And so it starts...

Tuesday marked the beginning of the semester, which officially represents the start of another exciting college year. Many people are getting to see familiar faces, there is excitement and optimism about the new semester and homework has not quite piled up yet (hence the excitement/optimism)! This all was wrapped up in the first day activities including Convocation, Taste of Valpo and the One People One Planet fair.

This years Opening Convocation was the 81st held here at Valparaiso University and is an exciting time to appreciate the people that have brought us this far and the possibilities that the future may hold. At Convocation, faculty and staff who have been in service at Valpo for 25, 30 and 40 years were recognized, and it amazes me (but doesn't necessarily surprise!) at the dedication and enthusiasm of the people who serve at VU. We truly do have some dedicated and wonderful people here. There was also an address by our president, Mr. Heckler, as well as an address by our student body president. Many were in attendence for this traditional opening of the academic year and I hope one day you can join in the celebration if you have not already!

Immediately following Opening Convocation was the "Taste of Valpo" where a variety of restaurants from the Valparaiso area came out to serve samples to the VU community. It was a great turnout, and who can say no to great, free food! There was even a group of guys that brought a croquet set and enjoyed a little friendly rivalry during the festivities. Following the taste was the One People One Planet fair that allows many of the student organizations and clubs the opportunity to showcase what they do and for students to see what is available to them. For new students, this is a great opportunity to not only see what is out there, but to gather more information and get on a few email lists. But make sure not to get too involved right away, you want to enjoy some free time as well!

Tuesday also marked the beginning of my semester, because I too am taking a class! While VU is a primarily undergraduate campus, we offer some exciting graduate programs. The program I have started this fall is our new Master of Science in International Economics and Finance. As a math person, I am very excited about this program and the class I am taking this fall. The class is Econometrics which has an emphasis on statistics. Math, woohoo! Another program that had peaked my interest before is our MS in International Commerce and Policy. No, not all of our programs have an international focus, but VU is working to prepare all students for the increasingly global world. Someone used the phrase "global world" the other day, and while at first I thought it redundant, the more I pondered this, the more it made sense. Even 100 years ago, our world was still very internationally segregated and traveling internationally was nowhere near what it is today. So yes, I think our world is becoming more global as goofy as that may sound.

Well that is enough rambling for today. Hopefully your weekend is great, and I leave you with this thought...

Remember, Old age is inevitable; growing up is optional.

Ryan

It's getting to be that time

Hello!!

Summer is beginning to wind down, and that means the fall is quickly approaching. The summer has been a quick but enjoyable one for me this year! I took a trip with my fellow admission counselor, Seth, out to the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota. It was amazing out there even with lugging all the food/supplies/canoe/kayak around! I also went down to New Orleans for the ELCA youth gathering. It was crazy to see all the youth and their positive impact on the city down there. So if you went, way to go!!

Anywho, the big thing I am doing right now is planning my travel for the upcoming months. A big part of my job in the fall is visit high schools and attend college fairs in order to make sure YOU are informed about what Valpo has to offer. While I do not have my full high school schedule lined up yet, I do know where I will be with college fairs. Hopefully I will be at one near you!

Sept. 9 at CBC 7:00 - 8:30 PM (STL)
Sept. 10 at DeSmet College Day 2:45 - 5:00 PM (STL)
Sept. 15 at Marquette HS for the Rockwood District Fair 7:00 - 8:30 PM (STL)
Sept. 16 at Parkland College 6:00 - 8:00 PM (Champaign, IL)
Sept. 17 at Danville Area Community College 9:00 - 11:30 AM (Danville, IL)
Sept. 21 at Kaskaskia area College Fair 11:30 - 1:00 PM Transfers, 6:00 - 8:00 PM All (Centralia, IL)
Sept. 22 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Lutheran College Fair 7:30 - 9:00 PM (STL)
Sept. 23 at Parkway College Fair 7:00 - 8:30 PM (STL)
Oct. 7 at Capitol Area College Fair 8:00 - 11:00 AM, 12:30 - 2:00 PM, 5:00 - 6:30 PM (Springfield, IL)
Oct. 13 at Taylorville HS College Night 6:30 - 8:00 PM (Taylorville, IL)
Oct. 14 at Quincy Area College Fair 6:30 - 8:00 PM (Quincy, IL)
Oct. 18 at NACAC fair at SLU 12:00 - 3:00 PM (STL)
Oct. 19 at 5 Schools Fair at Meremac CC 5:30 - 7:00 PM (STL)
Oct. 20 at SIU-E College Fair 6:00 - 8:00 PM (Edwardsville, IL)
Oct. 21 at Ill Central College Fair 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM Transfers, 5:30 - 8:00 All (Peoria, IL)

There may be updates, so be ready! Also, I will post my high school visits and times when those are settled. Oh the exciting life of an admission counselor!!

