What a busy two days it's been! Here at the office, we've been working diligently to insure the successful completion of the Academy; that means finishing up plans for the college fair, preparing exit surveys for both students and faculty, and a lot of stressing.
Meanwhile, students in Hank Hampton's "Thirdrail Therapy" class have been stressing about other things. After deciding to showcase an RA vs. Faculty dance-off during activity time on Tuesday, students were running around frantically to organize a successful event. The RAs faced the challenge head on, practicing day and night to prepare for the competition, which included many random group and pair challenges as well as a final choreographed dance.
Both the faculty and the RA teams put in a lot of effort, but in the end the decision came down to Resident Director Thomas Knotts. After a pretty even split between dance challenge winners, teams got the chance to perform a choreographed dance. The RAs went first, and their performance was characterized by distinct organization and preparation to Ke$ha's "Your Love is my Drug." While their performance was certainly impressive, the faculty also fought hard to finish first with a 7-minute ensemble number to Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the theme from the movie Ghost Busters; highlights from their performance include the faculty transforming the audience into zombies and "Laser Technology" teacher Ben Campbell dressed up as a ghost buster. For judges Saralyn and Robbie, the decision was split with Saralyn siding with the RAs and Robbie with the faculty. Ultimately, Thomas would determine the winner.
Thomas Knotts, the Residential Director, quickly became known to both dancers and to the audience as the Simon Cowell of the judges.
After calling faculty member Dan Hollis and RA Steve Robison to the stage for a tie-breaking mime-off, Thomas, in a stunning upset, declared the underdog faculty team to be the winners. Even though the RAs were a bit upset about their defeat, everyone agreed that the student organizers did a great job with the event.
When the teams were taking breaks from dancing, students got to jump up and dance themselves!
But the dancing was not over! Heather Taylor's class jumped onstage to give the Academy a preview of her final performance; with five other classes performing, it's shaping up to be an exciting Friday night!
At around 1:30, students made their way back onto the buses, which took the group to Kennywood. Although roller coaster fanatics were initially discouraged by a brief rainstorm on our arrival, the sun came out within half an hour, and everyone was able to enjoy the whole day! Students were given Kennywood currency to pay for dinner (Mine consisted of fresh-squeezed lemonade, French fries with cheese and bacon, and ice cream, but I'm sure the students made healthier choices...) and the next 6 and half hours to enjoy the park. Some brave souls even rode the Sky Coaster!
Students, limbs intact, disembark the Phantom's Revenge coaster.
Later in the day, water rides were a popular way to cool off.
Three daredevils riding the Sky Coaster
Apparently inspired by Randy Pausch's goal to win stuffed animals at amusement parks, many students brought home trophies from the day as well. By the time to board the buses, students were exhausted from the day. Because of traffic, lights out was at 12:15, but students had an altered schedule today that allowed them to sleep in an extra hour.
Today, things are a bit more back to normal. This afternoon students will see a presentation on applying to college and then make their way over to the college fair in Benedum Commons. After that, it'll be time for ghost stories and s'mores! Check back for more updates tomorrow, and remember that you can always see more pictures by logging on to the GHA Snapfish account through our website.
