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?