December 07, 2007
NIH Grants $2.2 Million to the Case’s Bolton School of Nursing
The National Institutes of Health will fund research at Case on chronic disease self-management through June 2012. Part of the money will go toward the creation of the Self-Management Advancement through Research and Translation (SMART) Center. Although most research in this field has focused mainly on adults and the elderly, the SMART center will focus on younger populations. The center will serve as a national leader in the field, both in researching new ideas and the incorporation of those ideas into clinical practices. Not only will Case nursing students benefit from the multitude of hospitals in the Cleveland area, they can enjoy new opportunities to learn the most innovative methods and treatments, leading to good jobs in pain management.
For more information, see the full article online.
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November 30, 2007
Mandel School for Nonprofit Organizations Gets a New Home
The Mandel family continues its commitment to supporting the Mandel Center, a national leader in nonprofit education. The building was opened on November 5, and has huge windows that allow the whole community to view the interior, symbolizing the connection nonprofit organizations maintain with their surroundings.
“The new building is tangible recognition of the Center's preeminent role in nonprofit management education and an expression of the university's continued commitment in supporting interdisciplinary and innovative education," said Case President Barbara Snyder at the building’s dedication ceremony.
The new building sports new classrooms and offices with some of the most technologically advanced features, a common trend with many new buildings on campus.
For more information or a film of the dedication, see the full article online.
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September 14, 2006
Reflections on 9/11
On Monday morning, members of the Case community paused for a moment of silence at the Binary Walkway, against a backdrop of 3,000 US flags, planted in memory of the victims of 9/11. Blowing gently in the wind, the small flags that proudly used to symbolize our childlike “love for country” somehow changed. I headed back to my office to begin my daily tasks but knew it would not be business as usual.
As commentators and media outlets began the tireless search for tomorrow’s news items, I quietly reflected on the important lesson 9/11 taught me: the deep human connection we all share. After seeing the horrible images that day five years ago, family was the only word, the only thought, on my mind. I needed a safe corner where everyone and everything was familiar. I desperately wanted to hug my sister and brothers and hear my mother’s reassuring voice say, “Everything’s going to be alright, honey.”
At the time, I was working as an International Student Advisor and felt my students’ anguish at not being able to touch or hug a family member. I had a unique perspective on 9/11, with one part on US soil and the other, an acute global view; answering phone calls from frantic parents in South America, Asia, the UK and the Middle East. We stayed glued to TV/computer screens, watching survivors, completely covered in gray ash, trickling out from the rubble. They were all one color and the message was clear: we are all one race, the human race. These students were innocent and our staff comforted them and each other.
The outpouring of world-wide compassion was emotionally overwhelming and was what we needed as a country, as a community, and as individuals. In that moment, we were united as one against the horrors of hate and intolerance. We realized how truly grateful we were to have family. If we did not have a family, our friends became family and our international neighbors became family as well. We shared that indelible, intangible connection called humanity. We cried from our souls for those who lost their lives that day. We prayed for mercy and guidance. As the incredulity of the scenes flashed across our screens, we all needed a national security blanket, a safe haven, to restore our sense of faith and trust. We needed to make sense of the events that morning: not only here in the US, but overseas as well!
I ponder today, where are we now as a nation five years later? Are we “kinder and gentler?” Have we built a “safer, stronger and better America?” Can we ever find that elusive ideal called peace? I believe we can. The sense of human connection we felt as a global community that terrible day is just beneath the surface. If we dig deep enough we can judge one another by the “content of [our] character” and our mutual strengths.
We all desire to be loved and needed. We hope to make positive contributions to society. We all have a unique journey. These common threads unite us all but we have to move beyond the barriers: cultural differences, dress, religion, accents, and race.
The question we must also now deliberate is where we will be 10, 20 or even 50 years from now. I see misplaced nationalism substituted as patriotism. Civil liberties are stripped away every day and the search for WMDs has shifted to IEDs with very little outcry. How long can we continue to have an “us vs. them” mentality? As Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
We have to work harder each day to live productive, positive lives and unite as a global community. It can be done but it will come down to every individual choosing to do so.
**********
Please share your thoughts on this topic. Where were you on 9/11? What activities have you, your school or your community done to commemorate this day? How can we as individuals help unite our global community?
