Name: Reilly Flynn
Year: 4th
Hometown: Williamsburg, VA
Major: BA – English // MT – Elementary Education

Did you visit UVA before deciding to attend?

I visited probably close to 15 schools in my college search. I was so burnt out from all the tours and info sessions that my mom and I decided to skip the info session and head straight for the tour at UVa. I was prepared to dip out of the tour early too if I didn’t see anything that I like. So, needless to say, it would have been fairly easy for UVa to just be another blip on the radar screen, but there was just something that caught my attention during that tour we took. The beautiful grounds seemed to have a way of being traditional, historical, and yet very college-student friendly at the same time. Charlottesville also seemed to offer a great mix of outdoorsy and cultural experiences while still being incredibly accommodating to college life (late nights, loud noises, school spirit, etc).  So needless to say, I liked my visit a lot.

What has been your favorite class?

If I had to choose just one, I would probably say that my favorite class was one I took for my English major. It was called “Black Protest Narrative” and taught by Professor Marlon Ross. The content of the course was definitely stimulating (we read everything from Richard Wright to Malcolm X to Anne Petry, etc.) but what was really great about it was how challenging it was. The course offered me a completely different perspective of literature. The professor presented the texts in a cultural-historical context that deepened the meaning to more than just the words on the page. We started talking about the broad literary and ethnic movements that not only shaped how our novels were written but also how they were received by the general public.

Have you taken a University Seminar?  Which one?  Why?

My first year I took a University Seminar about non violent conflict resolution. I’d always been a fan of Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and the likes but this class was a chance to actually study them in more detail. It turned out being a lot cooler than I thought as our professor was a real mediator who was able to talk us through his real life experiences helping to bring conflicts to non violent resolutions.

What activities are you involved in?

Eating freshly baked cookies is probably my favorite activity, but when I’m not doing that I’m involved with:  Madison House: Housing Improvement Program.  I was a volunteer leader for Young Life for two years. I coached JV Boy’s Soccer at William Monroe High School and will coach a U16 boys’ soccer travel club team in the Fall. I am also involved with several Christian ministry and fellowship groups around grounds. I will play pick up soccer whenever or make the trek to the Blue Ridge for a hike or to the beach for some sand and waves if I can find other willing bodies. But probably my favorite activities are the spontaneous ones… croquet on the lawn, late night Frisbee golf around grounds, diving for golf balls at an unspecified location…

What are the arts like at UVA?

What are you interested in?

 Poetry/Literature: I love going to the Festival of the Book. It happens every year all around Charlottesville and it has tons of poetry and fiction readings that are high quality and free to attend.

Drama/Theater: There are shows that are put on all year round here. I remember my first year a bunch of my roommates and I went to go see The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in Old Cabell and it was hilarious. The past couple of summers I’ve also been able to take advantage of Heritage Reparatory Theatre which the Drama Department puts on. They run four or five shows every summer and it’s a lot of fun to go out and watch. Good date as well.

Live Music: Especially with the new John Paul Jones basketball arena the big names are just flocking here-Brad Paisley, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Kenny Chesney… etc. The Rolling Stones even came and played in the football stadium last fall… now that was a ridiculous show! But there are plenty of smaller venues around town as well. There are several bars and other places that have live jazz every week and acoustic artists almost every night. There is a student organization, Tyrannosaurus Rock, that works hard to foster the underground scene here at UVa and bring those types of bands to cool venues like the University’s Chapel.

I’d say, pretty much, you want arts? We got ‘em.

How would you describe the students that attend UVA?

Simple. One Sentence: Students that attend UVA are intelligent, unique individuals who have come to Charlottesville to explore their academic, social, and environmental surroundings for every drop of knowledge they can glean. Hmm, I guess that’s kind of a long sentence but what I mean by that is that everyone has a distinct personality and interest and yet is fairly open to hearing what the next person has to say.

What is your favorite memory from your time at Virginia?

I have a group of close to thirty-five friends that we call “The Family.” It started back first year when a rag-tag bunch of guys and girls from my dorm would get together every week in the dining hall for what we called “family dinner.” The group has evolved since then—adding other friends, boyfriends and girlfriends—but we still have remained true to our commitment to hang out and eat together. As our group has gotten bigger and people have started to find different niches around the University we’ve been unable to all eat together every week or even every month. So this past year we started throwing a big bash that we call “Fammie-Jam” once a semester. We dress up and get together to eat, take pictures and just plain be ridiculous. This past semester we picked a theme, “The Fammies” (like the Grammys). The dress code was “celebs only” and each person was given the name of another family member to whom they had to present a “Fammie”. The food was great but what made that night so special was the close to two and a half hours of award presentations. Each person there received a hilarious and totally appropriate award. Some presentation and acceptance speeches lasted for what seemed like hours but it didn’t even matter because it was such an awesome time to celebrate our friendships and our “Family.” I will probably forget pretty much everything I learned in STAT112 (at least I hope I do) but I certainly will never forget the friendship and camaraderie I found here at UVa.