Drew

Floating at Smuggs

Conor and I took advantage of a floating holiday and went up to Smuggs on Friday.  You wouldn't have believed that it was March 28th.  I had been a month since I was able to get up to the mountain, and I was expecting some Spring skiing conditions - slushy corn snow, and a few bare patches here and there.  I found instead, full coverage and a snow storm. 

The skiing was in mid winter form!  I couldn't believe it.  It kept getting better as the day went on.  We did quite a bit of hiking and some out of bounds skiing.  It was so good, I was back up there first thing Saturday morning.  The snow was untouched in the woods and we hiked up to what called the Birthday Bowl.  Untracked, knee deep powder all day long!  It was a great two days of skiing!

I only skied until noon on Saturday, because i had to make it back to campus for a fund raising walk-a-thon that our students were organizing.  They raised over $10k for Parent to Parent, an organization that helps parents with children who have special needs.    It was a great turn out and there were plenty of students, faculty, staff and their families there.  Students from Johnson State and the University of Vermont were also there. Due to the cold weather, the walk-a-thon was held in our gym.

The weekend was capped off with a LEAP meeting on Sunday night.  It was the first that Maria and I were able to attend.  There is a great group of students organizing it and it's going to be a great weekend.

As you can imagine, I've got a bunch of emails to go through.  It's unreal how quickly they pile up. 

Cheers!

The New Pres.

So annoying.  I was working on a post, and click the wrong area and gone baby gone.

Well anyway, we officially met the new President, Dr. Jack Neuhauser.  He came to our staff meeting a couple of weeks ago, and I kicked it off by totally sticking my foot in my mouth.  While going around the room introducing ourselves and describing what we do in the office, I slipped and said that I read ALL the apps in the office.  It took less than a second for my coworkers to catch that and give me a hard time.  Jack even joined in.   It was great, really.  It was great. 

Actually, that one of the cool things about our office.  We're a really comfortable group and able to kid around with each other. 

All of our letters are out now, and we're a bit of a lull here for the rest of this week and probably early next week before we start gearing up for all of the accepted student programs.

We're also getting to the point where we find ourselves not only working the the potential class of 2012, but also the potential class of 2013.  It's sometimes hard to remember which group you're speaking two as the two have very different questions and needs.  We try our best to provide as many opportunities for the class of 2013 to visit while keeping in mind that the 2012 has to make their decision in just over a month (deposits are due on May 1st).

----------------
Now playing: The Postal Service - Such Great Heights
via FoxyTunes    

LEAP

Okay, so LEAP.  What's LEAP?   Why are people at SMC so secretive about it?  Is it some sort of cult?

Well, LEAP is a very popular retreat hosted by the campus ministry office.  It's technically a Christian retreat, but in typical Edmundite fashion, all faiths are welcome (Josh wrote a good post on the history of the Edmundites on his blog).  There are a few sites around the state  that we go to.  On my first LEAP, we went to the Wildflower Inn, in  Lyndonville, I can't remember where my second Leap was, and this upcoming one will be  in Stowe.  It's a weekend full of talks, reflection and bonding.  Past LEAPers give talks on Community, Vocation, Service, Prayer, Commitment, and Marriage (Maria and I are doing this). Some of the talks can be intense, and many can be incredibly uplifting. 

I think everyone's LEAP experience is different.  When I went the first time, it was my senior year, and two of my three roommates and a number of my classmates where on the trip.  We were all a little late to the LEAP community in that we were doing our first LEAP senior year, but it was a nice bonding experience for all of us. 

I also enjoyed the alone time on that LEAP.  The location was incredible.  We were up in Lyndonville, which is in the heart of the Northeast Kingdom (see previous post for explanation).  There were a bunch of hiking trails around the inn, and I took advantage of the opportunity to wander through the woods in total quiet, no cars, no people, just the sound of the woods.   It was a really cool, personal moment.

It's sounding pretty cult-like by now, huh?  Well, it's not a cult.  The people who do go on LEAP, though, do have a great time and you'll find that they can't stop talking about it for weeks afterwards. 

The end is in sight!

So it's been crazy here in the Admission office the last few weeks.  We're at the end of the last big push to get files read so we can get the letters in the mail.  I'm sure all of you who haven't heard from us yet are anxious, but I promise, we're almost done.  The goal is to have the letters in the mail by March 19th. 

To get there though, we had to get some serious reading done.  My wife and I went up to our family camp in what's know as the Northeast Kingdom.  Geographically, if you were to divide the state into quarters, it would be the top right quarter of the state.  IMO, it's the prettiest part of the state. I've attached some photos. 

Anyway, it was great to get up there away from cell phones (no service), email ( no internet) and t.v. (no cable or satellite).  I ended up getting quite a few files read, some great snowshoeing on the lake, and enjoying Vermont in general. 

On Tuesday, we closed up shop and hunkered down in our presentation room and read all day long.  It's a fun time together and do some team bonding and get some work done.  Now, for the most part, all the files have had at least two reads and are in the process of the final.  Next week we'll be matching files to letters, stuffing envelopes and trying to get everything out int the mail on time.

I haven't forgotten about LEAP.  I'll get to it in my next post.

Cheers,
Drew

 

Seymour Winter 2008