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August 31, 2006
Share the Vision
The school year has begun and the campus is alive with a flurry of activities and events. Last week, as part of our Welcome Days program for first year students, I attended Case’s Share the Vision assembly. 
The program brought together Case administrators, faculty and staff as well as the entire Class of 2010. This gathering served a few roles one of which was to frame the messages from the class’s common reading for the summer—The Soul of a Chef—which was the focus of over fifteen breakout sessions immediately following the program.
The program included remarks by Dr. Eastwood, Mano Singham and Michael Symon (a local—and nationally known—chef that the book focuses upon).
Share the Vision opened with a welcome from Liz Woyczynski, director of undergraduate admission, that highlighted many aspects of our over 1000-member class.
Here are a few things she shared:
• Students hail from 41 states—from Alaska to the great state of Maine—and seven foreign lands
• Over 500 different high schools
• One student founded, in high school, a non-profit organization that collects gently used video games/consoles for donation to foster families
• A member of the class has studied and competed in bagpipes and played at community events in his hometown
• One student took an immersion trip to Russia in order to add Russian to her list of languages learned and spoken
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August 21, 2006
Case Explores
I have spoken about my experiences of moving to, and now living in, Cleveland before in this blog. Today I was able to delve deeper into the city and earn a new appreciation for the city I now call home.
As part of our Case Ventures, two and a half day excursions for first year students, I, along with four returning upperclassmen, were able to lead 20 new Case students through their first day of getting to know Cleveland as part of our Case Explores venture.
Today’s main event was an extensive walking tour of downcity. We started on campus and took the Rapid to Tower City Center. Beyond getting our students comfortable with one another we want them to be comfortable exploring Cleveland beyond University Circle—this includes Greater Cleveland’s public transportation system.
At Tower City Center (aka Terminal Tower) we were met by Karl our tour guide from Walking Tours of Cleaveland. Karl proved to hold as much knowledge in Cleveland’s history as the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland holds in cash.
I think that this tour would be valuable to life-long residents of the region, not just new comers.
We also visited the West Side Market for lunch and had dinner at Fat Fish Blue downcity.
Day two will have us out and about again. We will tour Jacobs Field, visit the Rock Hall and conclude with a dinner cruise that takes us out onto Lake Erie.
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July 26, 2006
Chips, salsa and scholarships
Many of us in the office are big Chipotle fans anyway, but today we had a great reason to celebrate its burrito goodness.
Today, Chipotle is donating 100% of its day’s sales (up to $35,000) to Cleveland Scholarship Programs, Inc., the oldest, largest and most respected college access program in the United States.
So for lunch, a bunch of us from undergraduate admission, along with our friends from the financial aid office, got together for a Chipotle feast. Here's a photo of one of the lunch groups:
It was delicious.
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July 05, 2006
The interviewer's seat
Summer is “high season” for visiting college campuses. Here at Case we offer seniors (and transfers) the opportunity to interview with an admission counselor during visits.
Over the last several weeks I have conducted a good number of interviews. Some students have been prepared, some not and still others that were overly prepared. Here are some observations and thoughts from the admission counselor’s chair…First, I must tell you what I tell everyone I sit down with in the interview room. I think the term “interview” is misleading. This isn’t a job interview. I don’t have a list of questions that I will ask and we don’t make our admission decisions based solely on your answers. Instead of an interview, I see this as a chance for a conversation—a conversation about the student. Their experiences, their challenges, their dreams.
• Be prepared—know what you want to talk about. Have in mind how you want to highlight your activities in and out of the classroom. Let’s talk about things that are deeper than “I took AP Chemistry last year and am taking Honors English next year.” Tell me why you wanted to take AP Chem, tell me about a cool conversation you had in an English course, tell me why you wanted to take Spanish.
• Don’t be OVERLY prepared—don’t have rehearsed statements that you throw at me, but don’t answer the question asked. Remember my earlier point about this being a conversation. Let’s chat. This isn’t the campaign trail with the need for a stump speech.
• Remember that we receive over 7000 applications each year. It’s all black ink on white paper. Sometimes this is all we have as we consider a student’s application, but a twenty minute conversation can add so much color and paint a truer picture of your experiences. An example might be that on the application you list football as an activity, but in our conversation we talk about how football has impacted your growth process because of…….
