Staff:SAR
This page is a record of well-known, beloved, and/or despised Saratogan staff and the many stories collected about them.
Residential Staff
Will
His last name may not come to mind right now, but Will made a huge impression on the boys of Rounds 3, as well as the Skidmore community at large, during SAR.05.2. He was a free spirit who kept a box of condoms in plain sight in his incense-filled room and who routinely let students stay up past curfew, roam the halls, and have illegal sleepovers (ISOs). His first hall meeting involved passing around a decomposing half-eaten apple, which he deemed an "alien brain." He ran a weekly activity, "The Pen Is Mightier," which was a stream-of-consciousness writing workshop where he would play music and speak into the microphone of a mini karaoke machine (with multiple voice effects), usually simply repeating the words "syphillis, syphillis, fetus, fetus." He also ran a daily activity simply entitled "DOOM," involving dark rooms and the same small karaoke machine. Will was influenced greatly by the book "Beyond the Brain" by Stanislav Grof (a study of altered states of consciousness and psychedelic drugs), which he would often discuss with students. Will also had an idea for a restaurant, "Will's Beautiful Buckets," where full meals (in his words, "chicken, gravy, corn, and mashed potatoes") would be mixed in a bucket and served to customers (other meals included meatloaf and ice cream sundaes). This was a full year before KFC announced their "Famous Bowls," an almost identical product that led many to wonder if his idea had been stolen (it seems to be a coincidence).
His frequent partner-in-crime was his girlfriend and fellow RA, Yon. Their relationship was not technically allowed, but his residents would often see her going into or coming out of his room late at night (during the aforementioned hall-roaming). Will and Yon believed in following "the letter of the law," finding loopholes in the rules that prevented boys on Rounds 3 from going onto the girls' halls and vice versa. They organized cookie parties and other social activities across the doorway, so no one would cross the threshold, but the two groups could still interact.
Will got along with the other RAs, and was even quite good at dealing with higher-ups, so very little if any of his not-so-legal exploits made their way back. His residents were also fiercely loyal, covering for him if they or he got caught violating curfew or other rules. When three of his residents were caught in an ISO, they and Will denied that he knew anything about it, despite the fact that he had often hung out with them in the same room (and had just left prior to the discovery). Will did not come back the next year, and according to returning RA Randall, he and Yon were last heard of living in Thailand, a place he had talked about often.
Flava Flav
Flava Flav is one of the most beloved of the RAs at Saratoga Springs, especially during SAR.06.2. His real name is Zachary Heath, and he is coincidentally also a singer like the complimentary pop icon for which he is nicknamed.
No one is quite sure how the name originated. However, Zachary's RA group quickly realized that with a few adjustments (clock, bullhorn hat, darker skin, and grill,) he does actually look like Flava Flav. The rapscallion group of name-changers then began to blurt out "Flava Flav" every time they saw him for the next couple of days, and after about a week, the entire campus was chanting his name, even in the stands during the CTY Talent Show.
He is well known for, among other things:
- "Thanks, you're wonderful!"
- Singing performance at talent show
- White hair (happened after losing a bet)
- Straight hair (happened after the white hair went away)
This is a picture of him
Note: Flava Flav is unrelated to Lancaster's Flava Flav (Dan Estrada), affectionately nicknamed by a group of students in 07.2.
Stefan
Stefan is one of the coolest RAs to have ever come to Skidmore. His first year was in 2008 and his last session ever (as of now) was session 1 2010. He was a huge soccer fan, he DJ'd the dances, he did talent show, and he just didn't give a flying f*ck. He first made the history books by being one of the RA's on the floor on which 'fight club' occurred, and later masterminded the "Strawberry Shortcake Plot" during session 2 of 2008. Though he developed a following after his sketch at the whole campus meeting on the first day session 1 2009, saying "I'm Shtefawn" in the most bizarre accent while wearing antlers. Stefan is also constantly singing some random song, so if you ever run into him do not be surprised if he's serenading you.
He was also very famous for being very injury prone. During his very first full day of CTY with students, Stefan was playing soccer as part of the weekly and fell into a hole on the lower fields and sprained his ankle. The next year during another game of soccer, Stefan managed to break his nose on Patrick, who possibly was the smallest kid on campus and also a beast at soccer. The year after, which was Stefan's last session, Stefan somehow avoided becoming injured, though he did manage to injure SRA Phil during a practice session for soccer. From what was told to certain students, there was a 50/50 ball and Stefan got to it and kicked it straight into the side of Phil's head. This later led to Phil getting an ear infection. Phil we commend you for taking the fall for one of your workers.
