Well, I survived my first week of travel.  New Jersey treated me well, and I was excited by how many students I saw at schools despite the fact it was the first true week of school.  Visiting you all at your high schools is one of my favorite parts of my work.  I enjoy meeting the faces of applications that I will read, and I love learning about the schools that you attend.

I also had a chance to reflect upon the types of questions that students had during our meetings.  What types of classes are offered to first years?  Do I really get to run my own business as part of the curriculum?  What is the campus community like? Each student I met had so many queries about life at Babson, demonstrating that they truly are engaged in the college search process.

On a less serious note, I had a new discovery this week- Satellite Radio.  It was installed in my rental car, and it was pure heaven for this traveling admission officer.  I am from the Northeast remember, so ten country stations was complete bliss! (Please, I know…. it is a corny fact about me.  I love country music, almost as much as I love my golden retriever Cisco!)

Week One down, and now two more trips to go.  I cannot wait to see what other topics come up!

I am sitting at my desk this Friday morning thinking that the inevitable is about to happen. It is the last morning for this academic year that I will not be thinking about applicants, essays and where the closest Starbucks is. And though I look forward to it, I dread it as well.  Once travel season begins, the whole admission cycle kicks into gear.  The relaxed nature of the summer is over. There is simply no turning back once travel season begins!

I have been not really thinking about it.  Although my colleage James left for Asia on Tuesday, it was almost as if it was a continuation of summer, and he was simply out on vacation.  But yesterday, our intern Shanna set up Skype on my computer.  Courtney, another colleague, and I spoke to James via Skype just after he woke up in Korea.  It started to settle in- travel season was here! That will be me contacting my colleagues from far away lands in about two weeks.

For now, I will be traveling stateside. So today, I am like Santa Claus, packing my bags and checking my list.  I have the inquiry pieces tucked into my Babson LL Bean bag. Lee, my intern, is making sure I have all my addresses correct on my agenda.  The rental car agency called to confirm my car pickup today.  ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! Next week, James, Courtney, Christine, Kim, Michael and myself will all be out traveling.

Monday, I will have my first visit of the year at the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in New Jersey.  I am looking forward to my week in the Princeton area, as there are many great schools and even more great friends in the area.  Stay posted for updates from travel- I am sure I will have many observations!

As much as I love working with my students and at Babson, I have to admit that vacation is awesome.  Last week, my husband and I went to Nantucket.  For those of you non-New Englanders, it is a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. It is our most favorite place to vacation; we even named our golden retriever Cisco after one of the beaches there.

On the way back, we stopped in Falmouth to run a little foot race, the Falmouth Road Race.  I have run this race five times, and I will keep going back. It is an amazing seven mile run along the shoreline, as well as incredible crowd support and a decent elite field.  Even better, Courtney Leahy, my colleague here at Babson, and Brian Rodkey, one of our interns from last year, also ran the race!  Go Team Babson!

Now, it is back to reality and I am catching up on life here.  This week, I will start to plan my visits to high schools in New Jersey and Europe; students in these areas, I will be offering interviews during my time there, so stay tuned!

One last thing- as you know from this blog, the Summer Ventures program created a huge buzz on campus these past few months.  Check out this article from the Boston Globe.

It is amazing- even though campus is definitely slower during the summer, there are still boundless activities involving our students. A new summer program this year at Babson is Summer Ventures, which I reported about earlier on this blog. Today is Demo Day, where our student entrepeneurs will formally present their plans to angel investors, venture capitalists and the community. To check out the businesses showcased, click here.

It is amazing- even though campus is definitely slower during the summer, there are still boundless activities involving our students.  A new summer program this year at Babson is Summer Ventures, which I reported about earlier on this blog.  Today is Demo Day, where our student entrepeneurs will formally present their plans to angel investors, venture capitalists and the community.  To check out the businesses showcased, click here.

The results are in from this year’s FME businesses.  Click here to learn how they did!

Every year, I am fortunate to attend the annual conference for the Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling.  As I realize most of you are scratching your heads about what this organization might do, it is a regional organization of admission officers and college counselors. Typically, we are broken up by American geographical regions (New England, Rocky Mountain, etc.) but there is also a subgroup of all schools who belong to this organization outside of the United States.

