Another Service Trip!

Last week I participate in my 4th MOVE Extended Service Trip! I was asked to be the staff leader of the trip about a month ago because of a change in another staff member's schedule and after thinking it over for a few days, I excitedly accepted!

I was asked to lead a group of 10 young women on their trip to the Christian Appalachian Project's Workfest in Corbin, KY. You might remember that one of my previous service trips was to Kentucky, so I was excited to return, exactly 5 years later!

Here I am in Kentucky in 2008 with my (at that time) new friend Heather. Now Heather is my roommate and one of my closest friends!

We had a great week at Workfest - the SMC group was absolutely the best and we did a lot of meaningful service work.

Here we are!

(l-r) Bernadette, Katelyn, Lauren, Monica, Kirsten, Amanda, Hannah, Mary, Katie, Amanda, me.

We stayed at Laurel Lake Baptist Camp and each member of the group traveled to one of 8 different worksites everyday. I was a member of the Black Crew, and we worked on a tiny house up in the mountains for an elderly woman, her son and their 2 dogs.

Black Crew!

Back Row (l-r) Andrew from Notre Dame, Assistant Crew Leader Tom, me, Marshall from North Dakota State University, Diana from University of South Florida, Crew Leader Larry

Middle Row (l-r) Vicky, Eastern Illinois University, Thalita, UNC Chapel Hill, Ella, College of St. Mary

Front Row (l-r) Julie, College of Mount Saint Joseph, Assistant Crew Leader Dorothy, Amanda, SMC

You can see the house behind us - this was our second day. By the end of the week we had put in all new doors and windows, sided the front and almost the entire right side of the house and demolished the porch and built a new one. I put in floor joyces on the porch, measured and cut lots of siding, put up insulation board and pounded down lots of nails for safety. I had a great week and I think all the girls in my group did too!

We had a free day before heading to Workfest, so we made PB & J sandwiches at an Eastern Kentucky University baseball game. Their opponent, Tennessee Tech University, was staying in our hotel so we made friends with their bus driver and went to support them at their game!

Some intense floor joyce installation.

 Black Crew celebrating our last day of work on the scaffolding (I'm on the top row in the very back)

Interviews.

One of my favorite parts of my job as an Admission Counselor is interviewing prospective students - but it's also one of my least favorite parts. How is this possible? 

My favorite part of doing an interview is really getting to know the student that I'm sitting down with. I like asking questions like "tell me about your favorite class this year" and "what do you like to do outside of school?" Students give some great answers to these questions, and I enjoy feeling like I actually have something to write about when I write notes after the interview. Coming back upon these notes when reading an application is also a nice reminder of my time with the applicant, and can help me remember the details of why I thought a student was a good fit.

After I spend some time with just the student, I bring their parents into the interview room so that we can chat - this is another favorite part of interviewing. Parents can ask TOUGH questions, and I love thinking about the answers and providing the best information that I can to the family.

That being said, there are some interviews that I do not have such a wonderful time conducting. Because interviews are mainly driven by student questions, students that come into their interview unprepared or who answer questions with one word are especially painful.

I am often asked "should I do an interview?" and here is my answer: it depends. You should absolutely do an interview if you have questions that you would like answered by an Admission Counselor or you have a unique story to share that you think would be important for your counselor to know. Sitting down with your Admission Counselor shouldn't be scary or nerve wracking, because it should be just as much about you interviewing them as it is about them interviewing you. Come prepared with questions (written down, in a notebook is the best!) and be able to talk about yourself. Think about things like your favorite book, favorite class, best experience in high school and thoughts about your future.

However, there are some students who should not do interviews - students who do not have questions, are not interested in the school or are only coming to campus because their parents are making them are unproductive for all parties. It's a waste of your time to sit down and try (or not..) to make up answers to my questions, and it's a waste of my time trying to drag answers out of you. So - have a real, honest conversation with yourself (and your parents) about the pros and cons of doing an interview. Remember, you don't have a second chance to make a first impression!

If you are planning to do an interview at Saint Michael's, don't be nervous! You are the expert on you, and that's what we want to learn about. Bring questions - we look forward to meeting you!

