My name is Thomas Halsey Nailor, usually Tom for short and most of my friends call me Nailor. I’m originally from New Canaan, a small town in Fairfield County, Connecticut. As for my place on the Providence College campus, I live in the McDermott dorm on the basement floor along with my two roommates Mike and Marc--I'm sure I’ll reference them quite extensively in future blog entries.

Before coming to the Providence College, I attended the Canterbury School, a smaller Catholic college preparatory school located in New Milford, CT. New Milford is about an hour away from my hometown, so I naturally boarded which was a fantastic experience that I think more than prepared me to live in the dorm here on campus. As much as I don’t like to toot my own horn, I was quite the big fish in a little pond at Canterbury, so it’s quite a shock being in such a big place as Providence. However I have always relished a challenge, and I think if anything it will be at least interesting to not see the same 350 faces every day.

Here at PC, I’m hoping to become involved in numerous activities but some that I’ve seen around campus that I’ll do my best to tell you all about when I’m more deeply ingrained are The Cowl (our newspaper,) Rejects on the Rise (an improvisational sketch comedy group I saw on campus this past Saturday) and Campus Ministry. Other than that I’m sure I’ll find some new things to try (my roommates and I are thinking of starting a 3 on 3 basketball team for instance) but I’ll keep everyone posted on that front. I like to think of myself as an active member of whatever community I am a part of, so hopefully I’ll have quite a few stories to tell.

Other than whatever I may be involved in, I enjoy a wide variety of things in my spare time. When asked, I usually quote writing and lifting weights as my two favorite activities, which I think surprises many people. As I like to say, I am a firm believer in “Mens Sana in Corpore Sano” which is Latin for “A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body.” That is to say, I think that neither pure physical nor pure mental ability can get you anywhere--you have to have balance in my opinion. Other than these two things, I also enjoy reading, listening to lots of different types of music, and of course just messing around with my friends, as I’m always up for a laugh.

Finally, I guess I had better answer the most basic questions people ask when it comes to describing myself. I am Roman Catholic, as well as being a Conservative when it comes to the political race, though I try not to let either of those define me to others. I enjoy a wide variety of music but my two favorite bands are the Red Hot Chili Peppers and anything by Bruce Springsteen. I have a great passion for movies, and my favorites are comedies, especially “Caddyshack” and “Spaceballs.” I wish I could list all of my favorite books, but I think it would end up taking far too much room here--if you would like to know some of them, just ask away readers! My favorite TV shows include “Scrubs” and “Law and Order” (surprising for a declared English major, no?) and my favorite sport is hockey, more specifically the New York Rangers.

I hope I’ve given you at least a small glimpse into who I am, and I hope that as you read my blog this year you’ll be able to not only get a great idea of what an amazing place Providence College is, in addition to a more accurate portrait of who I am. Hope you all keep reading and best of luck with the college process to those of you who are going through it!