Welcome to Washington!

Hey folks,

Well, here we are! On Wednesday, I moved into my apartment in Arlington, VA and officially began my Washington D.C. experience. Traffic on the Beltway was pretty nasty and we had a little trouble finding the place, so it took us a little longer than expected but we finally made it and I finally saw where I was going to be living in person! It was really nice: a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment on the 11th floor!

Our living room( as you can see we're not interior decorators)

I met each of my four roommates: Russel is from South Africa, Andy is from Southern California, and the third, Alec, is from Arkansas. They're all really nice guys. Russel had never been out of the country before! Andy and I spent an hour trying to explain American football to him. It's a really diverse group and it's nice to meet people from all different walks of life.

On the right, you can see the view from our apartment balcony

On Thursday, we had orientation at the Washington Center. I was able to meet all the folks in the Political Leadership Program with me. We were told of all the requirements for the semester as well as some do's and don'ts for our internship.

Later in the day, all of the students in our program made a field trip to the Newseum. The Newseum is huge museum right on Pennsylvania Avenue that provides a retrospective on news and the media. It was a real treat for this news junkie! They had a really cool exhibit on "Gangsters and G-Men", which showed off really cool artifacts from the Unabomber's cabin to what John Dillinger was wearing the night he was shot. They also have a huge collection of historic front pages, the door from the Watergate break-in and the TV antenna from the North Tower of the World Trade Center on display. (Below you can see the antenna, recovered from the Ground Zero rubble and a lookout tower and large piece of the Berlin Wall)

But there are two things that I really like about the museum. First, it has a beautiful terrace that overlooks Pennsylvania Avenue and provides a great view of the Capitol. The second is the infamous dry-erase board used by Tim Russert on Election Night 2000. His insistence on the state of Florida being crucial in the hours before the polls closed became a historic moment in both politics and pop culture. He's a big role model of mine. On Sunday mornings, my Dad and I used to always watch him on Meet the Press. (By the way, Russert's book Big Russ and Me is all all-time favorite of mine. I highly recommend it!)

Well, that's going to do it for now. I start my internship on Tuesday and I need to get up to speed before then! Take care everybody!

A Night in Baltimore

Hey again folks!

I left Stonehill early Monday morning to head home for the day to pack and get my things together for D.C. It was weird saying goodbye to Stonehill and to people that I wouldn't see for either a few months or a whole year. As the students came on campus the perpetual peace and quiet that had been summer Stonehill gradually broke. It felt so odd for me: I obviously was a student here but as the other students moved back and got themselves ready for a new semester, I felt as though I didn't exactly belong.

Monday was spent putting the finishing touches on packing and spending time with family. I visited a few aunts and uncles and went to Bertucci's with my mom and dad.

We awoke early Tuesday morning and headed for the airport. The flight from Hartford to Baltimore was short and smooth. I'm not a huge fan of flying, so it was for the best. Once we landed, we spent the day in the beautiful Baltimore inner harbor. There's stores, museums, the National Aquarium, and even an old warship- The U.S.S. Constellation-so there was no shortage of things to do. A highlight for me was going to the Babe Ruth birthplace and museum. As a Yankee fan, seeing the room where the Bambino was born was a dream come true! It had some really cool artifacts in it, including Ruth's personal radio, ashtray, and a collection of bats and jerseys.

Later that night, we headed over to Camden Yards to see a baseball game. My beloved New York Yankees were taking on the Baltimore Orioles. My dad got some great seats and we were able to get right up behind the Yankees dugout. The strange thing was that there was definitely more Yankees fans in attendance than Oriole fans. My mother had never been to a baseball game before so she was slightly bored by the three hour long game. She decided to pass the time by making runs to the concession stands and bringing us all back new and different foods. From sausage and pepper sandwiches and hot dogs to funnel cakes and ice cream cones: we all ate like kings. But she was in line for a pulled pork sandwich when out of the corner of her eye, she saw people going up to this older, overweight guy sitting in a stool near the counter. He kept talking to them and signing things for them. She had absolutely no idea who he was, but she figured she was probably somebody important so she went up and had him sign her ticket. About an hour later, we're sitting in our seats and she pulls out her ticket simply as an afterthought. She asked me if I had any idea would this person was. I looked closely and then it hit me...Boog Powell! Powell was a 1st Baseman for the Orioles in the 1960s and 70s. He was a 4-time All Star and the 1970 MVP. Not bad for some guy near the BBQ stand!

