or even a 3 subject notebook. I used a couple of 3 subject notebooks last year, it makes the load a lot lighter :) hmmm... what else ... if your son or daughter doesn't have a headshot and if they are needed for freshmen, which i don't think they are at all, because they weren't required when i came in, but they might be, there is a student who does them on campus for about $60 unless he has changed his price, and they are a really really great quality, plus if you ever change your look, and you need new ones, he'll do them over for 50% off :) at least that's how it was last year. if you would like his email i would be happy to get it to you :) ... hmmm what else ? i'm really not sure ... do you have anything in specific that you have a question about or need a suggestion on ? let me know ! sorry it's taken so long for me to get back to you. I was really really busy finishing up SSMT, and no only have 2-3 days before head back to SU, i have to be back on Tuesday ... :) I hope that this was of some help to you guys ! please let me know if there is anything else i can do ! </p>
<p>i only just now saw that you had replied ! College Confidential didn't email me :( i am sorry. I was looking for you guys too, but it was a busy night and i was definitely running around. Chris and I have been talking a lot online lately. He seems like a really great guy and i can't wait to meet him in person ! :) I'm glad that you were able to come and see the shows ! It was a fun season :) And thankyou for the wonderful compliments ! You are too kind :) ... Why of course i shall be seeing Jenn Ellerbe, haha that girl, we are really good friends and i love her dearly. I shall pass your message along :P :)</p>
<p>And i look forward to meeting you too ! Talk with you soon again i am sure ! Hopefully maybe in person, who knows ?</p>
<p>I think I must have missed your reply as well. Sorry!</p>
<p>Well, you've got him now!! Chris thinks you are awesome, and he has really enjoyed your on-line chat and all the help you have been to him before coming up. I'm sure you both have finally connected in-person by now as he has been there a whole 24 hours. Yes? </p>
<p>I was pretty bummed out yesterday morning when I found a note from Chris saying he had to be there between 9 AM and 12 PM. I had a firm meeting at 10 AM, so that late breaking news killed my plan to come with him and to leave for SU at noon. But he called last night to say he settled in with no problems. I'll be up soon, I'm sure, so I will look forward to meeting you then, Chelsea.</p>
<p>Hey "notfromme" and you other Freshmen parents !!!!! Anyone out there?</p>
<p>It's Day 2, how we doin folks ????? As you can read from my last post to Chelsea, my day to see my s off to college collapsed at 6 AM yesterday. Don't know where the information failed in the pipeline, but I understand the new computer system at SU may have been the cause. Understandable, but that didn't change the way I felt yesterday about missing out on such a special day. Anyway, a new day dawned this morning, and I feel much better. I did have several calls from my s last night, and that makes life seem almost normal. Actually, today I feel like the situation yesterday was a blessing because I didn't have to say good bye, walk away and drive home.</p>
<p>I am, nevertheless, dissappointed that I did not have the opportunity to meet other parents. Hopefully there will be other times down the road to do those things.</p>
<p>What a crazy week it has been! D LOVES it at Shenandoah...she is amazed at how easy the transition has been. I miss her so much, but am thrilled that all is going so well with her. She loves her room mate and the kids in the program are incredible. Very easy for her to find her circle of friends. Move in day was long, but the people at SU once again proved to me they are all there for the kids. We lofted the girls beds, (or, I should say my husband and room mates dad & brother!), hooked the computer up, emptied boxes, then it was time to go...sigh. Big hug, then off we went. Remarkably, I only sobbed until PA, then whimpered the rest of the way. Talking to her daily has helped, and hearing how happy she is makes it so much easier. Hope all is going well with the rest of you. I know of a lot of the kids....sounds like a great group. We should all be so very proud...I know I am.</p>
<p>Hey "notfromme," glad to hear from you! We're heading into week #3, and I don't know about you, but this still has some tough moments. My s is having a great time so far. He got a "call back" for the musical audition, so he was happy. He also did not have a roomate show, so he has a room all to himself. I did get an invite to come on Sunday of the first week, and I took my s and a couple of sweet young ladies out to lunch. What fun to hear all of the stories of their first week. Check out the school paper on the SU website. Great way to keep up with everything going on there. My s got his pic on the front page doing a back flip off the SU sign. Glad all those $ poured into dive coaches/programs all of those years paid off for something! (just kidding) After a trip to Costco, Radio Shack and Walmart, we said our good-byes. This was much easier for me than it would have been on Tuesday. There has been a flow of care packages, letters and text messages going in one direction. The lack of response wounds a little, but afterall, they are busy. Glad that your daughter is calling you everyday. How wonderful is that! My s says he is only getting about one meal a day in. Not enough time to eat, he says. That sound pretty busy to me. I did get a wonderful surprise this weekend. A phone call from my s came on Sunday evening stating that a couple of friends were on their way to GMU for a party, and he was going to catch a ride with them and come home! He got out of the car with a big basket of laundry in hand, and I knew he was "for real" a college kid. What had been a pretty lonely weekend turned around very quickly. It lasted less than 24 hours, and he was either gone visiting friends or sleeping about half the time, but it was sure good to have him home. Got to run. Keep in touch with the posts. Hope to meet you one day soon!! chris'dad</p>
