Welcome to Williams College's EphVentures
You will have the opportunity to choose from one of the following programs:
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team Eph
This five-day period during First Days gives all first-year students an opportunity to pursue a wide variety of individual interests. All first-years are expected to participate in one of the five mid-orientation programs, each greatly enhancing your orientation experience and providing numerous opportunities for long-lasting friendships and an enlightened appreciation for the area in and around Williamstown.
If you will be playing Varsity Soccer (M & W), Football, Field Hockey or Volleyball you will be too busy with practice to fully participate in the other EphVentures, so we've created a program just for you (which you must register for!). If you are running Cross Country, you are eligible (but not required) to register for teamEph .
Once you have your e-mail account set up, you will be able to to log on to the Williams College PeopleSoft system to register for the program of your choice. Information about e-mail accounts and the PeopleSoft system will be included in the first mailing from the Dean's Office. If you have already set up your account, you may
REGISTER NOW!
Programs have a limited number of spaces available and are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline for registration is Friday, June 13th.
On-line registration will continue until all spaces are filled (for those students who matriculate after the deadline, as well as for those who miss the deadline), but choices will become fairly limited as we move beyond the deadline date.
Questions? Contact Karen Ryan in the Dean’s Office:
413 597 4262 or email firstdays@williams.edu.
Exploring the Arts (ETA) is dedicated to providing you with a sense of artistic life at
Williams and throughout the Berkshire community.
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Are you interested in the Arts and Culture? Are you interested in connecting with fellow students and faculty who are also artists? If your response to these questions is yes then ETA is the place for you!
Join us for workshops in music, theater, dance, visual art, writing and travel to places in Berkshire County for performances, social events, exhibitions and local history. Our workshops are led by faculty, guest artists, alumni and Williams College student artists. We work and eat together in unique environments like museum galleries where you can share ideas and make art with other First Years, faculty and artists.
The places we will go to can include Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Colonial Theater, ’62 Center for Theater and Dance, Williams College Museum of Art, Barrington Stage, The Clark Art Museum, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and Tanglewood.
Your guides are faculty and student artists who share your interest in the arts. Whether you have been creating or performing for years or would like to try something new, consider this an invitation to a great time with
exciting people!
BRIDGES is a dynamic EphVentures program that engages you in conversations of what it means to live in the purple valley and in the world. Ask yourself, Who am I? Why does difference matter? You will have the opportunity to explore how the intersection of our identities inform our experiences at Williams and in the world.
BRIDGES recognizes and welcomes the richness in the diversity of the Williams community. Open to all students, the program explores ways of working toward a stronger diverse community with greater levels of inclusion and participation in a safe and encouraging environment. We will engage in activities to get to know each other and the surrounding areas in Berkshire county which has a history rich in culture and diversity.
As a participant in bridges you will make life-long friendships. You will meet some of the most personable and talented upper-class facilitators who will mentor and support you. You will encounter esteemed members of the faculty who will enrich your academic career and possibly change your life. Key administrators will encourage and guide you to campus resources so that you can remain healthy and successful at Williams. Between community dinners, excursions to nearby towns, and information jams, you will have multiple opportunities to get to know one another as fellow bridges participants and unique human beings.
Together we scale the low ropes in Hopkins forest, embark on campus scavenger hunts, escape for bowling and mini golf, and frequent nearby towns like North Adams, Pittsfield, and Great Barrington. We travel to the homes of faculty and administrators, share dinner and indulge in portraits of community up close. We traverse the heritage trails in the Berkshires and learn about the African American, Native American and emerging Latino communities in the area. Throughout these activities and workshops we challenge ourselves to think about identities as transnational and multifaceted phenomena that extend beyond U.S. borders and across time and space.
BRIDGES is the ultimate experience if you are willing to learn about and build community that is reflective and embracing of our differences. You will emerge from bridges seeing Williams, the Berkshires and yourself in a whole new way. bridges is a world of difference.
