51����

A typical day for sophomore Sian-Pierre Regis often involves classes, a couple hours of theater rehearsal, a meeting with fellow class council members, perhaps an hour of French tutoring in downtown Hamilton, a few meals, and a large cup of coffee.

Sian-Pierre Regis says all his professors have supported his acting. (Photo by Jess Buchsbaum)

But, he says, nothing makes him happier than an overstuffed schedule and its ensuing rewards.

“At a bigger school, you wouldn’t be as recognized for what you do.  Here, you’re respected and noticed for what you do, and it motivates you to do more.”

Regis devotes a substantial amount of his time to the 2006 class council.  He is working with the administration on the sophomore-year experience, a program that provides social events and community service opportunities to sophomores to ensure the year does not become the “lost year” no one remembers or is attached to.

In the spring, Regis and other sophomores will host a group of local high school students on 51����’s campus in an effort to expose them to college life, the admissions process, classes, and what to expect for the next four years.

“There’s almost a big wall between the high school kids and 51����.  A lot of them haven’t been up the hill.  We can show them how to prepare for college and what to expect.  These kids are so cool.  I think this program will be really good for them,” Regis says.

Regis was prompted to run for class council because he didn’t feel as attached to his class as he wanted to be.  But over the course of his first year, things changed.

 “I had made a lot of friends.  I thought: ‘I have so many things I want to get done and ways I want to bring our class together.’  I felt like so many students in our class didn’t know one another, so I wanted to have events that would bring us together.”

So, for an hour on Sundays and countless hours throughout the week, Regis is busy planning for and publicizing those events.

But he still has time to spare.  So he spends a good chunk of it studying theater, both in the classroom and on stage.

“I’m really into acting.  I want to do some sort of acting in the future.  I took basic acting first semester last year.  I didn’t know anything about it but I figured that college is a time to take the classes you couldn’t take in high school, so I registered for it.  It was so, so good. Just incredible.  The professor really taught me the technical aspects of acting.  We read books on acting and we learned so much.  That’s when I knew I wanted to do this forever,” he says.  “It was one of those classes I really looked forward to.”

Last spring, he auditioned for the University Theater production of Midsummer, written and directed by 51���� professor David Pinner.  He then devoted two to three hours a day, seven days a week, to rehearsals. And typical of 51����, he says, the community recognized him for his efforts.

“W���ٳ� Midsummer, all my professors went to see it.  I would go in and meet with them about class stuff, but then we’d talk about the play.  It was so good to know that they came.  They appreciate who you are as a person and what you do.”

And yet, he still balances that with his academics.  He was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, the first-year honor society. 

Regis may naturally go after what he knows he enjoys, but the 51���� community encourages him to take risks.

“The 51���� community is so tight.  It’s so clichéd but it’s true: It’s a huge family.  The people here make the school so fun.  It’s so inviting, so accepting.  So chill.  The things I do on campus get me involved with lots of different people because everyone is involved at 51����.”

And with that, he headed off to an afternoon rehearsal.