Top 10 things prospective University of Mary Washington students will learn from watching the recently released YouTube series The New Guy:
- UMW mascot Sammy D. Eagle has great dance moves.
UMW mascot Sammy D. Eagle takes to the court at the Anderson Center during a recent basketball game against CNU. Photo by Norm Shafer.
From basketball to golf, UMW’s 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports, along with a lineup of intramural and club teams, offer something for everyone. Cheered on by Sammy, UMW DIII players consistently advance to the national level.
- Mary Wash horses get police escorts.
Mary Washington’s varsity intercollegiate riding team, housed at nearby Hazelwild Farm, packs in the horsepower. One of just 25 Virginia schools listed with the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association, the team has long been a national contender.
- Frisbee lives.
Dotted with Adirondack chairs, UMW’s Ball Circle is a sidewalk-encircled sanctuary of sunshine and grass, and a hub of student activity. The space is home to Commencement and a host of uniquely UMW activities, and a place where a friendly game of Frisbee is never too far away.
- University presidents like ice cream.
UMW President Troy D. Paino shares ice cream from Carl’s with a four-legged friend. Photo by Norm Shafer.
Nostalgic and delicious, Carl’s ice cream is a local institution with a national reputation. Opened in an abandoned gas station in 1947, it’s been on the National Historic Register since 2005 and touted on major media outlets like CBS News and PBS.
- Amtrak delivers.
An hour north of Richmond, Virginia, and an hour south of Washington, D.C., UMW is strategically located between state and national capitals. Amtrak makes accessing D.C. offerings – politics and power, art and museums, and some of the most prestigious internships in the United States – even easier.
- The CEO of Rolls-Royce North America is a UMW grad.
Many of UMW’s nearly 40,000 living alums have gone on to reach incredible heights in their fields. Meet Rolls-Royce North America CEO Marion Blakey ’70 and VP for government relations at Owens Illinois, the world’s largest glass manufacturer, Dan Steen ’84.
- UMW’s people are “people people.”
UMW President Troy D. Pain stars in the recently released YouTube series “The New Guy.”
It’s a tight-knit group of faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. “As a student, you want someplace where … you can take your academics seriously,” Paino said in the series. “But also, it’s a place where you feel like you can be yourself.”
- The Rappahannock River is a great place to paddleboard.
The longest free-flowing river in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Rappahannock runs adjacent to campus. It’s home to UMW’s club rowing crew and a great place to tube, canoe, kayak and paddleboard.
- Mary Washington might have played golf.
Home to one of the nation’s oldest and most respected historic preservation programs, UMW – and its location near many museums and historic sites, including The Mary Washington House (where Paino finds an interesting piece of sporting equipment) – offers students unique opportunities for hands-on learning, research and valuable internships.
- George Washington grew up in Fredericksburg.
More than 300 years of social evolution folded neatly into 11 square miles, Fredericksburg, Virginia, is a small city with big opportunity, offering a presidential past, Civil War battlefields and Colonial charm alongside savvy restaurants and iconic eateries.
