Welcome to November. I hope you all enjoyed Halloween, the start of Fall-like weather on the east coast (finally!), and for many of you the arrival of the Early Decision deadline. I hope many of you have already clicked submit or made your visit to the Post Office ... but if not, good luck with meeting the deadline you procrastinators!!! For you EDers, I recommend taking a look at the "Early Decision Questions" thread on our message boards for answers to frequently asked questions, or for the opportunity to ask us your own questions; click here.
Today actually symbolizes for me the end of the busiest two weeks of my calendar year. As the title of this entry states, life has been busy, hectic, and crazed. Actually those three words barely describe my life for the last half of October ... but it is over now and I am off for a few days of Mental Vacation!!!
Before checking out for a few days, I thought I would update you all on what's been making life some crazed. So let's rewind to 12 days ago:
Friday, October 19
I got to the office early since I knew it would be a wild day. It was the day before our first Open House, the first day of Jameel's Colors of Hopkins program, our first of two overnights, and I had to head out to BWI Airport to pick-up my rental car for my up-coming travel. As the day began, I never expected it would be the last of these things to do that would cause the most chaos. Yes, I spent three hours at BWI because my car rental place (starts with a NAT and ends with an IONAL) did not have any cars in the size I had ordered. See my up-coming travel was group travel which meant four people, four sets of luggage, and four sets of materials for recruitment events. Finally, after me exploding on the manager, they drive down a beautiful extended-cab Dodge Durango. The car was awesome, though it did feel like driving a boat and was a gas-guzzler, but it worked. By no way should I have had to endure three hours in the rental car pavilion at the airport. Oy vei.
The rest of the day was great though. Before leaving for the Airport, I did have the chance to check-out the Overnight registration and enjoy a couple of songs by the Octopodes, one of the best campus a capella groups. Here is a bit of their performance, held in the new session room in Mason Hall:
Saturday, October 20
The Engineering and Natural Sciences Open House was a smashing success. Great weather and nearly 1000 visitors. The Hopkins Interactive students were in full force, staffing the ask-a-student table and helping answers tons of questions. They made my job very easy. Here's some pictures for you all to enjoy:




At the end of the final session of the Open House, I ran to the new garage, jumped into the huge SUV, and got on the road to New England. The drive was endless, and I feared I would fall asleep a number of times, but at 1:00am I arrived in Waltham, MA and checked-in to my hotel ... than hit the heavenly bed for some much needed sleep.
Sunday, October 21
Thankfully, I was able to sleep a bit before waking up and heading up to Manchester, NH to pick-up the friends and colleagues I would be traveling with throughout the week. My group travel program included:
- Me representing Johns Hopkins University
- Amy Atcheson representing Rice University
- Greg Roberts representing the University of Virginia
- Shep Shanley representing Northwestern University
This is our second year recruiting together in New England, and it was great to get together for another successful week of programs.
The trip officially began Sunday evening as we held our first evening program at the Sheraton Colonial Hotel in Wakefield, MA. Expectations was the turnout would be low because something else was happening that evening - The Red Sox faced a Game 7 versus the Indians, winner heads to the World Series. Well, shockingly the people still came to see us ... in fact nearly 400 people turned out. I was the host for the evening, and obviously I began with a Sox joke ... letting everyone know that I was the only rep from the four schools rooting for the Sox (which actually was not true, but brownie points always works). Though the room was crowded, it was a great start to the week.
Monday, October 22
Our group travel is not just about evening programs. As we travel from location to location, each morning we would also host a Counselor Breakfast. For these events we would invite local area school counselors to a local hotel for a nice breakfast. We would chat about the state of affairs of our respective fields (college admissions v. college counseling). Each of the reps would also give a brief update on their respective school, and then all four of us would do a Q&A. Each breakfast went exceptionally well, starting with the 35 Boston area counselors we met with. I also got in a second joke ... I started my update about Hopkins by telling everyone we had sold the Hospital and were getting rid of pre-med. Some people actually thought I was serious.
The evening was our second program in the Boston metro area, this time in Dedham, MA at Noble and Greenough School. Another great night as we had about 275 to almost 300 people in attendance. Lots of questions at the end of the program, meant we didn't get back to the hotel to close to 11:00. I crashed!!!