• Actually tell me something—a pet peeve is when someone throws out that they are an Eagle Scout and expects me to automatically think that he is “a true leader” just because one is an Eagle Scout. That isn’t going to happen. If you are an Eagle Scout tell me about the impact that scouting has had on you. Tell me about what you did with the troop. Tell me about your Eagle Scout project and how that impacted you. The same goes with something like community service—telling me you have done a 100 hours of service is all well and good. Telling me about why you became involved in service and what you learned from the experience is what is important.
Finally, think of this as your chance to get things “on the record.” We can talk about something important to you that might not show up in your application, on your list of activities or in your college essay.
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June 26, 2006
Coming soon to a mailbox near you
Attention high school seniors:
Next week, a new undergraduate viewbook will be hitting the mailbox (make sure you're on our mailing list). The viewbook is our flagship publication. Sure, we send postcards, brochures about different aspects of college life at Case, etc., but the viewbook really encapsulates a lot of what you need to know about Case.
This year, our viewbook has almost 50% more pages than last year, but the really exciting thing is that it has several times more stories about students, and more diverse perspectives on the Case student experience.
It has been a huge undertaking...
1000+ emails
70+ students interviewed
6+ days of photography
45 students featured (last time I counted)
the result... priceless, of course!
Thinking about the process, there are three things I would like to share.
First. We mention a lot of senior Capstone projects in the viewbook. I did a senior project back in the day, also at a college where everybody did one. In addition to being a rite of passage to finish the thing, it was also relevant to the working world. Everytime I embark on a large project, there's this part of me that says, "No problem. I've been doing this since I was 21." I guess that was my experiential learning, and how it built my confidence.
Second. The great thing about Case's Office of Undergraduate Admission is the way we collaborate. Many heads really are better than one. So much more creativity flows when there is an exchange between people who bring different strengths and perspectives to the table. I worked very closely with our designer to produce the viewbook, but along the way, many people contributed to the creative process - students, faculty and staff.
And it's not just our office here at Case where that spirit of collaboration lives. You'll see it in the new viewbook - our students do some really amazing things in groups, especially interdisciplinary groups.
Third. Any project this big has moments when it just seems like too much. The thing that's pulled me through, the thing that's helped me to refocus, are all the fabulous students who have taken the time to let us feature them in the viewbook.
So many of them are doing substantial experiential learning far earlier than senior year. One kid got some great, real-world experience his first semester! One of the students who was interviewed but didn't go in the viewbook because of a schedule conflict is just finishing her sophomore year and has been counseling people being tested for the HIV virus at the Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland.
So that's all I can tell you right now. I don't want to detract from that moment when you open your mailbox, pull out our viewbook, and get sucked into all the possiblities and opportunities at Case that our students are going to show you.
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June 18, 2006
An admission counselor's lens
I have been meaning to comment on an article that PD columnist Sam Fulwood III wrote a couple of weeks ago.
At first glance this column might have you merely contemplating how Adam’s generation receives their news or their thoughts on newspapers. I viewed Sam’s piece through the lens as a Case admission counselor.
In order to meet a part of this blog’s original mission—giving you some insight on the admission office and how we go about our work—I will try to relay what jumped off the newsprint as I read the article. (note: I did read this in the paper—but confess to emailing the web link around our office)
Adam, whom I don’t know, seems to capture so much of what we look for as we recruit students. It is important to note that we look beyond the transcript and standardized test scores—we look for students that are dynamic, that are leaders and that will add flavor to the campus. The fact that he was able to start a couple businesses while in high school is impressive. Also, he shows up to class to not simply take notes—he shows up to participate.
Fulwood’s Media Literacy class is part of the SAGES curriculum at Case. The design requires (and thrives upon) the engagement of the faculty and the student in the learning process.
Finally, just the fact that Sam is on campus teaching shows how Case takes advantage of the resources of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. Many of the University Seminars in the SAGES curriculum are taught/facilitated by experts from beyond our undergraduate faculty.
In addition to having Mr. Fulwood teach these seminars we draw from institutions like University Circle institutions, the Rock Hall and folks from many different walks of life beyond just academia.