My colleagues Mark and James journeyed with me out to California.  Needless to say, we had a terrific time.  It was great to connect with college counselors who we visit during our travels and our admission officer friends who we travel with.  I was also excited to work on my preliminary plans for my overseas travel this fall.  Speaking with counselors about their students’ interest in Babson certainly helps me to decide where to visit.

I am also a big nerd, so I really love attending the sessions.  I find it so helpful to hear the regional updates, discuss ethical dilemmas that we face in our field and have a simulation of the IELTS.  Each year, I leave this conference excited with all the insights that I gain.

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PS  We are finally have summer here in New England!  Now you can come visit!

Well, we are almost to the Fourth of July weekend.  It is raining AGAIN, but the forecast looks better for the weekend.  Very exciting- I live in Hingham, MA, and my husband and I live at the end of the Fourth of July parade route.  Not only are we planning on having lots of family and friends over for parade viewing, but we also have runners at our house following the finish of the morning’s road race. I recently finished teaching a learn to run class in town, and my whole class will be back after the race. I love small town New England traditions, and Hingham brings them all out for Independence Day.

Otherwise, life is pretty much in summer mode for me.  Because of this lack of excitement in the life of Adrienne, I asked the interns who will be joining us next fall to send me a quick note about their summers thus far:

Meredith Whatley

I am spending the summer as an intern for a data management solutions company. I have loved getting to learn the ins and outs of this business as I look towards a career. I spend the rest of my time making extra money and enjoying the outdoors painting houses. I usually go hiking a couple times a week but today when I reached the summit of the mountain it started raining!! Oh well, I just hope the weather in New England clears up soon.

John Chartier

I’m e-mailing you from London right now! I’m working in Navigant Consulting’s marketing department while on the Honors Program Summer International Experience with fourteen other Babson sophomores (all at different companies). It’s an amazing city and such a great experience! We spent the first week going to different cultural events like the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, an outdoor performance of a Shakespeare play (Much Ado About Nothing), and a cruise down the river Thames with Prof. Levinson and Emily Marks. The first five weeks are an internship and the next three are a course at the London School of Economics.

Shanna Glassner

I have been living with 8 other girls in a 5 bedroom apartment in Allston and commuting to work every day in Franklin at EMC.  I just said goodbye to my summer last week when I started on the 22nd.  Now I am doing an intense 5-6 week sales training course that will prepare the other interns and myself to start making sales calls and talking to IT professionals.  One of my favorite things about the internship is how big the company is.  I have never worked for a huge company before and its really exciting being a part of such a large organization.  Also I love getting all dressed-up everyday!!

Lee Burrows-Ownbey

This summer I’ve been working in the Admissions Office, but then on the weekends I’ve been spending the summer exploring Boston.  I’ve gone to 2 shows, the beach, the aquarium, walked the Freedom Trail, had dinner in Boston Several times, gone to 3 Red Sox Games, and basically just been enjoying my free time in Boston.

This summer I’ve been working in the Admissions Office, but then on the weekends I’ve been spending the summer exploring Boston.  I’ve gone to 2 shows, the beach, the aquarium, walked the Freedom Trail, had dinner in Boston Several times, gone to 3 Red Sox Games, and basically just been enjoying my free time in Boston.

Hello there!  We have been having one of the rainiest Junes in the history of the world, so I have been too depressed by it to write much…. So, I am looking to our students who are doing neat things with their summers for inspiration. (All I have to offer for a post is my Saturday at the Jimmy Buffet concert!)

A group of Babson students led by Professor Goldberg are currently in South Africa teaching entrepreneurship.  To follow their adventures, visit their blog. What an amazing opportunity our students have here at Babson!

Oh goodness, as I write, the sun is peaking out!  I need to go get a little Vitamin D!

Hello there! We have been having one of the rainiest Junes in the history of the world, so I have been too depressed by it to write much…. So, I am looking to our students who are doing neat things with their summers for inspiration. (All I have to offer for a post is my Saturday at the Jimmy Buffet concert!)

A group of Babson students led by Professor Goldberg are currently in South Africa teaching entrepreneurship. To follow their adventures, visit their blog. What an amazing opportunity our students have here at Babson!

Oh goodness, as I write, the sun is peaking out! I need to go get a little Vitamin D!