That bittersweet time of year

Of course we’re happy for our graduates!  How could we not be, after they’ve put in two years of hard work, capping their experience with marathon thesis-writing sessions?  But there are so many people we’ll miss!  As a result, these few days are marked by an atmosphere that is genuinely bittersweet.  We’re looking forward to Commencement weekend, while regretting that many of our favorite people will be moving on.

Every graduating class includes students who are special to the Fletcher faculty and staff.  Either they’ve made a strong mark on the School — inside or outside of the classroom — or, for the Admissions staff, we may have known them since their application days.  In any year, I could highlight any number of students who will be remembered long after they graduate.  Today, I want to give a moment of recognition to all the students who contributed more than their share of time to the Admissions Office.  I’ll call them the Friends of Admissions, and they are abundant in the Class of 2011.

Among the Friends of Admissions are those who have worked for us at a pay rate that could best be described as “partial compensation,” including Amy, Andrew, Chris, Cheney, David, Eddie, Sabah, and Vincent.  There are two-year interviewers, including Anthony, Barbara, Eugen, Fabian, Patrick (who, I believe, is everywhere at once), and Raquel.  And there are those who always make themselves available when we need them, including Fatema, who set the bar for School involvement by LLM students.  I’m sorry that a comprehensive list would be longer than this blog post will allow.

But while it is absolutely true that students help us get our work done, we value them even more for their enthusiasm, engagement, intelligence, kindness, and that sense we have that they’re building toward the time (coming soon) when they’ll be off doing wonderful things.  No matter how bogged down we may be, a day is always brighter when a Friend of Admissions strolls into the office to find out what we’re up to, or provide an update on the baby (Vincent), or ask whether one of their favorite interviewees has been admitted (Chris), or grab a piece of chocolate (Cheney).  We’ll miss you, Friends of Admissions!

To the Friends of Admissions and all other students who will graduate on Sunday, we wish you copious good luck in your post-Fletcher lives.  Please keep in touch!

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