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May 20, 2006
Back to the Books
A few months back Casey wrote about the best winter study locations on campus. This time of year I look forward to summer afternoons and weekend mornings spent reading at my local Caribou Coffee and other locals.
In the winter months most of my time is spent reading applications for freshman admission. The number of hours spent reading and considering applications doesn’t leave me much time (or energy) to devote to leisurely reading. While I do read the summer and fall transfer applications that we receive it isn’t the non-stop reading campaign that we experience during the winter.
So, I now begin to shift my mind to catching up on my personal reading list.
This summer I need to catch up on a good number of books that have been sitting on my desk at home. My roommate gave me Way of the Peaceful Warrior for my birthday (four months ago) which I am two chapters into, his mother recently handed me The World is Flat (sitting on desk under my baseball glove) and I purchased Jerry Remy’s Watching Baseball a while back and the spine on this is creaseless as well. This is just the beginning of a longer and diverse list.
I am off for a quick vacation in Florida over the upcoming holiday weekend. I trust that my flight down will provide for a few hours of dedicated reading. Maybe on the beach as well, but I assume that catching up with my two best friends from college is more likely how I will pass those hours. But I do have the flight home.
I welcome suggestions regarding: a) favorite spots in NEO to relax with a book, b) other ‘must reads’, c) books with local flavor, d) other useful info.
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May 09, 2006
Continuing Process
The deadline for students to enroll for the class of 2010 was early last week. We spoke about the exciting class that has enrolled at today’s weekly staff meeting. It may seem like our work is done and that it is time for us to close up shop for a few months, but the recruiting cycle continues. Next week I am heading to Buffalo and Pittsburgh to conduct Case Preview events to potential members of the class of 2011, 2012 and maybe even 2013 (we also will be in Columbus and Cincinnati).
Next up for those freshmen-to-be is looking ahead to summer orientation. I am looking forward to my role in this experience through our Case Venture programs. These are optional programs through which students can meet additional classmates for a few days of fun. There are five different programs to choose from including a whitewater rafting trip, a cycling trip, a service based experience, a leadership program and finally a chance to become one with your new city—through Case Explores. I am working with this new venture meant to allow our students to engage with the city that they will call home for at least four years (not meaning that your education will take longer than that, but maybe you will decide to stay in Cleveland after your graduation).
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March 17, 2006
Happy St. Patrick's Day
We us any excuse we can to consume large quantities of sugar. So we celebrated St. Patrick's day with green-frosted donuts in the morning and green-sprinkled cookies in the afternoon.
(Sorry Rae Ann! I DID get you stuffing yourself with a cookie, and I couldn't resist uploading it.)
There were also green prizes for the best dressed, like Carol (far left) and best accessorized, Irma (second from the right).
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February 06, 2006
Baby Shepherd-Boike makes her debut!
On Friday morning, one of our associate directors, Kimberly Shepherd, became a new mama!
Kimberly gave birth to Alexandra Victoria Shepherd-Boike at 5:47 a.m. on Friday. Alexandra weighed 10 lbs, 1oz and is 21.5 inches long. Her size doesn't come as a big shock to us, as Kimberly is 6 feet tall and Shawn is around 6' 5". We expect that Alexandra will be supermodel size in no time!
Here's a pic of the beautiful baby girl:
Both Alexandra and Kimberly are doing great and we are all looking forward to seeing them soon!
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January 11, 2006
Baby DiBaggio makes his office debut
One of our associate directors, Rae Ann DiBaggio, is a brand new mama! She gave birth to a beautiful boy, Nicholas, on Christmas Day!
Rae Ann brought the little guy into the office today and we cooed over him like crazy. Many of us took turns holding him. Here's a photo of Deanna holding him while Emily and Judy admire:
Here's a photo of some of us surrounding Baby and Mom!
We're delighted to welcome Nicholas to our admission family!
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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
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December 08, 2005
Arts and Things....
I am back from the road and trying to catch up on my life as I know it. Sometimes I just feel like I am always running...running to catch a plane, running to hang out with friends, and of course running to read applications. It is that time of year when we, admission counselors, begin the late night and full weekends of reading applications. I can honestly say that the fall passed by rather quickly and it seems strange to reviewing applications already. But, it is here and I must live in the moment.
