Tuesday, April 12, 2016

The Class of 2020

The Alumni Admissions Ambassadors Network recommended that Accepted Students be received.
Therefore, the banner was hung on Saturday.
I would show you a picture of the red and white balloons against the bluest of blue skies, 
but the prickers on the palo verde trees destroyed them before I returned with my camera.
One of the students thought they were the remnants of a party the night before, but they were part of the decor for her Reception.

She Who Must Be Obeyed thought that something at home would be nicer than meeting in a restaurant.  Since the restaurant I wanted to use couldn't accommodate us on a Saturday, I agreed with her and turned to Breugger's and my pantry for bagels and lox. 
Happily, I have a lot of red and white serving pieces and doilies and such.
Leftovers have been keeping me happy ever since.
It was a lovely party, with an edge just beneath the surface.

These kids did not know what to do.

They were the lucky ones, in that they had very good choices.
Georgetown, Duke, UPenn, and, of course, Cornell are all vying for their tuition dollars.
Our job, as alumni, was to extol the virtues of our Alma Mater without belittling the other institutions.  That is not as easy as it might seem.

I know why Cornell is better than all of them, but getting the message across without comparisons (the method considered appropriate by She Who Must Be Obeyed and her colleagues at the University) took some fancy footwork.  

Luckily, alumni from this century were among the guests.
Their input was much more valuable than mine, I'm sure.
I told them to buy their tickets back to school for the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
I told them not to buy winter clothes in Southern Arizona.
I told them the food was great (it is).
I told them the weather was awful (it is).
I told them it was and is my favorite place on earth.

If that's not enough, I don't know what is.

4 comments:

  1. A friend in my department want to Cornell and he just loved it. I showed him your post and he said you are spot on. He grew-up in Maryland.

    I loved my university (George Mason) and it's not too far from my house. Whenever I go there, I always feel nostalgic. Had so much fun there.

    Hope the new students love Cornell as much as you did.


    Megan xxx

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    1. Glad he confirmed my opinion :-)
      I hear professors from George Mason on NPR all the time; now I will smile and think of you!
      a/b

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  2. Congratulations to all the students. College is a great experience, but it is really nice to be able to get into one of the big ones.

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    Replies
    1. They were a fascinating mixture of joy and despair!
      a/b

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