Far from being a period of laid-back indolence, the summer months have increasingly seen a pretty full roster of Fletcher admissions events. This year is no different! Prospective students should obviously feel free to visit us in Medford at any point, but there are also many upcoming opportunities to meet our staff, as well as current students and alumni, throughout the world this summer.
Read MoreReaders, does it seem a bit bonkers to start talking about the application process for 2020 enrollment so soon after I’ve just been jabbering in this space about commencement? It certainly feels a bit bonkers, but then that’s life in admissions. Here we are still in the first half of 2019, months removed from welcoming new students this fall, and our heads are already deep into 2020.
Read MoreI’ve been happy to see the revival in recent years of Capstone haikus, one of my favorite unofficial Fletcher traditions. Finals week is a stressful time, and for graduating students, the push to finish the Capstone adds an extra layer of anxiety (as well as likely removing several hours of sleep) to an already fraught period. As students approached the finish line over the past few weeks, many shared these Capstone encapsulations in haiku form on the social list.
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And just like that, members of the Fletcher Class of 2019 are officially alumni! It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were busy convoking the academic year, and here we are already recapping the season’s most anticipated finale outside of Westeros. On the weather side of things, there’s mixed news to report. For Saturday’s Class Day festivities, we lucked into probably the nicest day we’ve had all spring. Sunny, warm, and just generally the kind of day that makes you want to hang around outside. For Commencement itself on Sunday, less so. While the big tent provides good protection from the vicissitudes of the sky, the ground makes itself felt in a downpour, too, and there are likely a few muddy pairs of Maglis and Manolos due for a cleaning this week.
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Commencement activities will take place at Tufts this weekend, and they’re on the radar either directly or indirectly for virtually all administrative corners of Fletcher. But even an out-of-the-loop, first-time visitor to Tufts this week would be able to tell that something’s afoot, with all the visible prep and last-minute campus beautification going on. To be fair, the window of decent weather in which to work prior to graduation is pretty small in this part of the country, and the several weeks of chill, rain, and gloom we’ve recently endured here hasn’t helped matters, but there’s nonetheless still something of a madcap quality to all the buzzing about and cosmetic improvements happening at the moment.
Read MoreThere’s so much going on at Fletcher, particularly during the last few weeks of the academic year, that it can sometimes feel impossible to keep up. It’s certainly impossible to highlight on this blog every newsworthy item I come across. A few bits of news from the past month or so, unmentioned until now in this space, that are well worth highlighting.
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Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are amazingly powerful tools. Take a few moments to study a well-designed map, and you’ll be amazed by the amount of information it can simultaneously convey. Way back in my own Fletcher student days, I enrolled in the inaugural offering of GIS for International Applications at Fletcher, mostly out of curiosity and the desire to pick up the rudiments of a new skill set. While I haven’t gone on to do further GIS work, and while modest would be a charitable description of the mapping project I produced in that course, it did leave me with an understanding for and appreciation of the explanatory power of contemporary mapping technology and technique.
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The official portrait of former Fletcher Dean James Stavridis was recently unveiled in a ceremony here, which the Dean himself attended. While I wasn’t able to make it to the event, I did get a chance to check out the latest addition to the Ginn Library Reading Room recently, before it gets hung to join other Deans past. It’s a good likeness, as we’d of course expect an official portrait to be. Having had the opportunity to get to know Dean Stavridis relatively well, I immediately noticed a few details and artistic choices that capture his particular bearing and personality.
Read MoreProfessor Alnoor Ebrahim is one of Fletcher’s most popular instructors. Don’t take my word for it: check him out receiving the Paddock Teaching Award (sort of the Best Professor Oscar at Fletcher) at last year’s commencement ceremonies. We were extremely fortunate to have him as a member of the Admissions Committee a few years ago, and his thoughtfulness was a huge asset to our work. It’s also on display during orientation week at the beginning of each academic year in the “Rules of Engagement” session he administers, in which he encourages new students to take a few moments to consider how they can create respectful and productive relationships with all members of the Fletcher community, including student colleagues, faculty, and administrators. He’s an expert at creating an inclusive and welcoming environment.
Read MoreOur final “annotated curriculum” post comes from Kaitlyn.
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