12 Favorites of 2012

Happy New Year! I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season and are having a good start to 2013!

I thought I'd wrap up 2012 with a post of my 12 "favorites" from the year we're leaving behind...

1. Accomplishment - Running my first 10K road race at the Middlebury Turkey Trot and Gobble Wobble.

This was taken right before the finish line!

2. Place - This was a really tough one, as I visited some incredible places this year, but the Grand Canyon takes the cake for 2012!

me & Amy at the Grand Canyon

3. Professional Accomplishment: Presenting at the Collegiate Information and Visitors Services Association (CiVSA) annual conference in Denver, CO

me & Dustin at Red Rocks Amphitheater during a CiVSA conference social

4. Album - Hands down my favorite album of 2012 was MIKA's "The Origin of Love"

5. Day - My favorite day of 2012 was Monday, September 3rd. My roommates Meghan, Lauren and Heather, colleague Kath and friends Natalie and Anna went on an adventure to Addison County where we swam at Bristol Falls, ate lunch at A&W, walked around Middlebury and stopped at the Magic Hat Brewery on the way home. What a beautiful Vermont day!

Clockwise, starting at the top - Lauren, Kath, Meg, Anna, Heather & me...and Nat behind the camera!

6. Broadway Show - It's no surprise that I saw a few shows on Broadway this year, and my favorite was absolutely Book of Mormon. It was my ultimate Bucket List Broadway show and it didn't disappoint!

(l-r) Ashley, me, Mallory and Nic Rouleau, the actor who played Elder Price!

7. Song(s) - (12, in no particular order) "Blown Away" by Carrie Underwood, "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye, "Try" by P!nk, "You're All That Matters To Me" by Miss Willie Brown, "Old Pine" by Ben Howard, "Cha-Ching" by Imagine Dragons, "I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons, "Pontoon" by Little Big Town, "Silenced By The Night" by Keane, "Popular Song" by MIKA, "Hard Way Home" by Brandi Carlisle, "Baby Come Home" by Scissor Sisters and "Home" by Phillip Phillips.

8. Memory - Coming to the end of my first 5K and seeing my friend an running coach/partner Allison there cheering for me!

The SMC "Saints on the Run" team at the Corporate Cup

9. Family Moment - I gained an infamous reputation among my family as a very grouchy race runner this year...mostly because I yelled at my sister during our "Pirate 5K" on the Waterfront in Burlington because she was rushing me and I was having NONE of it. Oh well, sometimes you just have to get your butt whooped by your baby sister :-)

me & Emily at the beginning of the race, before I got a little grouchy.

10. Quote - "Have only one rule: be your wild, courageous, brilliant self, every single day, no matter what." I'm not sure who to attribute this to, but my roommate gave me a magnet with this quote and a peacock. I love it.

11. Event-  Watching my sister (the same one I kind of yelled at during our race!) graduate from SMC in May!

 My fam with the graduate!

12. Change -  Change can sometimes be hard, but my favorite change of 2012 was moving into my new apartment with 3 friends. I love our little house and all of the memories that we are creating there!

Camp People.

Today I was especially inspired to write this post after reading two amazing applicant essays about summer camp. As a camp person myself (I worked at Lochearn Camp for Girls in the summer of '09), I am always drawn in by essays about applicants' own camp experiences. Most of the essays focus on unconditional acceptance by others, enduring friendships, living away from home and family, being silly and being youself no matter what. These are just a few of the many important aspects of summer camp, but they tend to be the ones that stick with campers and camp staff forever.

My own experience working at summer camp was unbelievably challenging, but also left me with some of my best and most lifelong friends, incredible memories and true personal growth. From waterskiing on the lake to staying up all night with fellow staff members to crying tears of frustration with complete strangers, I look back on much of my camp experience with a smile. I think it's something that all camp people share - we just get each other.

If you have the chance to work at a summer camp during your high school or college summers, I hope you'll consider it. Camp people are an incredible group, and I think you'll find that you grow immensely from the experience.

