Faculty and Staff Blog

Congratulations to the UNH Women's Volleyball team who advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division-II East Regional Tournament after capturing the Northeast-10 Conference Championship!  (By the way, this was our first year in the NE-10 Conference!!!).

Click here to check out the YouTube video!

Today I get to start another new and exciting project in conjunction with our Office of Residential Life and the Web Team.  We will begin filming clips for new videos of the residence halls here at UNH.  This will be fun because we will produce different videos for different communication channels, so information is new and fresh wherever you look. 

Not only will you be able to view a video about campus life when you visit campus for one of our various campus visit opportunities , but you will also get to check out a lot of shorter videos about each individual residence hall on our YouTube page !

Working in small teams like this is something that I got used to while I was in college.  One of the valuable things that you learn is not only how to do a job, but also how to perform your tasks in conjunction with other people ... depending on one another to accomplish a task.  That is what I like about UNH ... everyone here is a team.  I even have a framed slogan on the wall by my desk that reads: "Together Everyone Achieves More" ... This project is a great example of that.

Stay tuned ...

Well I sit here in my hotel room and think about the last two and a half months that have just gone by. A lot has happened in that span of time. I’ve been in 6 different states as well as a District of Columbia. I have traveled over 12,000 miles in a cool car that I will miss (especially the Sirius satellite radio).  I have been in two major cities during two epic events in the country. The first was when I was in Philadelphia during the fifth game of the World Series. It was a good thing that the rain delayed the game otherwise I would have never gotten out of the city that night. The second event was having the opportunity to be in our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C., just two days before the Presidential election. It’s been a great experience but I’m looking forward to going home and start reviewing files.

That begins Saturday morning.  I’m heading into the office early to do some work and to review some files. I also have an interview to do at noon with one of our perspective students. But the highlight of my day on Saturday will be going to a charity bowl-a-thon in Plainville, CT. It is the inaugural bowl-a-thon for the No More Fathers Lost charity. It’s going to be great, all you can bowl for 3 hours and raffles and don’t forget about those nifty bowling shoes. All the proceeds from the event will go to the Carol and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at UConn for cancer research. It is truly a great cause and everyone should help out. For more information about the charity, please go to www.nomorefatherslost.org, even if you cannot attend the event, you can still donate to the cause.

Well I’m going to relax a little bit before bed. See ya…

Well, it's that time of the year! Perhaps you may have thought I was referring to the holiday season. Yes, that may be true, but I was actually referring to the time of the year when applications literally come flooding into college admission offices. The flooding does only occur at the most popular colleges and this looks like another record setting year for the University of New Haven. We are already running over 40% ahead of last year; in fact, we are on pace to possibly receive 8,000-9,000 applications for the incoming class.

What does this mean for you as a prospective student? It means that it helps to get your materials in as early as possible and make sure your admission essays have a "hook"! This means that there has to be something that sets you apart from the rest of the applicant world and get the colleges to which you applied a reason to really read that essay. It can make or break your admissions decision.

At the University of New Haven, we require a 250-500 word personal essay along with the standard transcripts, SAT or ACT scores, and a letter of recommendation. The essay is an opportunity for us to get to know the student and see how they express themselves and organize their thoughts. It is about 10-15% of the decision to get into UNH so make it count. 

Here's two things to avoid: #1: A life history account in which the student indicates the year in which he or she was born, how many siblings they have, how stressed their family became, and how many activities they participated in over the years. Not exactly providing a hook here. However, if the student discussed why the events of their life had an impact on what they were planning to do with their college experience - and if they were creative with it - that would be ok; #2: Mentioning the name of another college in your essay and sending it to UNH is not a good idea. In fact, we did deny two applicants who did this. There were grade factors involved here, but the name of the other college did not help these candidates. An archaic method known as proofreading may have helped.

Recently, I was interviewed for a popular college preparation and advising company, First Choice College Placement. This interview can be seen at www.admissionhook.com - this is a website that can greatly assist those of you who still need to write their college essays. It is a great tool and can really get you thinking the right way - and look for your hook!!               