His patrols were also some of the most hilarious of all time. Ranging from his PDA patrol pranks, to his last night antics, which including finding Sam Stansell out on the quad, letting a guy into Howe/Rounds and busting a certain sleepover (room 217, Wilmarth 2, S1,SAR,'10, with 8 people in the room, and ten eventually--it's a single) and he found a can of cashews. He then disappeared from the crowd of RA's he arrived with. We literally have no idea where he went. if you have no idea why this is so funny, you probably never will.
Speaking of Sam Stansell, during the human chess game at Carnival, when the group yelled out Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam STANsell, he burst out into one of his trademark laughs in front of the whole campus. Later Stefan asked one of the members of the group why they kept on saying his name. They simply responded because he's annoying, to which Stefan replied "Say no more"
As of current, many people across the country will most likely recognize this man's wonderful face due to the fact that he was recently on national television. That's right, this is the Stefan who was a part of the Yale Whiffenpoofs on the NBC program The Sing-Off. Known for killer conducting and "inventing A Capella" (Although he swears the producers made him say that), his awesomeness has now been spread all over the country like hot margarine over an English muffin.
RA Matt
He's kind of short, kind of tall. Brownish-blondish-redish hair. Kind of fat, kind of skinny. Kind of active, kind of lazy. Kind of everywhere, kind of nowhere. Just awesomely average.
RA Colin
Very cool, very relaxed guy. As the song "We Fly High" was popular at the time of 2008.2, it was not uncommon to hear kids modify to lyrics to: "We fly high/no lie/COLIN!" as a way of showing their love. Also I'm pretty sure he was well aware of the numerous ISOs occuring under his watch, but as they were all nevermores/forevermores, he allowed them to continue.
Alex Hart and Shira Hecht
Together, they are an awesome team. Hilarious in many a fashion and winners at leading activities, Alex and Shira make a dynamic duo. Session 1, 2010, they hosted dance parties in the Rounds 3 lounge whenever Quad Time was canceled. Add more antics.
At the end of the intermission Alex was at the mic trying to get everyone back in their seats when she started to beat box. She is also known to spontaneously rap.
Caroline Cusick
Caroline is a short half-asian RA who is bubbly and energetic all the time. She is an epic dancer and knows the lyrics to pretty much any pop song that Stefan could play. She was also voted as the unanimous crush of David Grimes Hall Sarartoga Session 1.
One of the more hilarious incidents involving Caroline was when she had the brilliant idea of putting blue cellophane on the lamp of CTYers Joanna's and Natalie's room and have a dance party. This later led to the light breaking and having to call Kenny over to fix it in exchange for fruit-roll-ups.
Also on the nevermore route Joanna and Natalie stole her phone and made her dance for it to the tune of Tik Tok, this attracted many Saratogans to stop and look, even holding up traffic which just goes to show how good her dancing prowess is. RA David Grimes also joined in and made $2.07 with his dancing.
She is so small that while taking a girl to take morning meds during what was probably the hottest week all summer, Caroline decided to cut through Howe/Rounds to walk through air conditioning. While this was happening Stefan saw them and, not noticing the black lanyard, in his head said "Yes!!!" as he spotted his prey. When he did pounce and said "excuse me miss-" fully prepared to embarrass the unsuspecting girls only to realize that it was in fact Caroline walking a girl through the halls.
On the last night, Caroline was on the last Wilmarth shift, and it was around 4 AM when boys started to leave their rooms in preparation for Passionfruit. According to her, this was not supposed to be happening, but as soon as someone offered ramen to her, she immediately forgot what she was doing, and went on a mad search for a fork. She later sat down in the Wilmarth 2 lounge to eat her ramen, while many a boy walked by wondering why she was there, sitting in an opposite-sex dorm, eating ramen. While eating and relaxing in Wilmarth, she decided to start a walkie-talkie sing-along, with 6 or so RAs trading off lines of "Break Your Heart," causing everyone in the Wilmarth 2 lounge at the time to sing along. During this strange occurrence, one CTYer, Peter Lu, when coming face to face with Caroline, very confusedly remarked "You're a girl" then kept on walking with Reuben Mathew.
Jeremy Strege
Jeremy is a young and apparently very attractive college student who is notoriously known for his hair-style, which resembles that of the ever-infamous Justin Bieber. No matter how many achievements or other memorable things he is remembered for, the majority of the campers will hear the name "Jeremy" and be reminded of his great Bieber hair. He is a Forevermore, being a previous camper at Lancaster.
In 2011.1 Jeremy started his time as an RA and quickly became "the cool guy", or as some others say, "the epitome of coolness". This meant that many of the Nevermores would hang around him during quad time, and that much of the female population of the camp would fawn over him during sleepovers (scarily, some of these girls were squirrels, meaning they were only around thirteen when they caught Jeremy's brand of Bieber Fever).
Aside from the hair, Jeremy was also a renowned glowstringer/raver (which makes sense taking his previous camp experience into account). He was the only RA to take part in the raver circles at the dances, and introduced the Meltdown, which is a highly difficult move that involves 360 degree alternating planes, to the campers in 2011. Now, the Meltdown is one of the most prestigious moves known to the site.
Like all of the popular RAs, Jeremy was deeply involved with camp activities. He was one of the RAs at the Gauntlet for 2011 and 2012, and performed at both the Lip Sync and Talent Show for both years as well. In 2011.1 he lip-synced "Baby" along with Kenny (named below), Dan, and Peter. In the same year/session, he performed "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" (by Flight of the Conchords) with RA Peter. In 2012.1 Jeremy lip-synced "What Makes You Beautiful" with Kenny, Geoff, and Mike. In the Talent Show 2012.2, he performed the same song as in 2011 with Alex Libby.
Mike Schilling
Mike is a tall white guy who plays sidekick to cool people like Jeremy and Kenny. He is decently chill, but apparently also has somewhat of a competitive streak, as he found his absence (on this page) borderline intolerable.
One notable attribute of Mike is his laugh, which does not match what one would expect from seeing him in person. You see, when Mike starts laughing too hard, his throat "closes up", which results in an amusing and repetitive squeaking.
He is also known for creating the "Bulletproof Dance" which has become popular at Skidmore, especially during the dances.
Evan Patel
In 2008 and 2009, Evan Patel was a camper at CTY on Skidmore Campus. He was commonly recognized for his ridiculous height and ability to play soccer, basketball, and most importantly, frisbee. After aging out of CTY, Evan went on to spread his love of CTY throughout his family, and eventually got hit brother to attend CTY as well. However, the dynasty that is Evan Patel does not end here. After graduating High School, Evan was determined to continue his involvement in the CTY program. He hoped to be an RA in Saratoga Springs, however it proved impossible for in order to be an RA you must have completed at least one year of college, which Evan had not done at the time. But after a grueling year at Yale University, (this proves that he was a former CTYer) Evan applied again, and given his overwhelming ability to 'woo' any administration, JHU gladly placed Evan as an RA at Skidmore College, where he had previously attended as a camper.
The first session that Evan was an RA, Evan showed his dominance as an athlete, being a major reason why the staff was able to secure two of the three Student-Staff games (Frisbee and Basketball). However, even though Evan thrashed the attempts of many Nevermore's to win a Trifecta, it still seemed that many kids forgave Evan and continued to respect his intelligence and athleticism. In fact, Evan was so athletic that on an RA 'Fun Day' when the RA's went bowling, he and his alter-ego "Kevin" were able to dominate the bowling alley when he bowled over a 160! It was even more astounding that all of these amazing character traits did not cause Evan to be aloof from the kids. In fact, as a casino night prize, Evan allowed the choosers of his prize to be able to shave his head into any design they chose. Not only did Evan let the random hall shave his head, but he continued to rock the mohawk that was placed on his cranium for the next five weeks. He even gelled his hair everyday to ensure that the mohawk was perfectly made. But anyways, Alex Libby, a camper at the time, recognized Evan's well-roundedness and decided that it would not be fitting just to address this man as simply 'Evan.' So without any hesitation, Alex decided to give Evan the title of Renaissance Man, and from that day on, Alex Libby, a handfull of kids, and some RA's began to call this idol of a man the Renaissance Man, however it was mostly Alex Libby who referred to Evan by this title. This was because it was often considered rude for a non-Renaissance Man to call a Renaissance Man "Renaissance Man."
Even more impressively in session two, Evan proved himself to be even more dominating. In the frisbee game, the height of this Renaissance Man gave him the ability to consistently score against the students. Then, in the Student-Staff soccer game, the one goal that was scored against the students was a through ball, to which Evan quickly sprinted to and was able to secure the victory that day. Most impressively, Evan's assistance in the Basketball game was proven when he constantly blocked shots by the kids, and due to his 12 points in only the second half. However, luckily this man was able to talk to students. In fact, Evan was thought of to be one the most chill RA's, and on the last night he chilled with the kids. Luckily, another fellow Renaissance Man was able to secure his black lanyard, showing hope that the Renaissance Man Dynasty shall continue through thick and thin, in sickness and in health.
