Fare Thee Well, Class of 2009

Late this afternoon the Admissions Office welcomed about 75 Class of 2009 seniors and their families to Mason Hall for a special reception. The event was a Senior Admissions Volunteer Reception and was to celebrate and honor the tremendous members of the Class of 2009 that donated their time over the last few years to help the Admissions Office connect with prospective students, applicants, admitted students, and many, many, more people. We celebrated an amazing group of students who helped out as tour guides, admission representative interviewers, student employees, bloggers, overnight hosts, multicultural student volunteers, residence hall guides, open house volunteers, and Hopkins Interactive representatives.

The event was a wonderful occasion to say thanks and to provide the students with a token of our appreciation. In my remarks to the entire group, I shared that the Class of 2009 is a truly special class. Most of the Admissions counselors who have worked in the Admissions Office for longer than four years, including myself, agree this is the best overall class of students who have helped out in Admissions. In so many ways, this class represents the best that Hopkins has to offer. We relied a ton over the years on all of these students and they never failed us. The overwhelming increase in applications over the last four years, the litany of positive feedback we hear from visitors, and the overall successes of the Admissions Office over the last few years truly stems from this amazing group of students. (I confidently feel it was the work of all of our admissions volunteers that led to our over-enrolling the freshman class this year.)

As I worked as the event’s bartender I continued to reflect on how much these students make me love my job. I got quite emotional at times, but tried to hide it as much as possible. In fact, over the last couple of weeks I have found myself getting emotional when I think of these seniors graduating and heading to enter the “real world.” Whether it was at the “thank you” barbecue we hosted for all admissions volunteers at the end of the term, or the Outback Steakhouse dinner I shared with a group of Advisory Board seniors on Mother’s Day, or while I wrote out thank you cards to the seniors, I have shed a good amount of tears of joy thinking about the Class of 2009. (Speaking of thank you notes – remember cardinal rule #2 … always send a thank you card. And please don’t forget, cardinal rule #1 … when the police arrive, go home! Sorry, inside joke.)

Why so emotional, you ask? Well for two reasons. First, for me the Johns Hopkins Class of 2009 is the first class of students that I was fully involved with from the recruitment stage and the application review process. Though I have worked closely with students who have graduated in recent years, it is this class that I truly feel I had a lot to do with in terms of their enrollment. It may sound a bit weird, but the class is like a first child.

The second reason for me feeling so emotional at this time is because of five specific seniors. Esther, Julia, Laura, Andrew, and Tanmay … these five seniors mean the world to me. Seeing them graduate tomorrow will be quite emotional as it has been an amazing journey over these past four years. See when the Class of 2009 entered Hopkins four years ago a “little” project known as Hopkins Interactive was still in its gestation phase. Esther, Julia, Laura, Andrew, and Tanmay are in many ways founding members of the Student Admissions Advisory Board which is the student group behind the Hopkins Interactive Web site. In my eyes, they are part of the “founding fathers” of the site. As a group they are uniquely driven, creative, motivated, and passionate. It is these qualities and devotion to perfection that launched what is arguably one of the best student admissions blogging and communication program for any college in the country.

I felt on the eve of their Commencement, and as a final means to honor them and say thanks, I would briefly comment on each student. So please join me in congratulating and thanking five amazing members of the Johns Hopkins Class of 2009.

ESTHER BELL

Where to begin when describing what Esther has meant to me. Simply put, she is on the short list of the most memorable students I have ever come in contact with in my 10+ years in my profession. She is irreplaceable as a student worker, blogger, creative mind, and friend.

I actually met Esther, her twin sister Zoe, and their Mom (a Hopkins alum) in my previous Admissions job at American University. At the time, Esther and Zoe were juniors at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. Little did I know a year later I would meet the Bell twins once again, this time as an Admissions counselor for Hopkins. Long story short, both Esther and Zoe chose to enroll at Hopkins in 2005 and the Homewood campus is so much better for it. As they depart this spring, it will not be long for another Bell to arrive at Hopkins -- their younger sister will be a freshman this fall.