In the midst of travel and reading this semester, I decided to join a dance collective here at Case called MaDaCol (Mather Dance Collective). It is a dance group that is open to all Case students, faculty, and staff, as well as people from the community. I participated last semester and enjoyed it immensely. Early on, I was considering pariciping this fall but I thought with travel and everything else that was going on with me it would be too much. Ultimately, I decided to do it and am a better person for it.
MaDaCol usually consists of three pieces and I was in the piece entitled "Desperate Cry, Desperate Search". It was a piece dedicated to the voices and thoughts of the people that lived and are still living through the traumatic effects of Hurrican Katrina. We danced to a song by Nina Simone who is recognized as "the high priestess of soul" and the music was very appropriate. It was a very moving piece and I was touched not only by the dance but by the words of the song as well.
The choreographer, DeWitt Cooper, was trying to invoke the feelings and sentiment of the people in New Orleans and trying to make people realize that this is still an issue. Even though you may not hear about it on the radio or read about it in the newspaper everyday people are still suffering and we should not forget their stuggles.
I had so much fun that I will probably do it again next semester. There are several of my colleagues in the admission office that are also a part of MaDaCol. I won't call them out but I know they enjoy it as much as I do. So, you see the life of admission counselor can be filled with fun and exciting things. We are writers, dancers, artists, authors....we are everywhere and many of us still have on our dancing shoes!
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November 15, 2005
They called me Big Foot...
Soccer has always been a huge part of my life. It all started in second grade on an all boy’s team. Back in the day, the boys called me “Big Foot”. I remember at 8 years old feeling accepted by all the boys since they gave me a nickname, albeit, “Big Foot.” Why the nickname? I could kick further than them at that age. Ha! Our team was called "The Molars", which was of course, because we were sponsored by a local dentist. We wore fire engine red shirts, mine with number 9 on the back.
I kept playing throughout middle school and was still on the all boys rec team. Then, I seemed to suddenly be taller than some of my teammates. I still managed to hold their respect and had luckily shedded my nickname. Secretly I liked it because it meant that they felt I was a real addition to the team.
As I approached high school, my family and I considered a local private high school. I approached this new venture with some hesitancy, but knew that I would be going to a school that would prepare me for college. I also assumed that I would play soccer to get in shape for basketball season. Incidentally, I ended up never playing basketball, and instead four played soccer twelve months a year for four years.
My freshman year in high school came and I went out for the St. Thomas Aquinas girl’s soccer team in 1993. It was their inaugural season and so it felt good to simply be a part of the team. I made it and hoped to get at least a few minutes of playing time as a 9th grader. Again, I found myself with a nickname, this time it was "Emster".
Four years passed quickly, and I found myself captain of the S.T.A. girls team along with three of my teammates my senior year. We won our league, headed to districts, and then to our surprise, found outselves in the regional finals. We were ecstatic. Our parents were thrilled.
We had pasta pre-game dinners, lucky striped socks, new hooded jackets with our numbers embroidered, and excitement that took us straight to that last game. We lost to an Ohio girl’s soccer powerhouse, and as quickly as it began, it seemed to end.
As it hit me that those four years were over, I found myself on the bench. Game over. My dad, my biggest fan, was now sitting next to me, arm around my shoulder. My stood close by taking it all in so as not to forget. Tears filled my eyes, and the lights went out as the three of us walked arm and arm and arm out of the stadium one last time. Awards ceremonies came and went, and I graduated with a strong GPA, an MVP award, and college on the horizon.
The summer after my senior year I trained, seemingly endlessly, for the College of Wooster women’s soccer team. Part of me wondered if I would even make the team. Just like all of you will do in the coming months, I waited patiently for my roommate's name to come in the mail, looked forward to starting classes in the fall, and let the excitement build as the summer turned into fall.
Finally move-in day was here, and for me, it was 7 days early for soccer pre-season. My room happened to face the soccer field. I felt that it was a good sign of things to come. I did not even know if I would make the women's soccer team. I did make varsity, and played soccer for four years, donning the nickname, "Emos."
