Epitome of Summer

I just finished the busiest week of my summer, but by far the best one yet! I went to Maine with my family from Thursday - Sunday (more on that in my next post...) and then immediately went and met my two best friends, Amy and Emily, from camp last year for three days of togetherness and fun!

Last summer I served as the Sub-Senior Line Division Head at Lochearn Camp for Girls, where I met Amy (Junior Line Division Head) and Emily (Senior Line Division Head). We immediately bonded because of our similar jobs, and then became extremely close friends in the process. We had been trying to hatch a plan to see one another again, but our schedules and distance from each other was challenging! However, Amy, who is from Utah, decided to fly into Boston and Emily, who is from Nova Scotia, Canada drove down and we all met in Hanover, NH, which is close to Lochearn.

Me and Emily while enjoying ice cream at Kimball Farm Ice Cream in Carlisle, MA (SO delicious)

Me and Amy

(l-r) Emily, Sarah, me, Marilyn, Becky, Emily, Amy at dinner at Molly's in Hanover, NH. Emily, Sarah, Becky and Marilyn went back to camp this year and had the evening off, so we all met up and had a fantastic time together!

We had infinite laughs, a ton of mishaps, very little sleep and just had fun being together! We spent the first night in a tent that was really comfortably made for two people, but we cuddled up and fit all three... We went and visited camp and saw lots of staff members and campers who we hadn't seen in for a year which was really nice. We met up for dinner with more camp friends, and then had to get a hotel for the second night because of torrential rains, lightning, thunder and an absolutely soaked tent. We then traveled to MA where we shopped and went sightseeing in Boston, met up with more camp people and enjoyed some time off from work/school.

I was so sad to say goodbye to both of them, but we had an amazing time and will work hard to get us all back together again soon. Emily's 30th birthday is next year and she and a few friends are flying to Las Vegas, which is conveniently close to Arizona State University where Amy is getting her masters degree and I could fly for relatively cheap...hey, a girl can dream, right??

NEACAC Summer Institute

Last week I attended the NEACAC (New England Association of College Admission Counseling) Summer Institute, which was held at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH. Summer Institute was formerly (they often stressed "formerly!") known as "Rookie Camp" for new college admission counselors, so that kind of gives you an idea of what I was expecting!

I attended the conference with my new co-workers Mike and Jeremy. When we arrived on the first day, we met our mentor groups (a smaller group of conference participants with two mentors, or conference faculty) and started on a whirlwind week of professional development, workshops, opportunities for networking and lots of fun! We had speakers introduce us to many concepts and ideas that we will will be coming in contact with during our time in admissions, including financial aid, current trends in higher education, FERPA and public speaking. In addition, we split up into three smaller groups to have more specific training in the area that suited us. I went to the workshops for people who had been in the profession for 0 - 6 months where we talked a lot about the basics of working in admissions. We talked about reading applications, traveling, doing interviews, giving presentations and got tons of questions answered!

In addition, we spent time in our mentor groups participating in a mock admission committee meeting, discussing policy to practice and even giving a 5 minute presentation to get a sense of how we do in front of a group. I spoke about social justice as St. Mike's and got some very helpful feedback about how I can improve my presence in front of a group. Having an opportunity to interact with so many great people in this profession made me even more excited for my new position!

We also got to have some fun during the week - we attended a New Hampshire Fisher Cats baseball game and had free time to socialize with our new colleagues. I was also able to have some time to meet up with our close family friends who live in Hampstead, NH, which was an added bonus.

I had a great week and absolutely cannot wait to start full time on August 16th!

Happy Summer!

We are almost officially in the midst of a Vermont heatwave! Apparently, an official heatwave is when three days in a row reach 90 degrees...we've got two under our belts, and a third is almost guaranteed to come tomorrow (plus and fourth and fifth on Thursday and Friday...phew!).

I'm relaxing in my apartment tonight, trying to beat the heat. Thankfully, my landlord put in a window air conditioner today and my place is starting to cool down a bit...I've never lived anywhere with an air conditioner, so it's a nice treat!

I enjoyed a long weekend for the Fourth of July filled with small-town Vermont festivities, parades, fireworks and family gatherings. It's hard to believe that it's already July!

I am meeting with Kristin Fitzgerald, Senior Associate Director of Admission at SMC on Friday to talk more about my travel this fall. I have the official word that my travel territory will be New York (not NYC), New Jersey and Pennsylvania, but I will be meeting with Kristin to talk more about the logistics of planning an admissions travel season. As soon as I know where I'm going, I'll be sure to let you know!

I am looking forward to getting ready to starting my new position with SMC admissions...it's going to be quite the adventure!

SMC Wedding!

I attended an SMC wedding this past weekend - what a wonderful affair! Em is one of my very best friends from SMC, despite being a year older. She married her high school sweetheart and fellow SMC grad, Andy. Both Em and Andy are Resident Directors at St. Mike's - they are just the best couple!

It was so much fun to reconnect with Em, Andy, their families and other SMC friends at the beautiful event. Enjoy the photos!

The beaufitul bride and her dad - I didn't take this picture - I was too welled up with tears!
The happy couple!

SURPRISE!!

Yes faithful blog readers, I'm the newest SMC Admissions Counselor!

I'm still finishing up my VISTA year down in Middlebury but when my service ends I'll be moving back up to Burlington to work for the Saint Michael's College Office of Admission, traveling, meeting with prospective students, reading applications and so much more that I can't even begin to guess. I am PUMPED.

So, fear not, I have not disappeared - just moved on to bigger and better things!!

Giving Back...

Every Tuesday I go over to the local nursing home to spend time with a few of the residents - I had initially wanted to crochet with an elderly resident who might like to have some company, but I've become more like the visitor of the day, going around and visiting various ladies, talking about crochet projects, nursing home happenings, my life and wheeling them from place to place. I love being able to spend a little time during my work day with a totally different population than I am used to.

Today was BINGO day for the residents - boy did they all get excited about that! The activities lady wheeled out a little cart of prizes and drew about 20 of the elderly residents. It was so much fun to sit with them as they played - they were all so happy and excited!

As you know, St. Mike's is where I really started with my passion for service, but oddly enough, the movie UP was one of my motivations for wanting to volunteer at this nursing home. When I watched the movie I cried my eyes out when thinking of the poor old man without his wife, so I was motivated to try to make a difference in an elderly person's life. I hope I am succeeding!

Farmer's Market!

One of the things that I love about Burlington in the summer is the weekly Burlington Farmer's Market, held in City Hall Park.

The famer's market is so Burlington - very eclectic, friendly, fun, local and fresh. Today, I bought a loaf of delicious 3-grain bread, some local cheese and a root beer float with locally made ice cream and locally made root beer. I also met another crocheter who was selling her adorable creations, eyed a beautiful handcrafted ring, and had samples galore!

In addition to the farmer's market, this weekend is the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, with events taking place all over Burlington. There was some awesome music as we perused the farmer's market, and there are many more events throughout the week.

Burlington is great during the summer - I hope you have a chance to come visit and experience it for yourself!