So CollegeWeekLive is today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. both days.  Admissions Reps and Charger Ambassadors will be online all day and night to answer all of your questions about UNH, our majors, and our campus life.

We encourage you to check out CollegeWeekLive , as it is a great way to not only talk with reps from schools, but also take part in webinars (seminars on the web) about everything from financial aid advice, college search tips, and more!

Check us out at CollegeWeekLive.   We'll be there!!!

So the university administrative e-mail has been down for maintenance for almost 2 days.  It's been rough living in a world without this vital piece of communication, but honestly it's been kinda nice not having my phone vibrate every 10 minutes with a new message.  Of course, it will be hard catching up as quickly as I am used to checking e-mails when it comes back on later today ... but it has become a welcome break.

The funny thing is ... Other forms of electronic communication have helped keep the status quo in a lot of ways.  First, this blog was used yesterday to send information about logging in to EducationXpo to our student and staff representatives.  No one skipped a beat!  I also used Twitter to let everyone know what was going on with our e-mail service.  Of course, AIM was still functional (my screename is UNHGil), so I was able to chat with my fellow admissions counselors during the day as well.

Nothing replaces face to face contact, which is why we so strongly encourage students and their families to come visit our campus ... but when we are all travelling so much, electronic communication makes our lives so much easier.  It's just good to k now there are so many other ways to communicate outside of e-mail.

Today we will be staffing a booth at an ONLINE COLLEGE FAIR ... EducationXpo.  EducationXpo is sponsored by Fastweb.com and Youniversity.tv ... Two great websites for students performing their college search.

Be sure to visit www.educationxpo.com to log in and start checking out schools!

Please note: Counselors and students who are staffing the booth, please log-in here using the same information we sent you to log in. 

So today we named our transfer program for this fall.  We call them Transfer Discover Days.  We have posted how to register form them, and futher information on our website.

Click here to check it out!

Oct 31, 2008 had more than one meaning to me this year. Besides being Halloween, one of my favorite holidays of the year; it marked the 10,000th mile driven this fall travel season. Yes, I said 10,000.  It is crazy that I have driven that many miles in the span of 80 days.

This weekend I was in Washington D.C. for the Performing and Visual Arts College Fair. Being in Washington D.C. days before an election is very exciting. I was able to explore the area on Friday. Walked around the National Mall for a bit and then walked up to the White House. It was pretty neat.

Well I’m going to read some more of my book. Till next time….keep on truckin’.

::tweet:: Do you hear that? .... ::tweet tweet:: ... How about that? ::tweet tweet tweet tweet:

That is the sound of UNH ... Chirping on the newest and fastest growing social network ... Twitter.  Twitter is like a quick update ... Small bites of information sent via the internet to anyone who wants to follow you.  With Twitter you can stay up-to-date on what is going on around campus here at UNH, stay updated about upcoming campus visit opportunities, and also connect with other people who follow UNH.

So don't be scared of the chirping noises ... Follow us on Twitter today !

Today I am proud to announce that the University of New Haven will be hosting a series of TRANSFER STUDENT INFORMATION SESSIONS on our campus to help students seeking to transfer to UNH from another 2 or 4 year school make the smoothest transfer possible.

Students who visit us during one of the sessions will be able to take advantage of the ability to get preliminary transfer credit evaluations and academic advising, learn more about the tremendous academic programming offered by UNH, and also take a campus tour if they like.

Here is a list of Transfer Information Session Dates:

• November 11th - 3 PM
• November 20th - 6 PM
• November 26th - 10 AM
• December 20th - 1PM
• December 29th - 1PM
• January 7th - 6 PM
• January 10th - 11 AM
• January 14th - 6 PM

To register, call the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 203-932-7319 or e-mail adminfo@newhaven.edu.  We look forward to meeting you!!!

It’s true. A college fair is very similar to Halloween. For those that do not believe my assumption let me break it down for you all. Halloween is a time where children go house to house in their neighborhood in order to get bite size pieces of candy. A college fair is a place where young adults go booth to booth or table to table at a high school or convention center to get information about universities and college.