My parents rarely missed a game and even left work early so that they would not miss kickoff. I played a few minutes each game of my freshman year, but only a few. I worked hard, stayed in shape in the off-season, and tried to find the major that was right for me. Sophomore year came and so did a position on the field on the outside and now I was officially an art history major.
I was earning the respect of my teammates and my coach, while at the same time learning how to study art. Then came my best year on the field, my junior year. A new nickname this year: Shannon MacMillan, at that time a member of the US National Team. Why? For a spell, every time I went into the game I scored.
That year, I came into my stride - on the field and in the classroom. My friends felt like family. Senior year seemed to fly by, and again, it was over. Senior year, we were picked to be near the top of the conference and even riding on that amazing junior year. Unlike high school, now it felt like it was over for good.
On those hot August days of pre-season, four years prior, I had no idea how much my college experience, complete with soccer, would mean to me years later - the late nights studying in the library, my teammates who became my friends, and the memories. All of those things would mean the world to me in a few short years once I was gone from that place.
As you look towards your college experience ,think outside the classroom. Maybe for you it is on the soccer field, or in the local hospital volunteering, or the alto section of the choir. Whatever your passion, whatever your interest we hope you explore it next year at Case!
PS: Add your comments! What sport did you play in high school? Did you have an nicknames as an athlete?
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October 21, 2005
Time Shifting
Lately, I've been really noticing the change of seasons. I guess because I'm sensitive to the gradual loss of daylight hours. But the admission office has some pretty distinct seasons of its own. When I started here in February, it was all about reading the last of the applications. Then came a month of on-campus events. After that the office slipped into a summer of preparing for a new year.
It's now the tail end of travel season. Since I work on print publications and don't really travel, it is often disquietingly quite around here lately. On any given day, more people are out than in.
Working on print publications, the rhythm of my year is totally out of step with what everyone else is doing. Counselors haven't started reading applications and I'm up to my eyeballs with the admitted student package. Next year's viewbook is floating to the top of my to-do list.
Trish Schreiber, writer/editor
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October 07, 2005
Behind the Scenes: A Recruitment Trip
Thanks to my colleague, friend, and fellow Case alumna, Judy Weiss, who inspired me to share some of the quirky experiences that can happen on a recruiting trip.
As most of you know, we admission counselors spend a lot of time on the road in the fall and spring, so hotels become home away from home. One thing that I find strange is that every time I turn on a TV in a hotel room, the volume is always automatically set to the maximum. The default channel is the hotel welcome channel. So, I am immediately blasted with a woman's voice (the same voice at every hotel, no matter what state) saying, "WELCOME! WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR STAY WITH US!" Of course every remote is different, so it usually takes a few seconds to find the volume button to get it to a normal level. Sometimes, if I am really thinking ahead, I will pre-locate the volume button and already have it pressed down when I press the power button. My own little "beat the soundblast" game.
I had a funny hotel experience when I visited Atlanta last month. In the weeks before the trip, my husband and I had been joking about the pet cricket that always seemed to end up in our garage at home. We would be sitting in the family room and hear, almost every night, the echoing "chirp chirp, chirp chirp" of one lone cricket in our garage. On my first night in Atlanta, which was my first night away this season, I prepared all of my college fair materials for the next day and sleepily settled into bed. I reached over to turn out the light on the nightstand. My head fell onto the pillow. Not 5 seconds after the light went out did I hear a loud "click click, click click."
"What the heck is that?" I thought. I sat up, turned on the light, and looked around. Silence. Nothing unusual. Light off again, head on pillow.
"Click click, click click, click click." Light on. Silence. Light off.
"Click click, click click." Light on. Silence. Light off.
"Click click, click click." You get the idea. Eventually, when the light was on, I just happened to notice a tiny shape on the wall behind the lampshade. I looked closer. . . you guessed it. A tiny light brown cricket, doind a very good job of camouflaging itself against the wallpaper. Well, there was no way I was going to be able to sleep with that racket going on all night, so I quickly scooped the little cricket into a cup and carried him outside since the window didn't open.
Light off. Silence.
I guess the hotel was just going out of its way to make me feel at home by supplying me with my very own cricket.
Christine DeSalvo Miller, Undergraduate Admission
Posted by cmd10 at 02:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 16, 2005
Outside of Work...
Thanks for the shout-out, Lisa.
