June 03, 2009
Boys State Partnership
For the past five years, the Admissions Office has gone to great lengths to develop a partnership with Boys State programs across the country. What once was drive to Terre Haute for the Hoosier Boys State college fair is now a sophisticated operation that highlights all of what we do best: face-to-face interaction, alumni involvement, and generous scholarship opportunities.
Over the next two weeks, Wabash College will be represented at Boys State college fairs in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. Not every state holds a college fair. In some cases, Wabash literature and scholarship information will be included in every delegates registration packet. Students in Alabama, Alaska, California, Idaho, Kansas, Louisana, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington will get an introduction to Wabash in some way.
In all cases, we're promoting our Boys State Scholarship which is valued at $30,000 over four years. Any Boys State delegate that attends our Boys State reception on August 9 will be eligible. More details are available on our merit scholarship grid.
How can alumni volunteers help? Help spread the word about this scholarship. Local papers will announce delegates in the next few weeks and you might hear about the attendees at church, the office, or if you're a member of the American Legion, you'll be in the know. After all, the young men selected as delegates are selected based upon scholarship, service, leadership. They're going to be the best and brightest young men at their respective high schools and that's who we want/need to recruit.
Posted by timmonsc at 03:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 27, 2009
Volunteer Spotlight - Greg Estell '85
While on the road last week, a few folks responded to my posts in this blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter. A comment from Greg Estell '85 caught my attention. I mentioned that I was in Rochester, NY preparing for that evening's Colleges That Change Lives fair and Greg simply said, "Hey, my work takes me to Rochester and Buffalo. If I can help when I'm in the area, let me know."
On the surface, it's pretty simple statement, but I know how Greg generates referrals. What I read was "When I travel to Rochester and Buffalo, I'll put in a plug for Wabash with any of my clients who have sons in high school. I'll try to get contact info and send it your way."
Greg lives in Fishers, IN and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Wabash Men. He's a regular at our Indianapolis programs and represented the College at the Noblesville High School awards night earlier this month.
This past year, Greg referred 5 students from all over the country. Regardless of where he travels, he's always looking for talented young men to steer toward Wabash. In most cases, the initial contact is made with the parents, but that's fine. Today, parents play larger roles in the college search, so we have to recruit them as well.
You don't have to have known the student or the parents for a long time. If you know he's a good student, help us make the introduction. The student (and his parents) will see that someone has taken notice and that will get their attention.
Earlier, I mentioned that Greg serves on the NAWM board. In a few weeks, you will hear from Greg and his fellow board members. With the board's help, we hope boost our referral totals for the Class of 2014, so watch your inbox. If you have student or students in mind, you don't have to wait for the email. Go to www.wabash.edu/alumni/student/refer and refer a student today. Or, you could be like Greg and turn on your referral radar during your next business trip. Either way, you're doing your part to spread the fame of her honored name.
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May 22, 2009
College That Change Lives Wrap Up
The long week that at times I thought would never end, but the end is here. I'm sitting in the Cleveland airport reflecting on an eventful week that took me through 8 airports, 8 states, 7 hotels, but most importantly provided me with an opportunity to promote Wabash College to hundreds of students and parents across the Eastern U.S.
It was a record-setting week for CTCL in more than one way. We set attendance records in New York City and Rochester. The NYC pulled in a crowd of over 800 while Rochester, well...set a record on the other end. One colleague wondered if the American Idol results kept people at home instead joining us at the Rochester fair. I truly hope we haven't reached a point were reality tv trumps the college search process. I hope students realize that in five or six years, potential employers will want them to reflect on what they learned in college and the strengths they will bring to an orgranization. I don't believe they're to ask you share your knowledge of American Idol lore.
I have a few alumni to thank. Peter Durand '70 and Jonathan Schwarz '05 lent me a hand at the Rochester and Boxborough events respectively. The Rochester fair was Peter's first, but you couldn't tell. He had a great story to share about how he came to Wabash and it's obvious he's very proud of his alma mater. On the other hand, Jonathan is a professional. Really, he works in the Admissions Office at another school. I won't say which school he works for, but here's a hint. It's a selective institute of technology in a state that begins with "M".
When you spend this much time on the road, you also pick up a few travel tips. I'd like to share some with you.
1) If you're heading out to the Boston area, I would recommend flying into Manchester, NH. It's a smaller airport, but it has all of the amenities one needs. Plus, you won't have to contend with traffic that you face driving into Logan in Boston.
2) Just because you're staying in a city that's home to a large research institution, don't assume the area hotels offer wifi. In one city, we stayed in a hotel that bears the name of said research institution and they only offered dial-up. Unbelievable!
3) This last tip goes out to the airline pilots out there. I would never tell you how to deal with any of the technical aspects of your job. In fact, I'm always impressed with the eloquence of the captain's in-flight announcements given all he has to deal with while we're in the air. However, please try avoid making announcements like the one made by the pilot for my Boston to Rochester. It went a little something like this "Folks, I'd like to apologize for the condition of the aircraft. This our backup plane and we haven't used it in a while. Since it's such an old plane, we don't have storage space to provide you with beverage service on today's flight. Again, we apologize and thank you for choosing to fly with us."
The temperature in cabin rose about 5 degrees during his announcement. Instead, why not simply say, "Sorry folks. We won't offer any beverage service today. Please enjoy the flight."
Colleges That Change Lives will resume our tours in August. We will travel to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver and Albuquerque from August 1-6 and follow that with stops in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Birmingham, Raleigh, Atlanta, and Nashville from August 15-20. If any alumni living near these cities would like to help me at any of these fairs, email me at timmonsc@wabash.edu. I have a volunteer signed up for Los Angeles, but the rest are up for grabs. For times and locations for these fairs, visit www.ctcl.org.
