During final exam week, hundreds of William & Mary students came through the doors of Swem Library. Some were looking for a quiet place to study, a room to work on final projects with fellow classmates or a librarian to help with research. Most were dealing with the usual trappings of exam time: deadlines and stress.
It’s important for students to take time during final exams to decompress each day. To encourage this, Swem Library planned free stress-busting activities at the library during finals. Activities included a question of day contest; free coffee, desserts and other snacks; gift card raffles; games and toys to play with; and more.
One of the most popular activities was a visit from pet therapy dogs. On Thursday, Dec. 13 members of K-9 Connection of Williamsburg brought their dogs to Swem Library for a visit with students. Nine dogs, all of different breeds and sizes, entered the library lobby to greet a crowd of excited students awaiting their arrival. View photos from the event on our Flickr page.
“I don’t know who enjoyed this event more – our dogs or the students,” said Martha Rex of K-9 Connection. “You could see the students relaxing the minute they started interacting with the dogs. It was nice to see so many smiles in the room, and the dogs loved the attention!”
Being away from home and their own pets, several students said spending time with the therapy dogs helped ease their homesickness as well.
“The therapy dogs were the highlight of my finals week,” said W&M student Caitlin Verdu. “It was a wonderful way to de-stress, and I hope they can come back.”
Swem staff members are working with K-9 Connection to set up another visit during the spring semester.
Students also took a break from studying to indulge in a fun activity: coloring pages related to the library’s Night Before Christmas display. You can take a look at their creativity at our Flickr page.
Swem Library would like to thank our sponsors of Finals Fun Week: W&M Dining Services, W&M Campus Recreation, Brickhouse Tavern, Mooyah, Oceans and Ale, Food For Thought, Pita Pit, Fresh Market, Regal Cinemas, Sweet Frog, Williamsburg Cupcakes, Buffalo Wild Wings and Plaza Azteca.