Last Thursday, students who went to dinner at the Marketplace may have noticed it was busier than usual and filled with some different faces. These unfamiliar faces belonged to the spring 2008 “plunges.”
What is a plunge, you ask? A plunge is a student currently in their senior year of high school who has been accepted to King’s for the fall semester. In order to see if King’s is the right choice, they are invited to stay a night in the dorms and attend two classes related to their major the next day.
The program’s advisors, Patrick Sweeney and Erica Kovats, are in charge of pairing the plunges with a host, a current resident at King’s, based on their intended major and/or sport. This past week, hosts included freshmen Stephanie Avvento, Zachary Leonard, Ryan Wetzelberger, Allison Pamlanye, Megan Anascavage and Angelina Hale.
This week, the program tried something a little different from previous years. They planned a trip to the Barnes and Noble Bookstore for coffee and then to a movie to see either “27 Dresses” or “Rambo” at Movies 14.
“In the past, plunges weren’t allowed off campus so this is a trial activity and won’t happen every week,” said Sweeney.
Zachary Leonard hosted a student from New Jersey and helped him get a vibe of the school by showing him around campus. A former plunge himself, Leonard thinks doing the overnight helps to picture yourself at college instead of just imaging it.
“My plunge was very quiet but I’d say to future hosts don’t be discouraged and introduce your plunge to your friends and to your floor,” said Leonard.
Another plunge host, Ryan Wetzelberger, says his plunge was a great guy, a little quiet at first but still had a lot to talk about.
“Make the plunge as comfortable as possible and pay as much attention to them as you can,” said Wetzelberger.
Angelina Hale agrees with both Leonard and Wetzelberger about starting off on an awkward foot, but she quickly warmed up to her plunge. They discovered they both had a lot in common, such as singing in high school.
“All in all it was a great time and I also made a new friend,” said Hale.
Ninety percent of the time the plunges are paired by their major but in a few instances, they’re sport recruits.
“My coach called me up and said a girl was coming up to school and she was interested in volleyball,” said Colleen McEntee. “Everything was fine but it was a Tuesday night so there wasn’t too much to do after the movie.”
McEntee introduced her recruit to some of her friends, helped her find her classes and took her to volleyball practice.
The plunge program is a great program for future students to experience college first hand and picture themselves attending King’s in the fall. Erica Kovats is a perfect example of a past-plunge.
“It was a little awkward but my hosts were very laid back and outgoing,” said Kovats. “It helped me to decide to come to King’s and two weeks after my overnight I sent in my deposit.”
The program is also an opportunity to make a little extra money. Yes, Plunge hosts are paid. They earn about 20 dollars per overnight and the money is deposited into a checking account.
Valentine’s Day is the next overnight date, followed by another one at the end of February, two in March, and the final one being in April. There are enough hosts for this spring but any student interested in hosting in the future, contact Patrick Sweeney or Erica Kovats.
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