Esther has been an essential part of nearly every project I have taken on over the last four years. Some much of the creativity that exists in our Hopkins Interactive site stems from her brainstorms. As well, she keeps me sane on a daily basis. Little does she know how jealous I am of her and the amazing path she has laid during her four years of Hopkins. I could rattle her praises for hours, and hope to have just that chance in the coming months with reference calls.

Just a few weeks ago Esther passed her Foreign Service Exam and as an International Studies graduate of Hopkins with a vast array of experiences, it is almost a given you will be able to find her working in an embassy in some unique part of the world shortly. In the meantime, she is pursuing opportunities along a vast array of options including the film industry, college admissions, new media marketing, and maybe even modeling! All I know is whatever she takes on in the future she will be a success.

JULIA PILCER

I am not sure Julia knows it, but if I had the chance to go back and do my undergraduate years over I would follow a very similar path as she has during her four years at Hopkins. There are similarities in our college paths -- we were both Political Science majors ... we are both from New York ... we both spent hours working for Admissions. But there are differences too -- she was active with her sorority while sorority girls loathed me in college ... she roots for the Yankees, me the Mets ... and most significantly, Julia made the most of every single opportunity she tackled during her time at Hopkins.

As I wrote a thank you note to Julia just recently I mentioned to her that she is on the Mount Rushmore of Advisory Board members over the years. Many of the directions that the student group behind Hopkins Interactive were first suggested by Julia. Her leadership is unmatched, and her creation of the Social Chair position this year was ingenious and appreciated by all the underclassmen. Every person who has come in contact with Julia is better for the experience. It is going to be difficult to go to work in Mason Hall and know that Julia is not around to chat about any number of topics -- politics, sports, entertainment, the real life Gossip Girls, or the crazy phone calls that come in to the Admissions Office.

Julia will be returning to New York upon graduation and has a great political internship lined up for the short-term. She will continue to search for the perfect job, and I am utterly confident to see her actively involved in shaping the direction of either New York politics or national politics in Washington, D.C. in the near future. My political science degree led me to education (long story). That will be another difference between Julia and I ... she will make a difference in policy and politics.

LAURA PERAZZOLI

No exaggeration, Laura is one of the nicest, most pleasant, friendliest, and kindest people I have ever known. Yes these traits probably stem from her growing up in Seattle, but she is a truly one-of-a-kind spirit. Laura always makes me smile, and those who know her always have a huge smile on their faces when talking about her.

My first memory of Laura is in the application she put together to become a student blogger and part of the Hopkins Interactive project. To this day it is the best student advisory board application I have ever received, and it foreshadowed so much the creative approach she would bring to ever task she tackled. As a Writing Seminars major I never questioned how strong a blogger she would become, but I was so pleasantly surprised amount how much of a leader she became both with the Student Advisory Board but also in the other activities she got involved with, namely the Outdoors Pursuits organization.

For me, Laura's shining moment was the production of our Insider's Guide for admitted students this past year. With out her leadership and passionate interest in the project, the Insider's Guide would never have been as great a success as it turned out to be. When I started at Hopkins I had a specific vision for an Insider's Guide written by students, and with Laura's guidance the ultimate guide we produced far surpassed my original vision.

Laura will return to Seattle shortly and then head off to a lead a 5-week outdoors trip with students from her former high school. The funny thing is when you meet Laura you would never assume she is some one who could lead such a trip ... but knowing her I can attest there is no one I would trust more in such a situation. Laura will continue the job search and I know in just a short time we all will have a chance to see her work in some form of publishing or writing.

ANDREW LANGER

Forever now when I think of Andrew the first word that will come to mind is maybe. That is the word that I wrote in big, bold, black letters on his application for the Advisory Board as an incoming freshman. Looking back four years later I realize what a mistake it was to write maybe. Instead it should have read, "Absolutely take him ... he will be a great addition and always keep you entertained."