Of course there are booths that actually contain treats like candy or various promotional items that make you want to check out their booths. That’s the treat. The trick is when you start asking a representative some questions about the school and start to have a good conversation until you ask if they have a certain major….and they don’t. That’s the trick.

There are also comparisons to the trick or treaters and the students. You have your grab and go trick or treaters who just go for the gold and take the candy without saying the magic words “Trick or treat.” At college fairs, since there are usually so many schools in attendance, people just grab any and all information on your table before you even get to say “Hello.”

On Halloween, children wear costumes like super heroes, princesses, firefighters or police officers. At a college fair, the students also have costumes but they are a different variety. These costumes are their majors like biology, forensic science, music industry and business.

So you see, college fairs are really like mini-Halloweens. 

As I have been waking up every morning this week, I started thinking that I was in the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. Yes, it's probably considered an "old" movie to many, but if you haven't seen it, Bill Murray's character keeps waking up on Groundhog Day (February 2nd). He experiences the day and the day's events over and over and over.

I was thinking about this because I wake up, take a shower, get dressed, take my kids to school, drive 40 minutes (or more) to the University of New Haven (stopping of course to pick up my coffee and double chocolate donuts), get out of my car, go into the office, send email, return calls, meet with prospective students, write letters, go to meetings, review applications, drive home, go to bed, and then do it all over again the next day - and the next day.

It seems repetitive - and it probably would be - if I didn't in fact work at the University of New Haven. Unlike most of the colleges and universities out there, we are different - and in a very good way! There is constantly something new and exciting happening and it all benefits our students. 

Earlier today, I was talking to one of our Music Industry instructors about what he is doing in his classes. This particular instructor used to work full-time for Columbia Records and he is team-teaching a Music Production course this semester. He enlisted the help of one of our best campus bands (Music, Music Industry, and Music & Sound Recording are very popular majors at UNH) and they brought in six songs which they had demoed. The class was then divided into five production teams with the instructors serving as a sixth. By semester's end, they will have a very interesting album comprised of the original six demos followed by each team's production of their respective songs. This includes arrangement, recording, orchestration, mixing, and editing.

They are then going to manufacture 1,000 cd's (designed label, booklet, traycard, disc, jewel case, and shrinkwrap) and our Graphic Design students are going to create the actual booklet, traycard, and label (on disc). Talk about Experiential Education!!

While students at many colleges are going through the motions, our students are learning by doing and participating in projects like this one. What a great experience! Obviously, there are a lot more things happening, but I was very impressed and excited by this news. So .... while it may have started out like it was Groundhog Day again, it ended up being a very different day - as it always is at the University of New Haven!! 

Hey Everyone,

I am sorry it has been a little while since my last post.  However, I would like to update you on the typical life of a college admissions rep. during the fall ...

Last week was the Capital Area Consortium College Fair series in the greater Hartford area in Connecticut.  What is a consortium?  Well, this particular consortium is 18 high schools in 5 days, including a college fair each night and 3 visits during the day.  They give us a break on Friday, only scheduling 2 visits on that day ... Of course I had to try to be a superstar and plan another visit Friday afternoon.  After Friday, I also planned an on-site application review at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, CT.  

Last week was very tiring, but also very rewarding.  It is tough getting up to be at a school half an hour (or more) away for a fair that starts at 7:45 a.m. ... But when you see the smiling faces and excitement on the other side of the table, you know it is all worth it.  This was particularly true on Friday afternoon in Hartford, as I got to sit down one-on-one with each student that applied to go over his/her application to UNH.  The event was so successful that I am going back on November 6!

On top of visiting schools every day (which nearly every member of our staff does), we all have responsibilities to the operation of the office as well.  Me personally?  I manage "electronic recruitment" for the university ... which means I oversee this blog, all of our social networks (like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc.), and our participation in online college fairs like EducationXpo and CollegeWeekLive.  Last night we also had an ONLINE CHAT on our website ... and we had nearly 30 students in both our admissions counselors room and current students room at any given time.  We were really, really busy.

In addition, I am still in the process of organizing our Charger Ambassador program, which is a program that recognizes current UNH students for helping us out with events where we host prospective students.  This includes Charger Days, overnight stays, online chats, posting blogs, etc. 