 My two camp best friends, Amy and Emily, in our traditional Lochean uniforms

 Emily and I, one year after camp, at our reunion in Boston

 Lauren, me, Kaelyn and Jamie reuniting in Boulder, CO

Amy and I reuniting in Arizona in 2012. We've also reunited in Utah, Massachusetts, and Florida!

P.S. If you go to the Lochearn website, watch for me in the slideshow on the homepage...I'm wearing a Red Sox shirt and doing a split during my dance class!

Whoa.

It's been months. I apologize. Life has been all over the place since I last wrote, so I'll tell the story in pictures...

I was accepted to Hogwarts! No, just kidding. I traveled to Florida to cover some Admissions events for our office and my good friend Amy met me there. We took a day to explore the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios - it was a dream come true!!

I ran a 5K in the Mile High City (Denver, CO) during the National Association of College Admission Counseling Conference in October...here I am with my boss, Jacki!

I went to 3 Broadway shows in one weekend, including Book of Mormon (my all time Bucket List Broadway show) with my friends Mallory and Ashley (both of whom also work in the higher ed/admissions world!)

Emily and I ran our first 10K (The Middlebury Turkey Trot and Gobble Wobble) in Middlebury, VT in the middle of November.

Best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"I don't really know how to do this..."

WHEW! So the rest of the summer obviously flew by without a single blog post from me. I was too busy soaking up the remainder of the sun, lake swims, sweaty outdoor runs and starry nights!

Here's a final summer photo with my good friend and SMC Admissions colleague, Katherine. She joined me on many of my late summer adventures, including a trip to Bristol Falls (really cool swimming holes and small jumps about 45 minutes south of SMC), a trip to the Champlain Valley Fair and a birthday celebration for on of my roommates, which is where we were during this photo!

So now, on to the point of the post...

I have officially started my travel season! I am currently blogging from Rockland, MA where I will be for the remainder of this week. I overheard something today from a student at one of my visits that I wanted to share...when I asked her if she had any questions for me, she simply answered "I don't know, I don't really know how to do this!"

This being the whole college process, meeting with counselors, filling out applications and trying to have a clue what you're going to do after high school...and it's OK not to know exactly what to do - how would you? You've never done anything like it before!

So, here are my top 5 suggestions of questions to ask a college representative when you meet with them - because that is all you really need to know "how to do!"

1. What makes your school unique? Anyone who is passionate about the school that they work for will have an interesting answer to this one!

2. What academic activities are available outside of class time for your students? This could be anything from academic advising to individual research to speakers to the Science Club...it's important to continue learning outside of class time, so it's good to know what each school offers.

3. What do students typically do on the weekends? Do they go home? Go off campus for meals and shopping? Study? Throw parties? It's important to know what your weekends will be like.

4. What is the most underrated thing about your school? Every school has things that don't get lots of press but are worth knowing about. For SMC, I think it would be our library. Not only is it a beautiful, sunny place to get work done, but it also becomes its own buzzing academic community each afternoon and into the late hours of the night. You are just as likely to see someone studying along as you are to see someone getting a visit from a friend or a snack dropped off by the person who always studies next to them. It's the heart of our small community each weekday evening!

5. Why should I go to ________? You will get lots of interesting rationale for this question, from majors and class sizes to weekend events and local towns. Always ask this one to get the real scoop on what makes a school a good fit!

An addition to the family...

If you've been following my blog for a while, you may remember that two of my good friends from SMC got married right before we graduated. Well, this weekend we all got together again because they had another exciting developments in their lives...their new baby! It was great to see them for the first time since Audrey was born and also meet the newest addition. Audrey is absolutely precious and I can't wait to babysit!

(l-r) Mandi (the mom), Kendra and me. The proud dad, Stew, was behind the camera!

The Uniform

SMC kids wear an unnatural amount of school apparel - and that causes people to constantly have chance meetings with alums all over the world, all because of an SMC shirt. I been called out all over the place for my SMC apparel, including most recently in Arizona! SMC alums are all over the place, and they continue their constant wearing of SMC clothing, no matter where they are!

