Behind the Decision

Since my last post, I have been traveling, as admissions officers across the country do every fall. There were a couple of other trips to Boston, and at the moment, I am in Southern California, where I have been for the past 10 days, with another 6 to go. These trips are critical for us since they give us the opportunity to meet prospective students in person and also get to know the schools at which our applicants are enrolled. They are often complicated affairs, with a combination of visits to schools and community-based organizations (CBOs), which help students with fewer resources to negotiate the college application process; field interviews (I have 6 scheduled tomorrow); college fairs; and other public events. Although the GPS has alleviated a good deal of what was formerly a major pitfall of the travel season (i.e. we don’t get lost as often as we once did), there is still plenty of excitement that can befall the hapless admissions officer on the road. Here are a couple of stories.

Boston: one of the bigger and more successful college fairs that I attend is held each year at Boston Latin School. Because of the reputation and size of the school, this fair attracts a large contingent of colleges from across the country, and I know from previous experience that the Director of Guidance, my pal Jim Montague, has to scrounge tables to accommodate all the reps in attendance. As I am preparing to leave my hotel room in plenty of time to get to the fair, I realize to my horror that I have forgotten to bring the requisite Colby table banner to cover whatever table I’m assigned. Just before heading out the door, I glance into the bathroom and there’s the solution to my dilemma: the fabric shower curtain, which is tastefully striped in shades of blue, Colby’s colors. It’s one of those affairs that has a plastic liner that goes inside the tub with the decorative fabric piece on the outside. I quickly free it from its hooks and am out the door in plenty of time – only to discover that there’s a fire at an autobody shop on the other side of the fence behind my hotel. There are fire trucks EVERYWHERE and there’s even a couple of fire fighters on the roof of the place, chopping holes in the roof with axes. Sirens screaming, emergency vehicles careening around the parking lot – it was mayhem! None-the-less, I make it to Boston Latin, discover the Colby table in the cafeteria, set up my table with the shower curtain grommets carefully folded under the cloth, and no one’s the wiser. By the end of the fair, though, I can’t keep my little secret to myself, and I spill it to both Jim Montague and a nearby prospective student. The student’s dad thought this was hilarious and snapped a picture with his iPhone. Thanks to Mia D. and her dad for providing the photo. It’s a pretty bad one of me, but the shower curtain looks great.


LA: My SoCal trip includes exactly one day with nothing Colby scheduled, so I decide to be a tourist. I definitely want to incorporate a little exercise, so I head out for Runyon Canyon above the Hollywood Hills, a popular hiking spot with some steep trails. It’s Saturday, so of course the place is mobbed with people and their dogs with the same thought in mind. As a Mainer, this is not really my idea of a hike, but I puff my way up the canyon in the hot dry sunshine for a view of LA and the Hollywood Hills, resting at the top for a drink of water. That’s when I hear the voice: Queen Latifah. In fact, I am kind of a fan, and it was unmistakable. She’s out for a little exercise with a couple of friends and their dogs. Rather than head back the way I’d planned, I follow her posse down a trail and at one point get ahead of them. At another vista point, I decide I will covertly snap her picture with my phone. Only I can tell that it’s Latifah, but if you’re interested, she’s the one in the white tee shirt, and her dog is down in front with the friend in the pink top. In my years of SoCal travel for Colby, Queen Latifah is my first real live, up close and personal celebrity sighting, a real LA experience.

Mountain View (with no view): On Friday, I was supposed to meet my colleague KC Ford in Fresno for an event we had planned to do together (KC is my Colby colleague who’s responsible for Northern California and has been traveling there), but on Wednesday I got a call from her and she didn’t sound so great. In fact, she has been stricken with the flu: fever, wracking cough, aches and pains, and no appetite. She was forced to cancel all her appointments and was stuck in a Best Western with her misery, dragging herself out only to replenish her supply of Extra Strength Tylenol and buy a little food that she didn’t feel like eating. Getting the flu is bad enough at home, but in a hotel? In Mountain View with no view? Feeling frustrating about all the carefully laid plans that had to be cancelled? The good news is that the fever broke on Friday afternoon and she is on the mend. But this is the antithesis of fun travels.

So – off to bed so I can wake up and do those interviews. Luckily there’s an extra hour to sleep tonight. Stay tuned for the next installment of Tales From the Road.