All of this, and I still respond to all of my e-mails and voicemails somehow!  This week I have visits every day, but at least I have a break from some night fairs ... Tonight is Monday Night Football with my buddy Josh! 

So I think I found someone who even Henry Lee could never be able to prove guilty with forensic evidence. His name is Dexter Morgan. One major reason why is because Dexter Morgan is not real but rather the creation of author, Jeff Lindsay. During my down-time that I try to get on the road, I picked up the book, Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Dexter is a person who lives two different lives; one is an emotionless blood-splatter-pattern-analyst and the other a serial killer. Dexter is a different type of serial killer though. He is sort of like the Robin Hood of serial killers where he only kills people who hurt others. The character is a very intelligent, quick-witted person who is quite comical at times. Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a great read if you are into crime thrillers. I just finished reading it and I just started to read the next installment by Jeff Lindsay, entitled Dearly Devoted Dexter. There are three of these books out right now with a fourth book on the way.

The success of the books has spawned a television show on Showtime called Dexter, starring Michael C. Hall as beloved blood-splatter-pattern-analyst/serial killer. The show is in its third season but I have yet to watch any episode of the television show. I’m waiting until I am done with the book before I watch the show. I think I’ll but the first two seasons on dvd over the Christmas break. Definitely read the books though. Jeff Lindsay does a great job with motifs. Motifs are one of my favorite literary devices because they make you think what the author is trying to convey. In case, you don’t know what a motif is, I’ll explain. Motifs are recurring literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. A motif can be an idea, object or place.

Well I’m going to get back to reading the second book. 

Well, the past week has been something of a blur to me. I suppose that any time you forget your own birthday, it must be a sign that you are pretty busy - and to use the words "pretty busy" is an understatement. I seriously didn't realize that yesterday was my birthday until I got an email from my sister. I think I forgot because there are so many exciting things happening at the University of New Haven, it is hard to keep up with all of them - this is a very good thing!!

Let's start with this past weekend's Open House for prospective students. Like our first in September, the program was very successful for the nearly 400 families who visited this past Sunday. I talked to numerous families who were extremely impressed with our academic programs and the quality of our current students. That's just the norm at UNH. For example, prospective families interested in our Fire Science program were able to see our new Arson Investigation labs - which are actually portable classrooms that can be moved outdoors, set on fire, investigated, and through a high tech system returned to normal. Really amazing!!

Then Monday we had a special program just for students interested in Sports Management. This was a much smaller program than the Open House with 20 prospective students and families attending. The highlight of this program was that everyone heard from sports agent Joe Linta, the founder of JL Sports, a firm that represents 35 NFL players and 6 coaches. Robert Romano, a prominent sports attorney also spoke to the families about opportunities that exist in the field. UNH's Sports Management program was one of the nation's first and continues to be a leader in this exciting field by providing prog rams like this and an amazing internship program where students can work for ESPN, Major League Baseball, the NY Mets, Boston Celtics, NY Knicks, MSG, USTA and more!

Finally, I spent most of today meeting with some of our faculty members. I do this periodically to make sure that the Admissions Office stays updated about new initiatives and programs. One of the topics discussed was sustainability and green technology. In a world that is constantly changing and striving to improve, it came as no surprise to me that our Tagliatela College of Engineering is going to add academic concentrations in sustainability. Some schools have green technology built in but the students don't even notice or know about it. What we want to do is educate and this focus will "team" green technology up with education. Who knows? The impact of this focus could lead to UNH students developing new products featuring environmentally friendly low power requirements and reduced maintenance. Another innovative academic program for the 21st century at UNH!

I turned 39 years old yesterday and it really does seem like yesterday that I was in college. Time flies - and this is why it is so important that students select the right college. To see if UNH is right for you, think about coming to our next Open House on Sunday, November 9th. Register at www.newhaven.edu/openhouse. See you next time!!  

Hello again my followers. I apologize for the delay in getting this blog posted. Things in the life of Big Steve have been pretty crazy these past few weeks. Two wakes and a funeral are not my idea of a good week. Enough of that depressing stuff and on to the good stuff!!