Here are a few examples from my own life...

My (now roommate) Heather (SMC '10) and I in Kentucky back in 2008 sporting our SMC gear

SMC in the Dominican Republic in 2009!

SMC shirt AND sweats in Baltimore, MD on a service trip in 2010

(we were showing off our break dancing skills in case you couldn't tell)

My sister, Emily (SMC '12) and I running the Hinesburg Hilly Hobble over the 4th of July

Once an SMCer, always an SMCer...with LOTS of t-shirts to prove it!

Perspective

This is me sitting on the rim of the Grand Canyon - a really perspective-filled and very humbling moment captured by my good friend Amy.

I've been thinking a lot today about perspective. Mostly about how much each of our lives are impacted by our perspective on the situations that were are put in.

What does this have to do with anything?

I was personally relating it to my own life and a variety of things that seem overwhelming at this exact moment (Leaving for travel at 5:30 AM tomorrow! A fall travel season to plan! Interns to manage! Cupboard moths in our apartment!), but then I remembered how I was feeling exactly seven years ago when I was an incoming first year at St. Mike's. I was about to embark on a huge journey through the next four years, and I had no idea what to expect. Would I make friends? Would I find food that I liked to eat? Would I be able to keep up in my classes? Would I ever choose a major? Now, looking back on some of the most transformative and amazing years of my life, I wish I could go back to myself seven years ago and calm that poor girl down! I have so much added perspective now, and I know that perspective will only continue to grow.

So next week when the travel is done and I'm rested, the cupboard moths have been cleaned away and my travel is even more planned than it is now, I'll look back on these moments of feeling overwhelmed and just say "Relax. It all will work out." Because it always does.

If you are an incoming first year to SMC, relax. Harder than it sounds, I know, but trust the process. Trust the people around you, and allow yourself to be open to what's about to come. And look at that picture back up at the top of the post.

Remember that the Grand Canyon will always be there, no matter where you are and what is happening in your life. It is the work of millions of years of nature, and serves as a reminder to me that things happen over time - things become clearer after millions of years (or maybe, in our case, weeks or months). 5 million years ago that place in northern Arizona was just a desert, not one of the seven wonders of the world. Even in 6 months your life will be so changed that you will hardly recognize your thoughts right now.

So, take a deep breath, smile, and let the world run its course.

Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Desiderata - Max Ehrmann

Oh the Places You'll Go...

My last post focused on the fun activities on the books for this summer in Burlington, but I also have a variety of travel planned for the rest of the summer. Here are a few of the highlights!

1. Bridgewater Corners, VT - Not your typical Vermont hotbed, but my good friends Mallory and Andrew relocated to this rural town in central Vermont near Killington last summer. This weekend they are hosting a 4th of July/summer party with their families and a variety of different SMC friends. I'm looking forward to it!

2. New York City - one of my favorite places on earth...and I'll be visiting yet again next weekend! This time it will be with my mom and my sister, Emily, as well as our good family friends Linda and Brittany. We've got a hotel booked in Manhattan, are planning to see a show and will help Brittany move into her new apartment in Queens on Sunday. It will be a great trip!

3. Old Orchard Beach, ME - my family's annual summer vacation to Maine will be happening yet again this summer. I'm looking forward to time on the beach with lots of relaxation!

Do you have any big summer plans?

Summer Nights

In my humble opinion, Burlington is the absolute best place to spend a summer. The weather is great (not too hot, but hot enough to swim in the lake and do other typical summer activities), there's lots to do and there are lots of people around. Even though I've spent every summer of my life in Burlington, it just doesn't get old! Here are a few things that I'm up to in Burlington this summer...

1. Kickball! Did you know that there are leagues of organized kickball games for adults? Well, I give you WAKA Kickball, and my team, Kicking and Screaming! Our team is a mix of SMC staff members and UVM Doctor of Psychology candidates. We play on Monday nights at Oakledge Park in Burlington, and if I'm being honest, we're not very good. We've only won one of our games, but I've been having a grand old time. Our team color is pink (much to my excitement and the boys' frustration), and this is the best picture they could manage of us...