Yes, even in admissions, we all do have OTHER LIVES outside of work. My colleagues and co-workers are fantastically talented and interesting people. While we are great at giving each other pats on the back for things accomplished here in the office or out of the road recruiting students, too often the other parts of our busy lives are not discussed or highlighted.
So yeah, I ran a race last weekend, for which I trained for three months. I ran with my best friend and totally enjoyed the time it 'forced' us to spend together during the summer as we did all of our long runs together. With running, I find that it is something I can discuss with current Case students (many of my tour guides are runners) and even prospective students. And, after crazy long days working on campus or reading applications at home, running is a great way to unwind, think about something besides work, and challenge myself physically. Of particular inspiration is my good buddy, Kay, who has run something like 10,000 MARATHONS. She has been super-supportive of my running - And she also makes great pesto sauce!
In my OTHER spare time...ha ha...I write short fiction! I am working on my critical thesis for my Master of Fine Arts in Writing program. It is a monster, but I love the topic so have enjoyed working on it.
Admissions and the people who work in admission are GREAT material for short stories - trust me.
Posted by jkw4 at 04:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
This is just our day job
While many of us seemingly live and breathe admissions work, a lot of us also have very full, rich personal lives. For instance, Judy Weiss, one of our admission counselors, just ran her first half marathon. Hooray, Judes!
Lisa, Writer/Editor
Posted by lac20 at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
September 06, 2005
Finding a job you love
So we had a bit of a discussion this morning at work about career choices. Some people live to work, others work to live, etc. It made me think about my career path and what I'm planning to do when I grow up.
For me, I feel like my job experiences have taken me all over the place in terms of twists and turns. Some people are very focused in what they want to do. Some people know from age five that they want to be a pediatrician.
I guess for me, I didn't have that kind of focus. I always enjoyed writing, so I knew that whatever I did would involve that. But my current job as part of the marketing and communications team was not something I would have predicted for myself. Nevertheless, it's been a great ride, so far!
I love my job. It can be frustrating and stressful but it's also satisfying and rewarding. I can't say enough how much I enjoy being on a college campus. Of course, I feel passionate about Case partly because I'm an alum and my husband is too. My husband is working toward a master's degree at the business school here and our son is pretty much growing up on campus. Even though our schedules are hectic, I feel like all three of us are really lucky.
Sometimes I worry that our son isn't getting enough time with me and my husband, but other times, I think he's getting a pretty good deal out of it all. Nico is only three but he's been to a bunch of Case football and basketball games already. He likes to hang out at SpringFest and other campus events. He loves to chow down on pizza with The Observer student newspaper staff. He's fascinated by the echo of his voice in the crazy amazing business school building. Whenever there's any cool campus event happening, I try to bring him. I really like the idea of him taking part in so many enriching experiences at such a young age. And of course, I want him to appreciate the value of a college education.
Lisa, Writer/Editor
Posted by lac20 at 03:34 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 14, 2005
Why do we work in admissions?
There's a quote in The Gatekeepers that sums up why I think many of us enjoy working in a college admissions office. One of the admission counselors portrayed in the book, Greg Pyke, said this:
"If your life experience makes you value education, which mine does, then you care about who's getting access to education. And if you've had a really good undergraduate education, it's quite attractive to attach yourself to an undergraduate institution that matches your values."
It's interesting to see what led the Case admission staff members to their jobs here. For me, I feel very connected to the campus. I'm a Case alum, my husband is as well, my dad works here, and my father-in-law earned his MBA here. So I definitely have strong ties to the university.
Before I came to work here, I earned a master's degree in journalism and then worked as a health magazine editor, a Web producer, and a freelance journalist. I've worked in a lot of places with a lot of different people, and this is definitely one of the best jobs I've had.
Lisa, Writer/Editor
Posted by lac20 at 04:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
July 07, 2005
We've entered the blogosphere
Hooray! We have our own blog!
I thought we could use this blog to offer more insight into the college admission process, to provide information that's more spontaneous and informal than what students get from the glossy viewbooks and brochures students we mail them.
This group blog will show a more human side of the undergraduate admission staff at Case, and maybe take some of the mystery out of what it is we all do here.
Lisa, Writer/Editor
Posted by lac20 at 10:45 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack