Over the last several years, my 2nd home on campus, the Charles E. Smith Center (our varsity athletic center) has been undergoing serious updates and construction. Before I started here at GW, the building’s look and facilities were starting to show its age and slightly outdated nature. In order to continue to make GW a force in the A10 Conference, a major construction overhaul was needed. And in 2008, a rather large donation was given by the Robert H. Smith and the Charles E. Smith Family Foundations and the Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod which jumpstarted the renovations. Everything in the Smith Center has been redone, including all the locker rooms, sports medicine center, weight room, hallways, conference rooms, academic support center, the offices, concession stands, fitness room, entrance, ticket office, laundry room, bleachers, and of course the actually gym itself.
At times, this change for the better has created other challenges and obstacles. Such as for my first 2 years on the volleyball team, for our preseason (August), instead of practicing in the Smith Center, which was not ready for use yet, we were forced to practice and prepare for our season in the Lerner Health and Wellness center. While “Hell Well,” as it is called by the student population for short, is an extremely nice student rec and gym, it made life a little more difficult for our team. For example, doing our team laundry was much more difficult, the gym facilities were much smaller, and we were without a locker room. And each of the two seasons, our entire first half of our season was played on the road until the gym was suitable enough to hold matches. In fact, my volleyball team and I were the 1stsporting event to be held in the new gym.
Here are two excellent videos that explain and take tours of the Smith Center, showing off its renovations:
And here are two websites from gwsports that have pictures of the construction progress that occurred over the last 4 years:
Since I spend several hours there every day, this transformation has affected my life over the last few years in many ways and I have seen each stage along the way. The building is quite beautiful now and I am glad that I get to experience playing and training in the newly renovated facilities. And the Smith Center isn’t just used for varsity athletics. Its hosts a variety of events, such as graduation ceremonies, concerts, comedy shows, and guest speakers. It is a vital part of the GW campus and its new facelift has it looking new and improved.
On another note, I can’t tell you how beautiful the weather here in DC is today. Absolutely gorgeous. 67 degrees. I can’t get over it. I mean, its February! It’s the middle of winter and I am wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals outside. Every opportunity to go outside today, I take it. Well I’m off to the men’s basketball game where at halftime they are honoring those who made the Athletic Dean’s List for the last 2 semesters. And guess what? Yours truly is being honored separately with all of the athletes who earned a 4.0 GPA either of the last 2 semesters! Woohoo!
Feel free to email me with any questions! cbgraf@gwmail.gwu.edu
-Christie
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