Where have I been during these past two week you may ask? Well, let’s see, I have spent a lot of time in the Boston (love it!!) and the Manchester New Hampshire areas. I-93 and I know each other by first name!! This past weekend I flew to Virginia to cover some programs for Tommy. It was great to see my friends from the Mid-Atlantic region. From the sounds of it Tommy is doing a great job. Not a surprise if you ask me!

The rest of this week will keep my in the Boston area once again. I love the T; red line to the green line. So easy to zip in do my visits and zip right out. And that Charlie Card (can you hear my fake Boston accent??)!! Soooooo much better than tokens. Way to go MBTA!!!

I have had a great time meeting with the different students that have signed up for my regional interviews. What a great way to get to know more about UNH. If you are interested there are still some dates and locations available. Check them out today!!

There come a time when I have to get something off my chest. Well this looks as if it were as good a time as any. As I said in a previous blog my colluges and I spend countless nights in hotels and many hours driving around meeting those students who are looking at the University of New Haven. A HUGE pet peeve of mine is when a student is at my table and we are having a great conversation; then the cell phone rings. “Hello, yeah I am at the college fair bla, bla, bla, bla………” Soon the cell phone has won out over me. What ticks me off even more is fellow counselors on their phones or texting while at a fair. UGH!!!!! Is this what society is coming to???? Ok, now I feel better. Thank you for letting me vent.

Well this is it folks. I will try to get another post in on Thursday to make up for my absence last week. If you are wondering how I found the time to write this blog today? My friends, it is simple. It is called a one hour five minute flight gate to gate from BWI-BDL on my friends at Southwest Airlines. HA-HA

Take care everybody and break out those winter jackets. Did I hear correct, snow flurries?????? OH NO!!!!!!!!!

Until next time………………………………………………..

Here at UNH, we have a holistic approach to our application review.  This means that rather than just concentrate on your GPA and SAT or ACT, we also look at you as a person when reviewing your file.  This includes scheduling personal interviews for students who are interested, reading your personal essay and letters of recommendation, and checking out the clubs and organizations you are involved in.

Another way we get to know students is through Zinch.com ... Zinch allows us to send information to students with their specific interests in mind, and to also get to know students on a more personal level during your admission process.  On Zinch you create your own profile that includes not only your academic profile, but YOU ... your likes and dislikes.  Your interests and non-interests, and more!

There are almost 600 colleges and universities that utilize Zinch to get to know their prospective applicants.  We recommend you create an account on Zinch.com today so we can start to get to know you a little better.

On Friday morning, I walked over to Kaplan Hall for my two Freshman Experience Courses that I am the instructor for.  This wasn't just any Friday - it was a Friday before a four day Columbus Weekend break.  Our students won't have any classes again until Wednesday - rough life these college students have!

Anyhow, I was actually not expecting great attendance since Freshman Eperience is only a one credit course and students at most universities tend to not take these type of courses seriously.  However, my two classes have been great so far and Friday turned out to be no exception.  In the first class, 27 out of 30 students were there and 23 out of 24 showed up for the second classs.  Not too bad!

Our topic for the day centered around career preparation, something UNH incorporates into the academic curriculum better than most of the colleges out there.  We went over the importance of a resume and cover letter and a project was assigned that requires the students to apply for a job as if they were graduating and ready for the "real world".  This has been a huge help for my students over the years and gets them thinking a little differently - UNH is not one of the nation's leaders in Experiential Education for nothing!

To learn more about Experiential Education, go to: www.newhaven.edu/exped/

P.S. Don't forget to mark your calendars!  We have 2 more Open Houses for prospective students coming up.  One is on Sunday, October 19th and the other is on Sunday, November 8th.  To obtain more information and to register, go to www.newhaven.edu/openhouse.

While travelling around Connecticut visiting high schools and attending college fairs, I have noticed that the first question out of the mouths of parents and students is frequently "How much does it cost to attend UNH?"  I find this disturbing.