In the bottom picture I'm standing behind the person holding our score book with a very disgruntled look on my face. I swear I was having fun.

2. New Home! On June 1st I moved into a new place in Winooski, which is the town between Burlington and St. Mike's - so it's the perfect location! I moved in with 3 SMC alums from the Class of 2010 and am loving it so far. It's nice to be in a new location with new friends, all of whom are interested in getting out and making the most of our summer. Here's a photo of our first lantern launch on a beautiful summer evening in the middle of our new street!

3. Concerts! I love live music, and we have many great venues to take in shows in Burlington, including Higher Ground. This summer I intend to see Ingrid Michaelson, Of Monsters and Men and Citizen Cope, as well as attend the "Grand Point North" music festival which is featuring both Grace Potter & the Nocturnals and The Avett Brothers. It should be a great summer of shows!

I hope your summer is shaping up to be as fun-filled as mine is...and this doesn't even include the travel I've got planned...that's a whole separate post!

Seeing the Southwest

My life has been a whirlwind for the past few weeks (anyone notice a trend here?), so I've been able to have a lot of fun adventures. During the month of June I've been in 9 different states, traveling both for work and for fun.I saw Sugarland perform again, and added a new state to my ever growing tally...Arizona! Here are a few photos of my time in the southwest...

My best friend, former roommate and fellow admissions professional, Dustin, and I taking a break from the conference we attended in Denver, CO at Red Rocks Amphitheater. It was a great night of networking with some beautiful views of Colorado!

My friend from camp, Amy, and I took a trip to the Grand Canyon!

Vermont Corporate Cup Challenge!

For the past several months I have been training for my first 5K with a few of my colleagues. Last night was the big night - my first road race!

Yep, that says RUNNER.

My team, the Hoehl Raisers (Hoehl is the name of the Admission office, and is pronounced "hale." Get it?) was my colleague Katherine and the Director of Conferences and Special Events, Mark. Our goal was to finish without walking...and WE DID IT! The course was hillier than our training runs had been so I struggled a little bit towards the end, but as I rounded the final corner and saw my boss, Jacki shouting my name and cheering and my friend and colleague Christian yelling for me, I knew I could do it! I was elated when we crossed the finish line. And even more elated to see the water bottles and bagels for us :-)

After the run, we all went to the college's graphic designer's home in Waterbury for an afterparty. One of my fellow runners said that they best part of the race for him was the post-race pizza and adult beverage! I am so lucky to work with such fun, active, friendly, happy people. I can't wait until next year...but I also see more races in my near future!

The whole Saints on the Run team!

I'm in the front row in the purple shorts, my Hoehl Raisers teammates Kath, next to me in the orange shorts, and Mark, in the back row, second from the right.

Happy Graduation!

Congrats class of 2012!

My cousin Sara, Emily and me at the Baccaleaureate Honors Ceremony

My family after the ceremony

Congratulations Em!

Welcome to the family!

Our support staff members are in an all day meeting today, so all of us counselors are holding down the phones. I just took an admission deposit from a soon-to-be freshman on the phone and just naturally ended the call with "welcome to the family." Then I got to thinking...

I really, really, REALLY see St. Mike's as my second home and second family. It's not just a cliche thing that everyone says to sound happy, it's absolutely true. The relationships that you create while on campus, no matter who you are, are only explainable using the word "family."

I am looking forward to welcoming my younger sister, Emily, into the family of SMC alumni on Monday when she graduates from SMC! She's the best sister I could ever ask for, and I'm so proud of her!

Just a typical family picture.

This is from a photobooth at "Evening for Grace," a benefit dinner for Camp Ta-Kum-Ta that many of us went to. I won't identify who these crazies are, but I will say that there's a Vice President of the college, a senior staff member in the admission office and several other counselors, the director of publications...just showing our silly side :-)

Me with the future SMC Alum. Do you think we look alike? People say we look like twins...I don't see it :-)

Founders Society End of Year Banquet!