I wish you the best as you begin the school year, and I will leave you with this thought:

How do you tell when a rice cake has gone stale?

Ryan

Fall is fast approaching

Hello, my loyal readers! I trust that you all had an exciting and safe summer vacation. Did you do anything fun?? I'd love to hear about your summer vacation! As for me, my vacation was not as exciting as last summer when I went to China; however, I spent most of my time on campus in Valpo and took a few trips here and there... very relaxing. I also spent alot of my time volunteering with an outstanding organization called HOBY (Hugh O'brian Youth Leadership). If you are a freshman or sophomore reading this, look into attending a seminar in your area. For you natural leaders out there, this is the perfect opportunity for you to enhance those skills, and for those of you who might feel a little shy, but know that you have an inner rockstar that's bursting at the seams to get out, this could serve as a wonderful opportunity for you as well. The end of summer is bittersweet; I am sad to see it go, but am extremely excited for students to arrive on campus! I can't believe my first class is now at sophomore status (you're getting so old *tear*) and I have my second incoming Freshman class. We will definitely have a lot special people wandering around-- I'm excited to see all of the great things you will do.

I am in the process of finalizing my Fall Travel plans, but am still missing a Tour Name... I could do along the lines of U2 with the 360 degree tour... but I need something even better than that... I'm thinking that it's time for a contest. To the student who gives me the most original (and cleanest, you wouldn't believe the suggestions I've received in the past...), you will win a secret prize. No, it's not guaranteed admission or a full tuition scholarship... but I can guarantee that it will be legen...wait for it...dary. Deadline 12 AM EST September 1st. I will announce the winner on September 3rd and profile you on my blog if you'd like.

If you remember, last year I gave you the inside scoop of a legendary admission counselor and the low down about what I take along with me for Fall Travel. This fall I will be scaling it down a bit since I have more of a centralized recruiting (City of Chicago, North Shore 'burbs and Northwest Chicago 'burbs) territory. Don't you worry East Coasters or students from Southern Ohio, I'm still here and have no problem adopting you and your family! Back to my main point-- what I take with me during travel-- all of these things are necessary in case I need to pull a Macguyver, which ALWAYS happens at some point:

In my travel (non-valpo material, non-clothing suitcase) bag I will always have the following:
Bottled water (preferably dannon natural spring water or Smart Water) I'm being specific in case a rep. views this and wants to send me some cases ;)
one regular can of Coke
appples
almonds
First-aid kit (trust me)
Extra socks
Flip-flops (I could live in flip flops)
Raincoat
Umbrella-- I actually picked up a bright magenta one, which is just fabulous
cell phones, wall and car charger... and extra charger since I always seem to lose one
Laptop
homework-- yes, my day time outfit is the Admission Counselor, while at night I am an MBA student here at Valpo.
iPod, charge
digital camera
Ethernet cable (just in case)
A wide selection of batteries
flashlight
Hand sanitizer
Plastic bags (both of the sandwich and garbage varieties)
Tissues and napkins
baseball hat
Spare toilet paper (I traveled to China last summer-- it's become 2nd nature)
tape, assorted rubber bands and paperclips (just in case I need to MacGyver something together)
Pens
A towel
Tylenol, Advil
A lifetime supply of Tums

All this, plus a folder full of my travel schedule, emergency numbers, insurance forms, contacts, reservations and any other scrap of paper necessary to make the travel season go swimmingly.

I guess I didn't really scale it down afterall...

Once I finalize my schedule I will post it so you know when I'll be in your area. I look forward to meeting you during this fall and spring. Please email me at: megan.marrs@valpo.edu with your tour name suggestion as well as any questions/concerns you might have about Valpo and college admissions.

Remember, be legendary in your own way!