I completely understand that in these tough economic times, when it is hard to fill your gas tank and pay your heating bill how a family sending their son or daughter off the college may be concerned about how much they pay.  My piece of advice to those parents is to keep cost in your mind, but concentrate on the value of the investment.

By their nature, most private universities have higher costs associated with providing an education to their students.  That education comes in the form of smaller classroom sizes, one-on-one academic advising, and oftentimes access to more experienced faculty who are committed to helping a student succeed.

The other thing to consider is, oftentimes schools with higher COSTS have more RESOURCES to give in the form of financial aid.  I am not talking about student loans (which I will get to in a minute) ... I am talking about academic scholarships and grants, which is the FREE money that you don't have to pay back.  During the early process of your college search, you should never let the price tag deter you from exploring the university and even applying ... You never know what you are going to get!

The final note I am going to touch on is that dirty word no one likes to talk about ... LOANS.  Loans are not a bad thing. The lesson we have learned with today's economy is knowing what your limits are, and not taking out more debt than you can actually manage.  You would take out a loan to buy a new car.  You would take out a mortgage to buy a house ... The challenge is looking at a student loan as an investment in yourself ... So you can AFFORD to take out that loan for the car and the house.

If you are concerned about costs, we have some resources for you:

• The UNH Financial Aid Calculator
• Fastweb.com (the scholarship search engine
• List of scholarships offered at UNH
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid
  

So here I was covering another college fair this past weekend when a family (one dad, one mom, and one student) came up to our table. Nothing unusual there, but then the dad just shouted out, "Henry Lee!!" I replied, "No, I'm Kevin Phillips." After we all laughed (yes, even the dad), it hit me that it doesn't take another O.J. Simpson trial for people to know who Dr. Henry C. Lee is.

By most standards, Dr. Lee was the trendsetter in a very popular field - or simply, he has been referred to as the father of modern day forensic science. Dr. Lee founded the University of New Haven's program in 1975 and he has been with us ever since. Our nationally accredited program has gained worldwide notoriety and rightfully so. Many people actively seek us out at college fairs to inquire about forensic science and criminal justice! Hopefully, you will too!

On another note, we held our Family Day this past weekend as well and the  campus was buzzing with activity. Even though we are now recruiting students for next fall, many parents came by to say hi to us in the admissions office. One dad told me that it looked like I had put on a few pounds since the summer. I responded, "Thanks for noticing!" It must be those double chocolate donuts.

We also had three current student moms come in and actually start helping us recruit the prospective families that were visiting on Saturday. They did such a good job that I may have to hire them. This just goes to show how the University of New Haven is really a family! It's the type of college that most people really are looking for. And you really can meet Dr. Lee - and me too!

Over the last three weeks, I have noticed one question that prospective students repeatedly ask all the time. The question is “So how good is your _________ program?”. It a common question that all admissions counselors, road runners and alumni representatives receive. I find that question to be vague. Anyone can say that they have a great program. But can someone really make a decision just because someone said it was great. I don’t think so.

Personally, my suggestion for prospective students who are interested in any academic program is to not ask how good the specific program is. I would rather have a student ask me the following question “What makes your program stand out?” It is a better question to base your judgment on. Choosing a university just based on the words good or great is not a sound choice. Do the proper research and ask more informative questions. Don’t look for the easy answers because they are not going to help you achieve what you want.

I was in Walmart the other day looking for an auxiliary cable for my ipod because if anyone knows me, they know that I always need to have my ipod with me. However, this blog is not about my use of my ipod but the experience I had at Walmart.

Every Walmart has a greeter at the entrance that is usually of the older generation. This store had a great energetic man who made you smile. In fact, he asked you how your experience was at the store, the service, and if you found everything you needed. He concluded with one bit of advice “Keep smiling. Nothing can go wrong if you keep smiling.” It actually brought a smile to my face and I left the store in a great mood. So whenever you get into a rough time or problem just remember one thing: “Keep Smiling.”