It was a pretty good night all around! The Yankees won and it was a beautiful night for a ballgame. I was really impressed with Camden Yards and I could understand why it's so consistently ranked as one of the best ballparks in the country.

Before I go, I caught something really neat on camera that I want to show you: I was trying to get a video of the multitudes of Yankee fans chanting "Let's Go Yankees!" While taping, I actually caught Eric Hinske's home run on camera! Not bad! Check it out!

That's all for now!! More to come from DC!!! Take care!

Fall Orientation 2009!!

Hey folks!

Coming to you live from the nation's capital! I moved into my apartment yesterday and started my program's orientation today! (More on all that in a later post!)

So I promised some pictures from Fall Orientation and here they are! Move-in day was really rainy! My friend Julie and I grabbed some umbrellas and walked people to and from the parking lot; just so they could possibly stay a little dryer while lugging those TVs and fridges. That night, each residence hall had a social/dance party so that the residents of each building could get to know each other. I was over at Corr Hall and it was awesome! Everybody was really having a great time and let's just say that we put the other residence halls to shame with our moves...

Generally, fall orientation is a lot less hectic than it's summer counterpart. There's a lot more free time for both the Peer Mentors (PMs) and the incoming students. There is also fewer icebreakers and more academic presentations. On Sunday, we all took the incoming students into Boston for the afternoon. Meagan and I let the students in our group do as they pleased for the day. Meagan used to the time to visit with family and I used it to walk around Newbury Street. I bought some last minute items that I knew I needed for D.C. and then just sat at a Starbucks and read the newspaper. I knew quite well that it would be the last day of total relaxation I would have in quite awhile, since I would be leaving early the next morning to get ready for my trip.

We all had such a great time. I can't believe that orientation is all over! Enjoy the pictures! I'll see you all on down the road...

Top: Kate and Tracy welcome the students into O'Hara














The Wilderness Explorers from each session meet each other for the first time at dinner

RA's check students into their rooms

On a break: Katrina, Randy, and Lisa dance along to the famous "JK Wedding Video" on Youtube

Wyatt, Lauren, and Christine take a break from the dance party

Senator Ted Kennedy's Wake

Hey folks!

Last Friday, we all had a day off from orientation training. I decided to wake up early and make use of the day by heading up to Dorchester for Senator Ted Kennedy's wake at the John F. Kennedy Library. Originally, my friend Brian and I were supposed to go but he had to work so I drove up by myself. I didn't really know what to expect when I got there. I had been to the JFK Library with Brian just a few short weeks before. It is really an interesting place. I had heard reports of long lines with people waiting outside for hours upon end. I was a little worried.

As I drove up on I-93, highway signs read "Thanks Ted, from the People of Massachusetts." Once I parked my car in a nearby lot, we were shuttle via coach bus to the library. While there were a lot people there, the line wasn't unbearable and they said they only expected about an hour wait.

A very classy touch on the whole process was the members of the Kennedy family going outside and shaking hands with those who were waiting in line to pay their respects. I was able to meet a few of Teddy's nieces, but I was very fortunate to meet his sister and last surviving sibling Jean Kennedy Smith. Shortly after meeting me, she was swarmed by cameras and gave a statement to the press. Upon entering the museum, I saw Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. I actually met Congressman Lewis a few months ago as I was flying down to attend President Obama's Inauguration. Rep. Lewis was a pivotal figure in the fight for civil rights in the 1960s. A close friend of Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was bloodied and beaten as he walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in the infamous march on Selma, Alabama.

I entered a large room and saw the casket of Senator Kennedy. It was very moving. People of all backgrounds and walks of life came to pay their respects. I met people from all over the United States while waiting in that line, many of them with their own stories of being touched by the life of Teddy. Though I probably could have used the sleep, overall it was not a bad way to spend a morning...

