B.L.O.G.A.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

Boy, it's brilliant to be back to blogging! (do you love alliteration? I do!)

It's currently snowing here in Waterville- I left the building for an appointment earlier and it was snowing up a little storm. Here in Maine, flurries don't make anyone blink an eye... although come to think of it, storms don't make anyone flinch, either!

Today was a busy day in the admissions office! Most of our FANNNNtastic counselors spent the day reviewing files and making decisions on applications. I spent a large part of my day working on things regarding our international applicants. We've adopted a new policy! International applicants no longer need to submit SAT I test results; they are required, however, to submit TOEFL scores. If a student is from a native-speaking English country (i.e. United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, etc), they are able to request a TOEFL waiver from our Associate Dean of Undergraduate Admissions, Wendy Martin. If you have questions about this, let me know!

In other, far more exciting news: last night was Student Appreciation Day! There were tons of things for students yesterday on campus, including free coffee and 10% any items in the bookstore, free popcorn in the lobby of the administration building, and a trivia challenge in our very own home (aka the admissions office)! The best part of S.A.D. (what an un-fun acronym for an otherwise great day) was CASINO NIGHTTTT! In the Atrium from 7-9:30pm were casino games of all sorts, including chips and cards! There were blackjack tables, poker tables, craps tables, etc. My coworker Jen and I each manned our own blackjack table, and it was a BLAST! It was a great way for me to meet some of our undergrad students, and it was a great opportunity for them to give their TVs and homework a rest for a few hours. There were lots of prizes, food, and fun- very glad I did it. I was pretty positive that I was going to be an AMAZING blackjack dealer, seeing as how there are two of the world's largest casinos in my backyard at home in CT....... I'll let you use your imagination as to how [enter adjective here] I was at dealing blackjack! I did love it though, I had a lot of fun.

More on things at Thomas tomorrow!

Clap your hands if you love bloggingggg

Hellooooo!!!

Let me just tell you --> when the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Admissions (we call her Wendy) sent me a link for the new Thomas College Admissions office blog site, I was PSYCHEDDD! I happen to love a few things: 1. Thomas College 2. blogs 3. putting my name out in cyberspace! This blog is going to be a good thing for the admissions office!

I'll give you a quick recap of who I am as a person, and then we'll get down to discussing the greatness that is Thomas College. I'm originially from southeastern Connecticut. I have a B.A. in Public and Community Service Studies and a minor in Spanish. I studied abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, where I learned that I do NOT like goulash. I moved to Maine about eight months ago (two days after graduation) to work as an AmeriCorps volunteer in the state capital, Augusta. Once my term with AmeriCorps was over, I was hired by Thomas College to be an undergraduate admissions counselor. That's my life's summary to date- here I am!!

I'm officially adjusted to living in Maine! Thomas College has adopted me as an honorary Terrier, and I'm proud to wear red and black to basketball games :) I'm the counselor in the office responsible for applications from the states of CT, RI, and NH. I'm also the counselor reading applications from states outside of New England, as well as the applications from our international students! I'm lucky that I get to talk to kids from all over the world on a daily basis.

THREE fun facts about Thomas College:

1. On most nights, the Alfond Athletic Center stays open until 11pm! This means you get the chance to sweat until late at night, five days per week! (open til 9pm on weekends)

2. JFK owned a terrier, so our mascot, Tommy the Terrier, is practically royalty.

3. The bookstore sells at LEAST four different kinds of Cape Cod potato chips at any given time... this causes HUGE excitement for many of our admissions counselors.

I'm already in love with this blog! I'll probably talk more about admissions-related things in my next post. Til then, GO TERRIERS!!

An exciting start!

It is hard to believe that we are already rounding out the end of January. Second semester classes are well underway, and the campus aesthetics prove that we are in the thick of a Maine winter with piles of snow and icicles surrounding the buildings.

In admissions we are busy reading applications and meeting potential Thomas College students who are making their rounds of college visits. We always welcome visitors to the Thomas community, and hope that their time spent here is valuable. During the application process we want all students and families to know we are available to answer any questions you may have along the way, while it is an exciting time of year it can feel overwhelming at times. Right now it is important for families to begin filing the FASFA form, as we receive financial data our Student Financial Services department is working diligently to put together awards for our applicants.

On another front, today is student appreciation day! So we want to give a shout out to all Thomas College students and thank you for all the hard work you put in! We will be celebrating throughout the day with fun events planned by student affairs. The energy around Thomas remains high and it looks like it is going to prove to be a great spring semester!