Our student ambassador program, Founders Society, celebrated the end of the year with a BBQ banquet on Tuesday evening. The advisors and coordinators grilled and provided all of the fixings in order to thank our students for their hard work this year. Check out some photos of the event taken by Gabbi!

Mike (Academic Day and Phone-A-Thon Advisor) and Eric (next year's Academic Day and Phone-A-Thon Coordinator) grilling up a storm

Matt (next year's Alumni Coordinator), Eric, Mike and me (Tour Guide Advisor who clearly has something important to say at this very moment) attempting to make veggie burgers.

Meg (Tour Guide Coordinator and Crown & Sword Award winner) and me before dinner.

Jerry Flanagan (VP for Enrollment Management) and Mike (Alumni Coordinator and Crown & Sword Award winner) during the ceremony.

Now Playing...

I've been on a big "new music" kick lately Here's a few of my current favorites...

"Some Nights" by Fun.

"Apartment" by Young the Giant

"Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye

"Many the Miles" by Sara Barreilles

"Drive By" by Train

"Sort of Revolution" by Fink

"Five Years Time" by Noah and the Whale

"Something Good Can Work" by Two Door Cinema Club

"Sleepy Head" by Passion Pit

"Song for No One" by Miike Snow

Enjoy! What are you listening to these days?

Decisions, Decisions...

We just sent our second round of acceptance letters out in the mail for our EAII applicants, which got me to thinking - each and every one of these accepted students (as well as the EAI applicants the Regular applicants who will receive their offers of admission in late March) has a very big decision ahead of them. They will be deciding where to spend the next four years of their life - from the ages of 18 -22!

So, here are the 5 things that I think every student making the decision about where they want to go to school should learn about each of their prospective colleges - they might not be the biggest, most common or seemingly important things, but they are definitely worth knowing.

1) Am I being accepted into a certain major or academic program?

At Saint Michael's we do not have different admission standards for different majors - in fact, most of our students are "Exploratory" majors for at least their freshman year. However, at some schools you are accepted into a certain program and might not have the same kind of flexibility with changing your major. It's better to know this going in than be surprised when you get to school!

2) What are the weekends like?

Here at St. Mike's, we are just as active on the weekends as we are during the week - maybe even more so! You should definitely ask your tour guide or admission counselor if students leave on the weekends or if they choose to stick around. SMC is the epitome of a residential campus, which was one of my favorite parts!

3) What is the process for choosing a roommate?

Living with a roommate can be one of the biggest adjustments that a student makes when transitioning to college - sharing space with someone who you've never met can be pretty anxiety provoking. However, at St. Mike's our residential life staff sends out a survey and tries to match you with someone who you have similar living habits with. However, not all roommate pairings are perfect, so changes can also be made if absolutely necessary. Learning what you are in for in this regard can help you put your mind at ease.

4) What type of person would love this school?

This is a really great question to ask anyone who you can as you make your decision on where to attend school - you can get some really great answers, plus you can see if you can see yourself meshing with the descriptions that these people give you. I think that the type of person who would love SMC is someone who is willing to new things, go out of their comfort zone, get involved with lots of activities, ask questions, be present and go through four years of life changing moments and experiences. Does that sound like you?

5) What percentage of students return after their first year?

This is a statistic called "student retention." Students leave schools for any number of different reasons - whether it's because they changed their mind on what they wanted to study, realized that they wanted to be in a different location or they realized that they couldn't make it work financially. It's an interesting statistic to learn - we have a 91% retention rate at SMC, which I think is great - it shows that our students make really well informed decisions and love it at SMC!

What things are you wondering about as you make your decision about where to attend college?

College Admissions - a PSA for parents

First, I want to start with a disclaimer that I do not have children. Nor do I plan to have children in the foreseeable future. However, I have contact with parents of prospective students/applicants on a daily basis, so this blog post is written from the perspective of a college admission professional who interacts with A LOT of parents.

So, I give you the following small piece of advice specifically for parents of prospective students and college applicants!

Let your child do the talking.

