Shelby’s Amazing CPW Adventure by Snively '11

This past weekend was the legendary Campus Preview Weekend at
MIT and I was extremely stoked to finally visit. Not only was it my first time
visiting campus, but it was also my first time in Boston/Cambridge. Here is a
photo of me outside of 77 Mass Ave.

(So this is where my application went.)

I was instantly stunned by the campus and the intriguing
architecture. I was especially awed by Simmon’s Hall, aka “The Sponge.”
After getting settled in my host’s dorm at New House 2, I was pumped and ready
to attend some fun events and classes. Before my escapade, my host and I took
time to chat in the Office of Minority education, where I was able to get the
scoop on MIT from other current students. The more I learned about MIT, the more
I was certain that MIT is the perfect fit for me. This only made me more excited
to be on campus. My CPW weekend was off to a great start. The entire weekend was
action-packed and downtime was nonexistent. I could probably write a book about
my CPW experience, but rather, I will highlight some of my favorite events of
the weekend!

The Stata Center. Another mind-boggling architectural
masterpiece at MIT.

On Friday I went on a UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity
Program) tour at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research to learn about
current cancer research headed by Dr. Robert Weinberg. It was interesting to
know that our tour guide had an active role in this significant research, and
the fact that I would have the opportunity to partake in research at MIT was
exciting. I toured the actual laboratory, how cool is that? I even got all of my
inquires answered. When the tour was over, I couldn’t help but ponder upon when
I will participate in research at MIT…by this point (Day 2 of CPW, mind you) I
was already convinced that MIT is where I would be next year.

Between Friday and Saturday, I attended three fairs: the
academics fair, the athletics fair, and the activities fair. I collected all
sorts of brochures and packets from everything that I was interested in. Just
envision a fully-loaded, on-the-verge-of-exploding, drawstring bag and you’ll
have a comparable image of what my bag was like after these three fairs. I
walked table to table at these fairs and discovered so many, perhaps too many,
clubs, sports, and academic opportunities that I found thrilling. The
opportunities seemed endless, and for that, I knew at this point that MIT was
where I would go to college. MIT will allow me to explore and develop all of my
interests. I know that next year as a freshman, in addition to my classes, I may
try water polo, play in the MIT Symphony Orchestra, and make time for the
literary club.

On Saturday I toured WMBR, MIT’s student-run radio station that
broadcasts all over Boston. They showed me their music library, complete with
innumerable CDs and records. I felt like a kid in a candy store, and the first
bookshelf I rushed to was the one designated to artists that start with “L” to
see which Led Zeppelin albums they had. In fact, the radio crew let me pick a
Led Zeppelin song, introduce it on air, and play it. And that was my radio debut
(there will be more of me on air next year at MIT, just a heads up). In case you
Zeppelin fans out there are wondering, I picked “Immigrant Song” to play on air.

Remember, I have only touched upon a few of the events because,
as I said earlier, I could write a book about my CPW experience (and maybe I
will, who knows). Attending CPW confirmed that MIT was the perfect place for me.