For more information about BRIDGES visit: http://www.williams.edu/MCC/bridges.html
Williams Outdoor Orientation for Living as First-YearsPURPOSE
For 30 years running, the WOOLF program — Williams Outdoor
Orientation for Living as First-Years – has welcomed Williams freshmen to the Purple Valley. What better way to begin your Williams experience than by getting to know your surroundings? While WOOLF trips involve hiking, rock climbing or canoeing, no prior experience is expected or necessary and the purpose of WOOLF is far more than going for a hike—you will have the opportunity to bond with a small, diverse group of your classmates and spend four days off campus getting to know one another in the beautiful mountains of the Berkshires and southern Vermont. Life long friendships are made on WOOLF trips and with small groups and friendly sophomore trip leaders to guide you, we hope that WOOLF becomes one of your
favorite experiences of freshman year!
TRIPS
WOOLF offers four-day outdoor adventures during the Mid-Orientation period of First Days. A variety of backpacking trips are available for all levels in and around the Berkshires – many walk right off or back to campus, others travel further to utilize portions of the Appalachian Trail. Also offered are trips focusing on trail service, canoeing and rock-climbing. Absolutely no outdoor experience is necessary to participate. Trips vary in mileage and rigor, so you can choose which is best for you. Additionally, WOOLF is prepared to provide equipment for you to borrow. A detailed list of equipment necessary for these trips will be available online during registration, but with the exception of hiking boots and basic clothing, the Williams Outing Club can lend out many of the items you’ll need. Please do not let the lack of outdoor gear needed influence your decision if you have the desire to participate – WE will do our best to outfit you!
LEADERS
WOOLF is organized and run entirely by Williams students (with a little wisdom and help from the Outing Club Director). All of the WOOLF leaders are rising sophomores. These students are extremely excited to introduce the incoming freshman class to Williams and the WOOLF tradition. They are chosen through a rigorous two-month selection process and then expertly trained to be 72 of the best outdoor leaders Williams has to offer. All leaders are trained and tested in Wilderness First Aid, leadership, and trip-specific skills and bring boundless energy to the program.
We enthusiastically encourage everyone to participate in WOOLF. It is a fantastic way to start your freshmen year, and a great introduction to a group sure to produce some lasting friendships. We invite you to come experience the outdoors, learn some new skills, and fully enjoy your first few days at Williams!
For more information on WOOLF visit: http://woolf.williams.edu/
Are you wondering…
Am I heading into the middle of nowhere?
Is there life inside the Purple Bubble?
Where am I?!
Glad you asked!!
“If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are”
~ Wendell Berry
Where Am I?! is an exciting EphVentures program that will
orient you to our “Purple Valley” by introducing you to the amazing people who live around us in the Berkshires – by showing you the beauty of this area, experiencing the Williamstown community, and bonding with a few new Williams friends.
The Where Am I?! experience starts with you, a small group of other ’12s, two student leaders, a van, 4 days, and this incredible place. We’ll explore nearby towns like Bennington, North Adams, and Pittsfield… learn local histories… eat hot dogs and ‘burgs for $1.99… check out MassMoCA (Museum of Contemporary Art)… climb into a Revolutionary War monument for panoramic views of the Berkshires… play hide-and-seek in a corn maze while snacking on candy apples… follow a mountain stream to a hidden waterfall – and jump in!
We’ll hear stories from a local family while we cook a spaghetti dinner in their home. We’ll dedicate an afternoon to helping out a community organization – serving in a soup kitchen, giving drumming lessons to at-risk youth, or picking crops at an organic farm. We will learn why the beauty of this place begins with its people, and why they are all so proud to call the Northern Berkshires home.
You will quickly come to understand why, once you’ve lived here, you’ll always love this place. Meeting community members… offering a helping hand… soaking in the beautiful surroundings… forming lasting friendships… you will at least begin to figure out that you are home!
For more information on Where Am I?! visit http://www.williams.edu/Chaplain/whereami.php
team Eph
The teamEph program was designed for the fall athlete who is
finding their identity in several Williams sub-cultures. teamEph programming was designed to help first–year athletes who will have to learn to juggle the many aspects of their lives at Williams. As a participant in teamEph you will be introduced to other first year athletes, captains and administrators who will help you in the transition. They will help you to understand why Williams student athletes are so successful, and how you will continue the tradition. teamEph is only open to the following varsity athletes:
Men's Soccer
Women's Soccer
Field Hockey
Volleyball
Football
Cross Country
Along with having fun with other first-years, participants in teamEph will learn about the importance of:
• Balancing academics, athletics, and a social life
• Positive team culture
• Leadership and team building
• Community building
• Diversity
• How to handle the experiences, demands and
pressures of being a student athlete at
Williams College