Share something about yourself…
It has been a while (and a few personnel changes) since the members of the Admissions staff last introduced themselves via the blog. At our summer off-site retreat, we decided that the introductions should take the form of brief answers to the questions/prompts applicants can select for the Supplementary Essay. Urgent note to blog readers: Our answers are not meant to serve as models for your own essays! But here is what my admissions pals wrote in answer to: Share something about yourself to help the Admissions Committee develop a more complete picture of who you are. In almost alphabetical order, here we go:
Jeff:
What a feeling – pressure, popping ears, gliding through the air and then a sudden drop. Turbulence is my favorite part of a plane ride. As the plane drops, my stomach enters my throat and a jarring ride ensues. Strangely enough, that is the only point at which I am able to fall asleep on a plane, regardless of the length of the flight. Turbulence doesn’t bother me in the least. It’s not that I am carefree or reckless; I just don’t see the need to stress over something that is completely out of my control. I sit back, close my eyes, and enjoy the ride.
Kristen:
I was raised in three different areas of the United States – the Northeast, South, and West — each for a significant period of time. I was born in New England to parents from Connecticut and Massachusetts. We then moved to Texas, and finally I attended high school in Colorado, which I still consider home. Working at Fletcher, we often hear fascinating stories about students who have lived on five different continents or in ten different countries, but sometimes we fail to see the diversity in culture, socioeconomics, language, landscape, and politics inherent in the United States. For me, having been raised in three such distinct environments has helped inform my world-view, or, perhaps more accurately stated, my nation-view. I have seen incredible variety in the way that my friends and family from each area approach the same situation, or view the same hot topic. At times, it feels like a city-dweller from the U.S. North has more in common with her South American urbanite counterpart than with a denizen of the rural U.S. West. This perspective has been invaluable for me as I have the good fortune to work with students from around the globe.
Liz:
Second semester of my sophomore year at the University of Southern Maine, I joined a sorority — something I would have scoffed at just a year earlier, and that my family and non-Greek friends still don’t understand. After befriending a number of the sisters of Kappa Delta Phi, I was sold on their message of community, philanthropy, and sisterhood. The sorority gave me so much — from new friendships to self-confidence and pride — that when I graduated in 2004, I joined the Board of Directors of the national sorority organization. Over the last five years, I’ve served in many roles on the Board and each has taught me something new about myself. Much of what I know about leadership, conflict resolution, time management, public speaking, networking, and interpersonal relations, I’ve learned from the sorority. It’s also what motivated me to return to higher education as a career, when I was laid off from my previous job in the newspaper industry. Although a time will come when I’ll step away from such an active role to focus on other areas of my personal and professional life, Kappa is now and always will be an important and defining part of my life.
That’s all for today. Tomorrow we’ll hear from Laurie, Peter, Roxana, and me.