Clockwise from top right: Jean Kennedy Smith (sister of John, Robert, and Ted Kennedy) addresses the press; the doors to the library; people quickly filled up behind me in line at such an early hour; the scene when I first arrived at about 9:45am

The Summer Wind Came Blowin In...

Hey folks!

Well, the month of August has been a whirlwind so far for me! I’ve been working all summer as a Summer Student Ambassador in the Admissions Office (so if you visited campus this summer, you probably saw me)! At the beginning of the month, my good buddy Brian moved in and started his job in the Admissions Office. For most of the summer, our room was pretty empty while I waited for him! Luckily, my friend Steve also worked on campus and lived right above me. We spent many a night chowing down on Chinese food and then going for ice cream at a local homemade ice cream shop named Flint Farm.

My parents also came down for a weekend to take me shopping for my time down in Washington. We spent most of our time at the outlets in Wrentham shopping for shirts, ties, pants, and a suit or two: all essentials for the epicenter of the political world.

However, as the month quickly drew to a close, some lasting memories of the summer came to pass. The first was Gormstock! What is Gormstock, you ask? Well, it is really just a barbecue but it is also a little bit more than that. The termed was coined by my friend Conor a few weeks back. Quite a while ago, I decided to have some friends over my house at the end of summer to say goodbye before many of us go our separate ways for the semester, whether they are heading back to Stonehill, studying abroad, or interning somewhere off-campus like me.

We spent all day on August 15th (the 40th anniversary of Woodstock oddly enough), swimming, grilling, and enjoying each others’ company. But my personal touch on the event was making Gormstock t-shirts that we all wore throughout the day! My parents, as they usually do, outdid themselves when it came to food. With the usual snacks, like chips, pretzels, and popcorn, we grilled up ribs, burgers, hot dogs, and sausages for lunch. There was also garden salad, potato salad, and broccoli casserole. For dessert, we had Friendly’s watermelon roll, homemade cookies, cakes, and cupcakes. That night, we started a fire and ate s’mores and dug

into a 30 inch grinder for a late dinner.

Clockwise from top: Everyone by the fire; Conor and I by the pool; my friends Sam, Corinna, and Meg; Brian and I grilling some grub !

We also held “chicken fights” in the pool. Apparently, my 6’3 high frame is not well-suited for the game. Brian and I lost pretty badly! We also played some badminton and wiffleball on my front lawn (Fun fact: the official Wiffleball factory is located an hour from my house in Shelton, CT)!

In the morning, we were greeting warmly by bagels, Taylor ham (a New Jersey specialty courtesy of Conor), eggs, bacon, and waffles. Wow, I’m hungry just thinking about all that stuff!

Just one week later, I began quite a hectic weekend. On Friday, my roommate Brian and I grabbed some dinner at our favorite area restaurant, Cheng-Du. The General Gau’s Chicken is out of this world! We then saw Quentin Tarantino’s new movie at Patriot’s Place.

The next day though, was an amazing day for me! I saw Bruce Springsteen at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA. I am a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. I have been to seven shows in the last year and half! That night, whether he and the E Street Band were improvising Elvis’ Burning Love, strumming the joyful guitar riff on Rosalita, pounding the snare drum on American Land, or making the bass guitar pulsate through our ribcage like it did during the rarely-played Born in the U.S.A., he never ceased to amaze me! Many of the songs he played I had never heard before! He even takes requests every show from the crowd! I took my good friend Meagan and we were “dancing in the dark” during every minute of the 3 hour show. My other friends Ben and Liz came with us and sat on the lawn on the amphitheater. Like us, they also came out in total awe of the show that the 60 year old rock star put on. What a night!

-Not a great shot but Bruce and the band are in there somewhere!

Right now, I am at Stonehill and getting ready for the entire incoming freshman class to move in. The Peer Mentor team moved in on Sunday and is working hard to help the incoming students feel comfortable in their new college home. Meagan (the same one who joined me at the Springsteen concert) is my partner on the orientation team. That means we work together with a small group of students during the summer and fall orientations. We’ve really gotten to know them quite well and are looking forward to seeing them on campus full-time! During our training in the summer, we were all given a word that we needed to incorporate in our group names. Each of us was given a balloon with a certain word in it having to do with love; ours was “smitten”. It took Meagan and I a little while, but we decided to use the Disney movie UP as our inspiration…our group is named the Simply Smitten Snake-bitten Wilderness Explorers! (If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. One of the best movies of the summer!)