I mean this in every possible situation - on a tour, on the phone, in an interview, at a college fair, everywhere. Your child won't learn how to interact with an admission counselor, tour guide, professor, secretary or any other person if you never give them the chance to try. I feel that there are very few reasons that a parent of a student should be calling our office - it should almost always be the student! The same goes for e-mail communication - if the student has a question, wants to set up an interview or needs to check on the status of their application, they need to be the one making the call or sending the e-mail.

I've heard every excuse in the book for this one - the most common one being "my student is busy and doesn't have time to call!" Unfortunately, this excuse doesn't hold water with me - I've had students call from their school guidance office during their free period, call before practice, even e-mail me to set up a phone call in the evening after they are finished with their commitments so that they can take care of whatever they need to. I'm willing to go the extra mile for any of our applicants if they are willing to go the extra mile for me.

I imagine that it must be difficult as a parent to watch your student struggle, feel uncomfortable, be stressed, or set themselves up for what you perceive to be a bad decision. But I believe that the only way your student will learn is to do all of those things - and since most students applying to college are legally allowed to gamble, purchase cigarettes and serve our country, I think that they must take this process into their own hands. They are the ones who will be on campus for 4 years, not you. They are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of choosing a school that isn't a good fit, or will have to settle on their safety school because they didn't get their documents in on time. I believe that it is all part of the process, and maybe it's a time for everyone, parents and students, to take a step forward in letting go and growing up.

Plus, here at St. Mike's, we put every communication that we've had with a student or their parents in their file and it all gets reviewed during the admission process. So it's up to you and your student - would you rather we see a mature, conscientious applicant who serves as their own advocate or 10 e-mails from mom? I know which is more impressive to me as I evaluate students for admission to a college where they will spend the next 4 years of their life being a mature, conscientious adult who serves as their own advocate.

What's your opinion?

Farewell 2011!

2011 was a year for the record books - I finished my first year as an Admission Counselor at Saint Michael's College and was promoted to Assistant Director of Admission, took over the tour guide program at SMC, had a successful application season and welcome my first class (Class of 2015!) to SMC.

I also continued my favorite part of this job - traveling! I visited 5 new states - Maryland (twice!), Washington DC (also twice!), Virginia, Colorado and Utah, took one trip to Montreal and spent a lot of time in the familiar states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachussetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

I reunited with my former roommate Rachel in Washington DC, my friend from college Rita in Aspen, CO, camp friends Kalyn, Jamie and Lauren in Boulder, CO and my closest friend from camp, Amy, in Salt Lake City, UT. I also had to say sad goodbyes to my two wonderful friends and roommates, Mallory and Dustin, as they moved on to different jobs and homes. They still often make our futon their home away from home, so it wasn't too sad :-).

I saw my third show on Broadway (Sister Act!) and my third and fourth Broadway tours (Wizard of Oz and The Lion King) as well as live shows of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, The Avett Brothers, Sara Bareilles and Sugarland. I continued to work my second job at Jazzercise and found peace through my yoga practice. I also started practicing Bikram Yoga with some regularity and even joined a choir (which was short lived because of my crazy travel schedule - but I still love to belt out the hits!).

2011 was a wonderful year where many lessons were learned and much growing was done. However, I'm ready to see what 2012 has in store! I'll be starting off the year by taking a wheel throwing pottery class in January and am looking forward to traveling back to Colorado in June for a conference with Dustin and hopefully traveling over to Arizona to visit Amy and see the Grand Canyon! I'm looking forward to making new friends, creating new traditions and living this life - I feel so blessed!

A few last shots from 2011...



The service trip group that I led to Baltimore, MD spending the day in Washington, DC before starting our service - here we are in front of the Vermont monument in the WWII Memorial!

(back row: Melissa, Caitlin, Olivia, Kate and Brian, front row: me, Alex, Jenna and Abbey)

 Amy and I on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake in Layton, UT with buffalo over my shoulder!

My family at our close family friend Patrick's wedding over Labor Day weekend in Narragansset, RI.

My best friend from high school, Kristin, and I on the top of Mt. Philo in Charlotte, VT



My sister Emily, our cousins and I on Thanksgiving!

Best wishes to you and your family for a peaceful start to 2012.