Jeff's on the road

Last week, I asked Jeff (our newest staffer) to reflect on his Fletcher travels.  Here’s what he wrote:

Where has the fall gone?  Every year I feel the same way when October draws to a close.  Since graduating from college, I’ve held jobs that send me out on the road during the fall months.  What that means for me is:  no alumni/homecoming weekends, limited time for apple picking, and a jam-packed social calendar on the days when I am in town.  That being said, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

The last couple months, I’ve had the opportunity to travel to New York City, followed by Toronto, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.   Each trip was fantastic, but there really aren’t any exciting stories to share – nothing compared to Kristen’s tour of Asia last year or Peter dodging wild fires in 2007.  But I’m happy to say that the locations I visited this fall were a nice change from the travel of my previous job.

My life in corporate recruiting brought me to the same university campus once or twice a week for the majority of the fall months.  While that got old quickly, I do miss the amazing restaurants that Philadelphia has to offer, and also the budget I had to “play with.”  Despite the gastric pleasures and the larger wallet of corporate life, I don’t regret my switch to Fletcher.  Meeting so many great prospective students and alumni during my travels has been amazing.  I have enjoyed hearing stories from alums regarding their Fletcher past, as well as descriptions of what they are doing now.  Alumni go out of their way to help the School, and from what I can tell, it’s because they really value their Fletcher experience.

So, fall is flying by, but it’s been great so far!  I was able to visit friends who I hadn’t seen in quite some time, and also to try some new restaurants (Eggspectations in Toronto, Rockit in Chicago, and Sushi Roku in LA) and visit some old favorites (JG Melon in NY and In-N-Out Burger in SF).  Now I’m preparing for my next trip — North Carolina and Virginia — to host information sessions at various universities with colleagues from some other great schools.  If you happen to be in the area, check out our travel calendar for the week of November 8th and I hope you’ll drop by.