<p>Hi all! Well, going into week 4...long time. Good news is that I believe she is homeward bound this weekend!!! Yeah! I am juggling my younger d's schedule so I can get her on Friday...maybe even Thursday night since she does not have Friday classes! She says the same thing...no time to eat on some days! Yikes!! That has been a concern for me...she is tiny to begin with and does tend to drop weight easily. We were actually HOPING for the freshman 15!!! No....no eating disorder, just an incredibly high metabolism...her entire life. But, all in all she loves it and is adjusting well. I still speak with her daily...so that is good.<br>
Best wishes to all!</p>
<p>S.U. looks like a great program, but there's no information on their website regarding housing, meal plans, etc. Can anyone give me some info in that regard?</p>
<p>Ok then . . how are we all doing out there? I'm starting to settle down a little and adjust. I don't feel quite the need to have a communication "fix" during the week, but at the same time Chris is getting a little more back into our old norm of texting when there is something to say. I think he was more concentrating on establishing a new life in those first couple of weeks. So how was Parent's Weekend! Notfromme? Did you come down? I could not come until Sunday afternoon. Caught the choir groups or should I say the first three numbers and then we left to do lunch, WalMart, Martin's etc. Always fun to do those things, but I really didn't get to meet any other parents. Maybe next time during a show! Anyway, Chris is loving his classes. Social is not what he would like for it to be. He's tending to hang with the older crowd and staying away from those who are experiencing their new-found freedom and feeling the need to party hard.</p>
<p>Ok let's see if I can help BlacknWhite54. Meal plans for freshmen on campus are either two meals a day or three. Something like that. My s, Chris has the two meals a day plan and gets a third meal one day a week (15/wk total). Seems to work well for him because he says they are usually too busy to eat. He's started doing breakfast, fixes and takes something along for lunch, and then eats at the grill later in the evening. As for housing, they have dorms on campus, and they are all pretty much right together and right near everything else. It is not a large campus, in terms of the Conservatory programs. Some are freshmen dorms are "dry" and others upperclassmen dorms and are considered "not dry." A lot of the upperclassmen do live off-campus, and everything (Mall, stores, food, etc,) is easy to find and close by.</p>
<p>Ok, got to run, but let's keep connected. I'm looking forward to the upcoming musical and opera!! Later - Chris'dad</p>
<p>Thanks to Chris's Dad for your response. I finally realized I could get a lot of info going to the SU site instead of the Conservatory site. I have kind of an "off the wall" question, if someone can answer: "How's the weather there in winter?" We're from Southern California so I'm a little reluctant to send my D to a cold climate. We've mainly been concentrating on schools in sunny locations, but the Conservatory sounds like a beautiful program that she would love, so making the "sacrifice" might be worth it.</p>
<p>Hi there BlacknWhite54. A good question! We have a wonderful mix of weather here in VA, so you can get the full range. SU is in the Shenandoah Valley right in the middle of "apple country" and Virginia "horse country." In essence, you are between the Blue Ridge mtn. range at the upper end (north) (actually called the lower end), but this is where the Blue Ridge ends. It is a little higher elevation than Washington DC, so a slight drop in temperatures by a few degrees and a little more snow in the winter. Summers are warm in the upper 90's. Fall days are sunny with temps in the 70 and 80s with cool nights in the 40 and 50s. Winter usually only last a couple of months. It can be cool and nice into December and sometimes even January. Harder months tend to be January through mid-March. Temps are usually 20 to 40s during the days, and teens to 30s at night. We usually get three or four snows each year from an inch or two to as much as 7 to 10 inches. Generally, they don't stay around on the ground for very long. It can snow 4 inches on one day and be in the 60s the next. Obviously in Winchester, they may get a few more small snows, whereas in DC area (just over the ridge) we tend to get more rain than snow. This area is kind of right on the line for rain or snow. Spring comes in from mid-March on with nice days and cool/colder nights. The nice thing about VA is that we get the full range of the seasons, but usually not to any extream. As well, we have everything from nice beaches to skiing in the mountains. Best skiing is north of Winchester up in the mountains, and it is not all that far away into WVA, western MD and PA. </p>
<p>So is it southern CA? No. But it is not PA, Ohio or upstate NY either. The really big thing about here is that we have mountains with real trees, green leaves, and growth on the mountain-side :>) no big brush fires! And with all of that fall is an absolutely beautiful time along the Blue Ridge and the Valley. But then again, your have a beautiful coast in souther CA and areas like LaJolla and Torrey Pines!! Beautiful!! Did I give you are good picture? I'm a native, and I love it. Have a great day! . . . Chris'dad</p>