<p>Is it worth doing? What are the benefits? The drawbacks? Any feedback would be appreciated, especially from anyone who has some first experience with the program. Thanks!</p>
<p>Except me, we have three W&M seniors who work for our office who participate in the Sharpe program. We’ve emailed them to get some good responses to your question. Students are currently in finals so it may take them a bit to get back to us but we’ll post their responses when they do</p>
<p>Heard back from two of our students.</p>
<p>Answer 1: If you’re interested in really connecting what you learn in the classroom to the the greater world in a very active and hands-on way, then I definitely suggest the program. The living-learning aspect of residing in the Sharpe dorm and being part of the unique program definitely gives you a built in college-community from the beginning and those bonds last. Being a Sharpie gives you a lot of skills and experiences you won’t find elsewhere and provides you access to some great faculty and resources even after your freshman year. I would only recommend the program if you’re sincerely interested in taking on outside-the-classroom work as the program is challenging and requires significant time and effort on your part to be beneficial and enjoyable. </p>
<p>Answer 2: I loved Sharpe, but the program was definitely different from my expectations. Sharpe is geared towards creating a “living, learning, serving community.” It is meant as an academically focused civic engagement program, one in where students learn about a particular topic (ex. Disabilities in Schools freshman seminar), and then create a service project around that topic (ex. a peer buddies program at a local high school to give students with disabilities an outlet for practicing social skills). Another great component of the program is that most Scholars live in Spotswood Hall, creating an cohesive environment where your fellow hall mates are as engaged in service as you are. However, I would say that a drawback is that Sharpe tends to be less focused on active service, and more on planning initiatives. As lot of what I did as a scholar was more about networking with community partners and less active volunteering. However, this program did give me the tools to be more of an active citizen, focusing my development as a leader and organizer.</p>