Kenny Akinnagbe
Kenny Akinnagbe is one of the coolest, tallest, and most athletic RAs on Skidmore campus. It is difficult to identify which of his amazing qualities he is most famous for, but he has a wonderful personality and truly makes an effort to befriend as many CTYers as possible. He honestly loves CTY just as much as a camper which makes him so unique. Kenny is also famous for having a full time job yet still finding time to do CTY each year by sacrificing his vacation days. He first came to Skidmore in 2010. He was a Ra on Wilmarth 2. He was known to make campers he caught have having an ISO form human pyramids or sing Lady Gaga songs with the promise of leaving them be. Though when they performed the tasks he would still break it up. What makes Kenny amazing is that he knew the perfect balance between enforcing the rules and letting the students be. When he was a RA, Kenny was known to to conduct rounds with a a plastic baseball bat as a means of harmless intimidation. He also occasionally used Nerf guns during rounds. In 2012, he became an SRA and busier than ever, but is still widely loved by Skidmore campers. While he was not quite as fun compared to when he was a RA, he still maintained his charm and made it a point to be completely open and fair, in regards to discipline. Kenny embraces and encourages traditions at Saratoga to the extent where, in 2012, he took a picture of sidewalk chalk writings (which are banned at Skidmore) and posted it on Facebook with the caption "R.A.S.K. is one of my favorite activities." Traditionally, Kenny also performs in the Lip Synch during Casino Night and the Talent Show. When he was an RA in 2011, he could occasionally be seen riding his scooter around campus. He was also known for being a good dresser. When asked why he put so much effort into his wardrobe he would reply "I gotta stay fresh to death." or "I gotta look the part.".
One of Kenny's defining characteristics was his superior athleticism. While in College for a time, he played on his school's basketball team. In sports where he lacked skill he was able to make up for it in shear speed alone. This was especially true in soccer. While Kenny couldn't really pass, his speed alone made up for it on defense. In 2013.1 during the Students vs Staff Ultimate Frisbee game, while stalling a player he took a frisbee to the throat at close range. He was able to walk off the field on his power and was fine afterward, leading his team to victory. Under his leadership the staff was able to complete a trifecta in 2012.2 and a double trifecta in 2013.1 and 2013.2. Even with these feats Kenny never once rubbed it in the students faces, instead going out of his way to congratulate the students who played, on playing a good game.
He was very talented at coming up with unique and engaging activities. In 2010 he came up with "Competitive Clapping" where students had to form teams and come up with elaborate clapping routines. Also he rain spicy Spanish dancing with SRA Liz. In 2011.2, Kenny set up an activity called "Run For Your Life," which involved RAs who pretended to be monsters chasing kids around the Skidmore track and attempting to tag them. (Sidenote: Later that year, in October, another Run For Your Life event was held in Baltimore, Maryland, where volunteers dressed up as zombies.) In 2011.1 Kenny ran for the first time the epic activity "Man Talk" where he showed awesome videos, demonstrated the "Man Walk", spoke about Chuck Norris, and answered questions in a hilarious manner. He has run this activity every year since, even after he became the SRA.
In 2013.2, Kenny performed a rock version of Tunak Tunak Tun along with RA John, RA James, and Site Director Dave during the Talent Show. He, along with RA Geoff, Site Director Dave, and RA Dan Bell, also lip synched and danced to "What Makes You Beautiful" on Casino Night amid wild cheers. They also lip-synced "My Heart Will Go On," complete with interpretive dance.
Site Admin
Marty and Chris Hazzard
Marty was the Site Director in 2008 for Saratoga Springs and Chris Hazzard was the Dean of Residential Life. Both of them were all around great guys who partially got the idea that CTY was a place to be happy, not to be burdened by rules and unjust punishment. Their administration was a breath of fresh air for Saratoga after the evil rule of Tim in 2007. Unfortunately, they did not return for 2009.
Chris was known to often play guitar for kids when a lesser DRL would have been yelling. According to him, his "crazy great-uncle" drew a weird symbol, which is now known as the biohazard symbol.
Campus Staff
Chef Guy
Chef Guy Joey Cavalier works in the Dining Hall at Skidmore College in Emily's Garden, a salad bar. He often interacts with the CTYers sitting at the circle, or "captain's table"; posting signs, banning rulebreakers from the table, and offering melon (to the delight of many). He also hosts his own YouTube series, under the name chefdad2000, which can be found here.
This may be the same chef that reported a few students to the Baltimore rep for having a "salt war" before the last dance in 09.1, nearly losing them the dance (they were freed from prison half an hour into the dance).
He also happens to be related to someone in the band Cobra Starship, unless he was totally screwing with us.
Instructors
Art (Last name?)
Art was the instructor for FPHS Chemistry for a number of years (does anyone know how many?). He was had an excellent sense of humor, command of the material, and approachability. I am confident in saying that he personally allowed me to excel and inspired my love of chemistry and I am confident he did the same for many others. Beyond the classroom, he was an avid cribbage player, and was also Canadian, though he was Canadian while teaching as well.
