Scorpion Spotlight: William Moore ('19)

Editor’s note: This was written about life before the COVID-19 pandemic caused universities to implement health precautions.

William Moore (‘19) is currently a student majoring in Political Science at Haverford College in Pennsylvania. William has taken full advantage of his time in college, using it as a time of self-discovery and experience-building.

Join William on an average Monday at Haverford!

10:00 AM | Wake up, eat breakfast

William wakes up around 10 AM in his single-bed Tritton Hall dorm. Most rooms at Haverford are singles—so roommates are rare. His wake-up time depends on what time his first class begins and, today, his first class doesn’t start for some time. 

William leaves his dorm and walks to the Dining Center, where he eats breakfast, finishing right on time for his first class. 

11:15 AM - 12:45 PM | History: Cultures of Collecting

William attends his first class in Lutnick Library. There is a classroom built seminar-style, so all students sit around a large, round table. They discuss the reading from the night before, and the professor often jumps in to join the 15-person discussion. This class is, unsurprisingly, about collecting and the proclivity of humans to collect things over time, a tendency best seen at play in museums. 

1:00 PM | Lunch

Despite having eaten breakfast relatively recently, William often meets up with friends to eat lunch immediately after this class. His classes today follow a tight schedule, so it is important to get some nourishment now. 

1:30 - 4:00 PM | Anthropology: Indigenous Peoples and the Politics of Representation

After lunch, William walks from the Dining Center to Sharpless Hall. This is a slightly larger class at about 25 people, but it is still primarily discussion-based. Every night, the students write a short reflection paper based on an assigned reading. They will then discuss this text and its implications for the duration of the class. 

Tip: Keep track of your syllabus! In most of your classes, this is the only thing you have that tells you what and when each reading and assignment is due, so it’s really important! 

4:30 - 7:00 PM | Fencing Practice

William then proceeds to the GIAC Fitness Center, where he will have fencing practice. The team starts with a cardio warm-up, then they practice bouting (where they fence teammates who use the same weapon as them). Then, there are drills, where specific actions and movements are practiced. Some days, the team exercises to condition themselves for actual competition.

Fencing was an entirely new activity for William when he came to Haverford. He’s found that it’s something that he enjoys quite a bit, and it is a unique opportunity that he had at college.

“Sure, college is about the academics, but it’s about the experience just as much. Try new things while you can—there’s no other time you’re going to have this many resources to try things again,” he said.

7:00 - 8:00 PM | Dinner

Since the dining hall closes at 8:00 PM, the entire fencing team goes to eat dinner as a group on the days that they have practice. After dinner, they generally talk until the dining hall closes. 

8:00 - 11:00 PM | Social Time

Most nights, William spends several hours after he gets back to his dorm visiting and talking to friends who also live with him. After a long and busy day, this is the best time for him to relax.

“Don’t be afraid to be yourself because college is the best time to experiment with who you want to be,” he said.

Tip: Have time in your schedule for free time. Time is structured very differently in college. You have a lot more control over what you do and when you do it, and it’s easy to lose track of it and not have time for yourself.

11:00 PM - 2:00 AM | Work

William heads back to his dorm after hanging out with friends and completes his work at night. He finds that this is the time that works best for him and, because his first class often does not require him to wake up until later in the day, it works with his schedule as well. He mentions that there is a lot of reading and warns future college students to be aware of that. 

2:00 AM | Sleep