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December 14, 2005
Getting to Know You
A significant part of being an admission counselor involves meeting high school students and their families in person throughout the year, both on and off campus. On many occasions we run into students we have met previously, and it is not uncommon for us to remember them, even if it has been a few months or even a year since we originally met.
This fall I experienced just that. I attend some large college fairs in south Florida each fall, and usually see over 100 students in a matter of a few days. In fall of 2004 I met a young man at one of these college fairs who was a junior, and after the fair he contacted me via email. We communicated a few times throughout the year. Fast forward to fall 2005, when he scheduled a hometown interview with me (available to seniors) when I was in town again. He stopped by my table at the college fair to tell me he was looking forward to our interview the next night. I was looking forward to it, too, to hear what had developed in his world over the past year.
This student is especially memorable because of his unique combination of interests: he plans to major in economics, attend medical school, he loves to golf, and he has a passion for Shakespeare that rivals that of some college English majors and professors I have known. Needless to say, we had plenty to discuss in the interview! It was less than a week after the interview that Hurricane Wilma hit south Florida, and this student and his family suffered the effects as their home was significantly damaged and his neighborhood lost power (but not phones) for quite some time. Luckily he and his family were not physically harmed, as I learned over the course of a few telephone conversations with his mom in the days following the hurricane. In fact, several of the students that I interviewed that night were also affected by the hurricane, and one even emailed me a photo of his completely flooded street when I checked up on him.
A few years ago, I also got to know another high school senior from south Florida. I met him when I visited his high school. We discovered that we shared a common interest (or obsession, really) – Cedar Point, the best amusement park on the planet. (Cedar Point is located about 90 minutes from Case and I highly suggest checking it out if you like roller coasters. It is open May through October. You can visit Case one day and Cedar Point the next.) Anyway, this particular student is now a junior at Case. We have lunch about twice a semester. In fact, I just met up with him today before he heads back to sunny Florida for winter break. I love hearing about his adventures in college life, which have ranged over the years from seeing snow for the first time, to the psychology research project he is working on in conjunction with University Hospitals of Cleveland, to living in the new apartments on campus (The Village at 115).
As a Case grad, I am glad to know that so much of the endearing charm of Case student life still exists in the current student community here!
Christine DeSalvo Miller
Posted by cmd10 at December 14, 2005 03:14 PM
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