Tuesday, October 23
Tuesday was our one sleep-in day. We gathered around noon, checked-out, drove an hour south to Providence, and I got to show everyone around College Hill. We had lunch on Thayer Street near Brown University, and actual were sitting right next to Lincoln Chaffee, former senator from Rhode Island. We checked into our new hotel, all took naps, and then headed down for our third evening program. Last year the Providence program was the smallest of our events, but this year it went amazingly well. Easily over 250 people. I always enjoy holding the Providence event because two of my favorite alums get to help out -- Steven Snow and Stephanie Cascio. Both are alums who have had children attend and/or graduate from Hopkins. In fact, Stephanie is the Mom of Esther, one of our current bloggers.
Wednesday, October 24
The Providence Counselor Breakfast was a bit smaller, about 15 counselors, but the more intimate environment was great. Some great conversations and questions, that actually had all four of us chatting as we headed out on a 2 hour drive to Norwalk, CT. The drive was actually pleasant not just for the conversation but also for the wonderful foliage we got to see. I wish I had my camera, but I left it on my desk back in Baltimore. Take my word for it, it was beautiful. The only negative of the day turned out to be lunch ... not that the food was bad, but our waiter was one of the most evil people we all had ever met. We were actually scared to ask for anything. So strange.
Our Fairfield County evening session was held at Darien High School and was another smashing success. Great turnout that was over 350 people, and the crowd actually included blogger Jackie's Mom, Dad, and twin siblings who happened to be high school juniors starting their own college searches. Another great night ... at this moment I made a mental note that Group Travel is really the best way to recruit nowadays.
Thursday, October 25
Another great breakfast ... 35 counselors ... a good bagel ... some good eggs (not runny) ... and some sausage. Plus, Shep had his bacon ... he loves his bacon. After breakfast and some email, it was up to Hartford and the site of our final programs.
The Hartford area evening session held at Simsbury High School turned out to be our smallest event, just about 200 people, but also turned out to be the only night when I was under 10 minutes in my presentation. Which was great ... since most nights I was closer to 15 minutes and we had all agreed to be between 10-12. It is hard ... I like to talk and there is so much to say. Thankfully, by the last night I had it down and now I am ready for next year.
Friday, October 26
Our final counselor breakfast with about 15 counselors from Hartford area schools. I love talking with Connecticut counselors because they can't hold me accountable ... I don't read CT students. Ha Ha Ha.
After the breakfast, it was the worst part of the trip. Saying goodbye to Greg, Shep, and Amy at the airport. They are three of the top Admissions counselors I have met in my ten years, it is a true pleasure traveling with them. It also meant I need to drive back to Baltimore, and specifically tackle the Cross Bronx Expressway.
I got back into Baltimore around 10:00pm. It was nice to be home, until my alarm clock went off at 5:00am....
Saturday, October 27
Why you ask? Well, Open House #2 for Humanities and Social Sciences students this time. Thankfully, this was not as big as the first Open House as we hosted between 350-400 people. The event went well despite horrible rains and winds in the morning. Honestly, I was so over-tired that I really don't remember much from the day. What I do remember is how great the Hopkins Interactive students were again with fielding questions.
Unfortunately, the day ended quite poorly as I returned to BWI airport to return the car. No problems with the return of the car, but when I went to pick-up my own car in long-term parking ... well let's just say it is not good when you turn the key to your car and nothing happens. An hour later I got a jump from a nice AAA guy, headed home, and crashed. I'd list Sunday activities, but pretty much it was just a constant day of sleep.
While I was dealing with a broken down car at BWI Airport, something was going on back on the Homewood campus. Saturday evening they held a black-tie optional formal convocation for the New Decker Quad, the New Mason Hall, and the New CSE Building. A full tent went up, and the event was supposed to be amazing. Here are some shots:



Hope you enjoyed this journey through my travels of the past couple of weeks. I'll be enjoying a few days away, and then will return to begin reviewing ED apps (and updating the blog).
OK, I am going to pander for comments. In the last two weeks I have spoken in front of more than 2500 people ... so if you met me either at an Open House or during any of my Group Travel programs ... let me know!!! Just post a comment below, I'd love to hear from you. CHEERS!
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