Well here we are at another Friday. For a change I find myself in the office. It is great to come back to campus and see all the students and the progress that is being made on the new resident hall. I remember when Bixler Hall first opened and my friend and fellow resident assistant, Diana, was excited to have a view of Long Island Sound from her 5th floor room. Think of the sunsets on the water and watching the boats pass in and out of New Haven Harbor. Geez, makes me wanna go to the beach right now!!!

My travels this week took me to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. I was saddened to see the leaves have turned colors and some were even falling off the trees. Don’t get me wrong, the trip across the Mass Pike was beautiful, but colored leaves means cold weather isn’t too far ahead.

Speaking of cold, I received a call from my wife earlier this week telling me about the chill in the house. I told her to put a sweatshirt on or bake a cake in the oven. That will surely take the chill out and make me happy when I arrive home from the road. (When I got home Thursday night there was no cake :-( ) Anyway, my point to this story is oil. I have always watched the stock market. Between my investments and watching Delta Airlines (a stock I have been watching since 5th grade!!!) I need to be up-to-date to see if I am gaining or losing. I find myself checking out the price of oil since my wife and I locked in our price. Last year we paid $2.39/gallon. This year…………..$4.69/gallon!!!!! Now you know why I said but a sweatshirt on or bake that cake!! My goal is to keep the heat off until November 1st. We will see if that happens.

Well, it is time for me to do some catch up here in the office. Have a great weekend everybody and get those applications in. I checked out my file drawer and it is looking a little bleak.

Until next time ...

Today I sit in a Panera Bread to type my blog post.  This particular Panera is in Saugus, Massachusetts.

It hit me yesterday ... one of the greatest things about this job is the opportunity to see so many different places.  In fact, for my first two years in Admissions I actually LIVED in my travel territory ... the first year in Norristown, PA (outside of Philadelphia) while I travelled the mid-Atlantic region, and my second in Norwood, MA (outside of Boston) while I travelled the New England region.

Prior to my current territory (which is about half of the state of Connecticut), my territory for UNH included New Jersey and Ohio.  As you can see ... I have been all over the place!

A couple days ago I was driving through western Connecticut through a mountainous region when I drove past a corn field.  This is a far cry from when I travelled northern New Jersey last year and drove through Newark, Elizabeth, and Jersey City every other day.

Each territory I have had has had its own unique challenges and opportunities for me to see and experience new things.  Now I know when I am in Pennsylvania (like I was last week), that I have only a short period of time to get a fantastic cup of coffee and a Tasty Kake from a Wawa ... and when I am in Massachusetts (like I am right now) that I need to drive real fast to keep up with the super highway that is the MASS PIKE (KIDDING!!!).

Each of our counselors has the opportunity to get to know new territory, and to experience a new environment every single day.  That is what makes our job so great. 

On Sunday, September 28th, we held our first Open House of the academic year. This was the first of four such events that we have for prospective students and families. We had more people visit this September than one year ago (this is a good thing since last year yielded the largest incoming class ever) and there was no rain!!

Anyhow, most people probably don't realize what goes in to putting on an event for more than 1,300 people. I actually started my day at about 5:30 a.m. by putting out the signs that directed people to the Open House. Yes, the Director of Admissions puts out signs! I believe in helping out with everything - we all work as a team at UNH and our students benefit from this teamwork and outstanding service every single day. The only issue that I really encountered all day was some of the signs actually fell out of my car onto the Boston Post Road at about 6:00 a.m. and I had to go back and get them. Even at 6:00 a.m. someone was honking their horn at me to get me out of the way! 

Of course, if you've read my previous entries, I had to have my daily allowance of junk food. Eight chocolate chip cookies and at least three cokes did the trick! I did take a few minutes to sit down and speak with a few families later in the day and learned how impressed many of them were with the faculty participation at our Open House. You see, we don't just throw someone at a table and let the people walk around. We have specific presentations for each and every major - and at least one (if not more than one) faculty member from each of these areas provides a very interactive and personal presentation! Way to go UNH!!

The day didn't end until well after 7:00 p.m. for me. I got home to discover that my daughter had taken a check that was made out to my wife and had been hoarding it for over two months. She told me that she wanted to save it for vacation or college - this way mommy wouldn't spend it. Very interesting!