If asked to describe Andrew I would first say that he is just a good guy and someone every should have a chance to meet. I'd follow that by saying that Hopkins would be an even better place if we had more "Andrews" in the class. He does not fit the mold of what one expects of a Hopkins student (that persistent myth of the cut-throat, solely academic student), and that is what I think is so perfect. Andrew has pursued his own path through his four years, and made an impact in numerous ways. Plus, you can never find faults with a die-hard Mets fan.

In the coming fall Andrew is off to graduate school for an International Studies masters program. What makes the experience so special is the program is in SCOTLAND at the University of St. Andrews. I know Andrew will learn so much while abroad and then he will return to the States and use his new-found expertise in security studies and counter terrorism to make sure we are all continually safe.  

TANMAY GOKHALE

When it comes to Tanmay, I must admit I have made a number of mistakes. To start, when he applied for the Advisory Board as a freshmen I did not select him for the Board. STRIKE ONE. Then, not until the start of his senior year did I come to realize I had been mispronouncing his last name. STRIKE TWO. Thankfully, to date, I don't think I have made any other mistakes to lead to a third strike. On the flip side, Tanmay has only hit home runs since his arrival at Hopkins in the Fall of 2005. (Sorry, I couldn't resist continuing the baseball theme - I'll stop now.)

I met Tanmay for the first time during a scholarship event the spring of his senior year of high school. I knew upon my first encounter with him of his sheer brilliance and that he would become a difference maker in the Biomedical Engineering program. Little could I predict the impact Tanmay would make on nearly every part of academic and student life at Hopkins. Through his involvement in HERU, or Model UN, or the Biomedical Engineering Society, simply Tanmay has done it all and made Hopkins a better place. With all these evident strengths, it is Tanmay's compassion and willingness to help others at the drop of the hat that I have so appreciated.

At last check, Tanmay is off to medical school at Duke (a good school in all things but Lacrosse -- had to say it). He plans to become part of a MD/PhD program, and ultimately to enter a Biomedical research field. Over the four years I have witnessed all of Tanmay's accomplishments, I think I have been most impressed by his drive and his knowledge of his academic and personal goals. Tanmay's contact information will always remain close at hand, because I anticipate sometime in the future I will need some medical assistance and possibly my life saved, and I am pretty confident that the genius that is Tanmay can help me out.

Congratulations & Thanks

I hope Esther, Julia, Laura, Andrew, and Tanmay know how much they have meant to me. I do know they know how much my nephew and niece (Cooper and Lilly) mean to me in this world, so what I am about to say next carries a lot of weight. If in 20 or so years, I look at my niece and nephew and they are even half of the young women and men that these five students are, it will be clear to me Lilly and Cooper are on the right path and in for great successes in the future. I have had the pleasure to watch these students grow these past four years, and it has been my honor.

As I hope I have expressed in this post, this is a group of students I will not soon forget. Fare the well, Esther, Julia, Laura, Andrew, and Tanmay. May the "real world" present you with great successes, pure happiness, and the chance to remain creative and passionate. I will miss you all greatly.

Comments

[jhu_michellet]

Awww...reading this, I get a little misty-eyed. Congratulations to all of you - what amazing things you have done, and will continue to do!

[JHU_LauraP]

me too michelle!! i can't believe we are finished--SAAB has been such a constant part of my Hopkins experience.
Thanks Daniel!!

[JHU_Dominique]

Wow, this is really nice...congrats on making it through guys!! =]

[JHU_Jessica]

Great blog Daniel! I'll miss you five! I don't think it will hit me until I walk into our first SAAB meeting next year. Luckily, I know that you five will be amazing young alumni and visit!

[JHU_Kate]

Aww, I'll miss these guys...congrats and good luck to all of you! :o)

[Jackie]

I will miss them all greatly as well. I'm so sad I wasn't there to see them off! Thanks for the update Daniel.

[Andrew]

I never saw this until now-- thanks for the kind words. I think I need a better picture though ha ha...