ASA: Academic Study Associates 2008 Programs

Each week we have a big RA group event on Monday night to kick off the week to a fun start, and last week's exciting event was our Amazing ASA Race. Student teams competed to race around campus, solve clues, perform challenges, and hustle back to the finish line to claim their victory (and a pizza party prize to the winning team)! From soccer to Sudoku pit stops, the ASA-ers raced like they were on the hit reality show themselves, and the RA groups really came together as teams to work through the puzzles and race to the finish line!

After last weekend's trip to Six Flags on Saturday, ASA UMass headed off to Boston on Sunday. Some students went to see a comedy show called "Shear Madness," others made their way over to the Red Sox game, and the rest spent the day sightseeing, shopping, and relaxing in the Boston Commons and around town. The group returned to enjoy our "80s Smoothies" night in the courtyard, with a few popped collars and delicious fruit smoothies making the evening a fun one. This was our first trip to Boston and we'll be headed back again in our final weekend at the program - and from all of the Red Sox foam fingers that made their way back on the buses, we seem to have recruited several new Boston fans on our successful adventure!

Last Saturday our group went to Six Flags New England for our first big excursion - and "big" was definitely the theme of the day, from new rollercoasters to water rides to Looney Tunes characters and the dancing Mr. Six running around the park! Students ate funnel cakes and won lots of prizes, and we all came home tanned, happy, and just in time for the Amherst fireworks that night. It was a beautiful, sunny Fourth of July and a great start to our weekend excursions at ASA UMass!

Last Friday was a busy one for our students - besides classes and getting ready for the weekend trips, we hosted our Backyard Bash in the afternoon. The volleyball court was wet and muddy, but somehow that made the games even better, and the students put the staff to shame with their skills at the net! Then Friday night we went bowling at Spare Time in Northampton, MA, and the students once again showed off their talents during the evening's exciting "Cosmic Bowling," complete with blacklights and spinning disco balls... It was a full day of fun, with a weekend of trips still ahead of us!

Last week's Orientation was full of student adventures, and these are a few shots of our students working as teams in the afternoon's "Outdoor Quest" and the evening scavenger hunt/performance called "Treasure Hunters." RA groups played crab soccer, shot hoops during "Knockout," ran around like crazy on the dizzy bats, sang theme songs, and built human pyramids. There were lots of smiles, laughs, and of course plenty of great picture-taking opportunities, and our students had the chance to come together and get to know one another while working with their groups to complete the missions they were given. A fun day all around!

ASA UMass 2009 - the crew.

Welcome to ASA UMass 2009 - the summer of "UMagic!" We've had an exciting and busy first week here in the great college town of Amherst, Massachusetts.


Students are getting into the swing of waking up early, heading down to breakfast, going to class, enjoying an afternoon of soccer or tie-dying, doing some homework and laundry, and then getting ready for our big evening events! So far it's been everything from bowling to the Amazing ASA Race... the competition's already heating up! We've also gone on trips to Six Flags and Boston this weekend, and everyone's back and ready for an exciting, engaging, and enlightening Week 2 here at UMass! More posts soon to come, but for now, take a look at some of our students (and crackerjack RA staff!) enjoying their first few days of Orientation here at ASA...

In the next weeks, as you finish up your school year and prepare for your journey to Amherst, ASA staff will be preparing too. As staff put finishing touches on course syllabi and add last details to excursion plans, they will keep you posted about details that you'll need to know by adding an entry to the 'News & Updates' feature on the ASA website. Before you travel to UMass entries to 'News & Updates' will be informational with details like your mailing address, program phone number, driving directions etc. Once you arrive on campus the section will take on quite a different feel as your program director and senior staff post program updates with photos of you and your friends, your instructors and your adventures. Please make sure you subscribe to 'News & Updates' now so as not to miss any pre-program details. Encourage grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends to subscribe before the summer so that they can see all that you're busy with in Massachusetts. Look for a new post each week. Keep working to complete your pre-program forms and don't forget to visit the 'Forms Download' section within MyASA to get a program packing list, pre-program handbook and other valuable materials.