Don't forget - we have two more Open Houses this fall! The next one is Sunday, October 19th and the other is Sunday, November 9th. The fourth overall Open House will be Sunday, February 1st. Sign up at www.newhaven.edu/openhouse!    

In response to Gil's post about his next two days ...

Check out my Google Map.

It's only the middle of my second week of travel and I'm already passed
2000 miles.

This is not a typical two days ... but I wanted to pass on a map of where I will be going in the next 48 hours.

 Goodnight.  It's going to be a fun couple days.

No, no I wasn’t getting carded to verify my age. This has been a reoccurring question that I have heard on multiple occasions when I check into hotels. Let it be known that the photo on my driver’s license is from when I was 16. That was 7 years and about 95 pounds heavier; my other photo id is my school id and I was 22 and about 160 pounds heavier. So needless to say I need to get a new driver’s license photo taken.

When I graduated high school I weighed around 290-300 pounds. During my four years of college, I put on the dreaded freshmen fifteen which then turned into the sophomore twenty-five, then the junior thirty-five and finally the senior forty-five. I gained about 45 in my four years of school. Lots of late night eating and snacking contributed to the weight gain.  When I walked on graduation day I was at 343 pounds. I didn’t like that one bit; normal activities were difficult.

From that point on, I decided to get my health back on track and shed the pounds. Over the summer of 2007, I would go to my high school track and walk about 3-4 miles a day. I learned to eat better and cut back on unwanted snacks. By the end of summer, I had lost 43 pounds. It was a great accomplishment but I wasn’t satisfied yet. I kept walking and progressed to jogging. In December, the David Beckerman Recreation Center opened up and I made sure I signed up for my membership. Since December, I have lost an additional 122 pounds; 165 total pounds lost. I lost a person ... literally.

Hotel exercise rooms are nothing in comparison to the Recreation Center. The equipment at the Recreation Center is top notch and the facilities are amazing. I can’t wait until I get back to UNH so I can start my normal workout routine again.

Last night, I think I covered my first college fair that took place outdoors. The reason that I use the word “think” is that over the past 15 years, I have been to many different programs and believe that this was the first one outside. It was actually pretty cold last night and I seemed to be the only person without a coat or sweater. What do I know? I am just a Director of Admissions; I just wanted to talk to the families that were there.

While I was standing out there in the cold, I just happened to realize that my lunch for the day consisted of a package of Oreo cookies and my dinner turned out to be M&M’s. I realized this as I was speaking to a high school senior who was interested in our Nutrition & Dietetics program. It’s nationally accredited by the ADA – and here I am eating a well balanced diet of Oreos and M&M’s. I really need to talk with our students who want to be Registered Dieticians. Maybe they can help me out!

The next student who came over to talk with me about UNH was interested in our Dental Hygiene program. As one of only a small number of colleges that offers Dental Hygiene, UNH also offers our students, faculty, and staff the chance to get their teeth cleaned for only $5. In addition to my increasingly poor dietary habits, it’s also been a while since I had my teeth cleaned. I guess I need more assistance from UNH students!

As if on cue, another family began discussing our very popular Music & Sound Recording major. Although I don’t have a specific story to tell here, it was then that I reconfirmed something that I already knew for myself: the University of New Haven has so many unique and innovative academic programs for students to choose from! You are a person with a first name here; you will get the highest quality education to prepare you for a career; and you probably won’t end up eating Oreos and M&M’s standing out in the cold if you do.

What I mean by this statement is that I never set out to become a Director of Admissions. It was just not what I had in mind when I entered college. As it turns out, I really enjoy my job. However, how many of you want to work in college admissions? When you come to UNH, you do so because of the reputation of our programs and the long history of students being employed in their field of study. Just last week, I heard that another of our 2007 graduates (Criminal Justice) was hired by the FBI. Not too bad!

So whatever it is that you want to do, do it – and you can do it at the University of New Haven! Clean teeth, develop a nutrition plan, or start your own band. Discover your future and make sure you do what YOU want to do!

Don't forget to check out my new show on iTunes U!  Just go to www.newhaven/itunes!