Top: My partner Meagan and I

Bottom: The Simply Smitten Snakebitten Wilderness Explorers from the 2nd Session of Orientation

Anyways, during fall orientation, we look to build on the friendships with the students formed during summer orientation. Incoming students will be taken into Boston for a day, give back to the community through our “Into the Streets” day and also meet with their academic departments and advisors during the two-day program. Pictures will follow! But for now, it’s a little almost 3:30am and I think it’s about time I go to bed! Take care everybody!

Hey Folks!

Welcome to my brand-spankin’ new blog! I’m really excited to give you all a glimpse of my life…

But first, who the heck am I and why do you want to hear from me? Well, let me start with the easy one: my name is Matt Gorman and I’m a Junior here at Stonehill. I’m from Torrington, Connecticut and I’m majoring in Political Science with a minor in Journalism.

When I’m at home, I live with my Mom, Dad, and Golden Retriever named Molly. I really enjoy reading (mostly nonfiction), watching TV and movies (The Office and The Sting are my two favorites), listening to music (love Bruce Springsteen), and spending time grilling and relaxing in my pool. I do also really love to drive! I am always down for a road trip! In fact, my friends and I are in the early planning stages of a cross-country road trip after our graduation. I graduated in 2007 from St. Paul Catholic High School in Bristol, CT (which is right down the street from ESPN headquarters).

When I’m at Stonehill, I keep pretty busy. I just finished up serving as Vice-President of the Class of 2011 for two years. While that entails helping to run our class committee, it also means that I serve on the SGA Senate, which is the chief-policymaking body for Student Government Association. I am also the News Editor for Stonehill’s student-run newspaper The Summit. I’m in charge of both writing and assigning stories, enforcing deadlines, and have total editorial and layout control of my four page news section. It is such a feeling of pride every Thursday morning when the paper comes out! My time is also well-spent being a Student Ambassador Coordinator on campus. So when any of you out there visit Stonehill, either me or someone like me will talk about our experiences at the school and take you on a campus tour! As a coordinator, I am one of the leaders of the program and focus on our Senior Day Visit program. I also serve the college as a Peer Mentor. As a PM, I am charged with helping incoming students transition from high-school to college. Our duties include being orientation leaders during the summer and facilitating transitions meetings during the first part of the school year. Another one of my passions is the radio show I co-host with my buddy Conor on WSHL, the college’s radio station. Every Thursday from 10pm – midnight, Lower B Tonight with Matty and McGlade (named after our freshman year hallway) helps to kick-start the weekend with eclectic musical stylings: everything from Bruce Springsteen to Bob Dylan and Bon Iver to Lady Smith Black Mambazo.

However, I’m just getting ready to embark on an exciting chapter in my life. This fall, I am interning all semester in Washington D.C. through Stonehill’s program with The Washington Center. In January, I was accepted into The Washington Center and was immediately assigned an advisor. She basically did all the legwork for me, from sending away resumes and cover letters to referring my application to sites that would interest me. I interviewed with many places in many different facets of government, everything from lobbying firms, to congressional offices, to political parties. I was actually offered every position that I interviewed for! But after much racking of my brain, I finally decided to intern with Congressman Dave Camp of Michigan. Not only will be attending briefings, congressional hearings, bill markups, but I will also graduate from giving tours of Stonehill to giving tours of the U.S. Capitol! I will intern about 45-50 hours a week, take one class through the Washington Center, and write a paper about my Washington experience when I get back to Stonehill in January…and right there is a semester’s worth of credit and courses! While interning, I will also live in a fully-furnished apartment in Arlington, VA that the Washington Center provides for us. I fly down on September 1st and my orientation into the program begins two days later. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming days…

Phew! Well, that seems to be about it. A brief glimpse into the life of yours truly. I look forward to writing about my experiences both inside and outside the walls of Stonehill. I also want to bring you perspective from some of my friends whose experiences are sometimes quite different then mine. I hope you enjoy traveling this journey with me.

I’ll see you along the way…