I posted a few pictures from earlier in the week, but added a few more to that album. View photos
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May 18, 2009
CTCL May Tour Halftime Report
I've reached the halfway point of my trip with the Colleges That Change Lives May Tour. After arriving on Friday, I joined Rick Strasser '02 for dinner at the famous Ray's Hellburger (I recommend "The Punisher") and the Nationals/Phillies game. The game itself had its moments, but Rick and I left before the Nats' late rally to force extra innings. Oh well.
Saturday's college fair in Falls Church didn't have the turnout we have come to expect on our tours, but the students and families were an eager bunch who asked great questsion. The turnout on Sunday was far better and thanks to Chris Alexander '02 for helping me at the Wabash table. I would not have been able to handle the traffic on my own.
A few highlights I can share: I spoke with one student who's a close friend of David Pancost '69. The student's father remarked "I cannot imagine Wabash has a bigger fan than David". Another pleasant surprise was a young man who arrived late and stopped by our table to say "I'm here just to talk to you, Mr. Timmons."
After the fair, all of those traveling on the tour attended a memorial service for Loren Pope. Loren passed away in September, but it seemed fitting that we all gather to honor his legacy while taking part in the college fair tour that he started some 12 years ago. Several colleagues shared stories about Loren, his love of good food and wine, and his tireless work to champion the cause of liberal arts colleges, especially those featured in his book.
The memorial was held at the Pope-Leighy House outside Alexandria. The architect of the house was none other than Frank Lloyd Wright who built this home for Loren back in 1941. Loren and his family lived in this home until the mid-1960's. The home is now a historic landmark.
As I catch my breath, Steve Klein is on his way to New York for the next fair on the tour. I report back to duty on Tuesday in Boxborough, MA where I'll be joined by Jonathan Schwarz '06.
Photos from game and Pope-Leighy House
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May 12, 2009
Volunteer Spotlight - Charlie Crowley '70
Today marks the debut of "Volunteer Spotlight", a new, regular feature on this blog. I know it's not the most scintillating title, but it's the best I could muster at this point in the year. If you have some suggestions, send them my way.
When I came up with this idea for the blog, Charlie Crowley was one of the first volunteers that came to mind for a few reasons. First, he's one of our regular readers. Second, he's one of those volunteers who always looks for opportunities to introduce a young man or his parents to Wabash. Third and most importantly, Charlie pulled of a whirlwind college fair of his own in April.
Between April 20-22, Charlie represented Wabash at four colleges fairs in the Twin Cities. By my calculations, that's 12 hours of college fairs without counting setup, travel time, etc. Thanks again for your support, Charlie.
While we're always looking for help with our college fair coverage, awards nights, off-campus receptions, etc., simply referring a student to Wabash is the most effective way you can help our efforts. Refer a student today.
Next time, I'll update from the road as I travel with the Colleges That Change Lives tour. If you prefer to get your updates in 140 characters or less, follow me on Twitter @ChipTimmons.
Posted by timmonsc at 09:35 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
May 06, 2009
High School Award Programs - A Little Goes a Long Way
We're fast approaching the time of year when high schools hold their senior awards programs. When possible, we try to send a Wabash representative to present scholarship certificates to those students attending Wabash in the fall.
In most cases, we call on our alumni volunteers for help and thanks to those who've already volunteered. Attending these events just takes a little bit of our time, but it goes a long way.
Need proof? Read this letter an appreciative parent sent to Will Arvin '08 after he attended her son's awards program late last week.
Will shared this letter with all of us and we're all inspired to make the most of these opportunities. How about you? If you're interested in helping with an awards program, please contact Audra Abney at abneya@wabash.edu. If we can't get you to a program this year, we'll have you on our roster for future events.
Posted by timmonsc at 03:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
April 16, 2009
Colleges That Change Lives - Northeast Tour
While there's still work to be done with the Class of 2013, a few of us are looking ahead to the next recruiting year starting with the Colleges That Change Lives Northeast Tour - May 16-21.
This year's tour stops include the greater Washington D.C. area, New York City, Boston, Rochester, and Cleveland. Each event includes a 30-minute panel presentation followed by a 90-minute college fair featuring the schools from the book Colleges That Change Lives. Locations and times are listed below.
May 16
Falls Church, VA
Fairview Park Marriott
3111 Fairview Park Drive
Falls Church, VA
11 AM - 1 PM
May 17
Bethesda, MD
Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Road
Bethesda, MD
2-4 PM
May 18
New York, NY
New York's Hotel Pennsylvania
401 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY
7-9 PM
May 19
Boxborough, MA
Holiday Inn Boxborough Woods
242 Adams Place
Boxborough, MA
7-9 PM
May 20
Rochester, NY
RIT Inn and Conference Center
5257 West Henrietta Road
Rochester, NY 14602
7-9 PM
May 21
Cleveland, OH
Crowne Plaza Cleveland City Centre
777 St. Clair Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44114
7-9 PM
Last year's tour brought in record crowds and we anticipate large turnouts again this year. To help handle the traffic at our tables, participating schools are allowed to have one alumni volunteer join them at each fair. I have volunteers lined up for Falls Church, Boxborough, and Rochester, but could use help at the other fairs. If you're interested, drop me a line at timmonsc@wabash.edu
You can also help by encouraging freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to attend the CTCL fair in your area, especially those students thinking about liberal arts colleges. Direct them to www.ctcl.org for more information.
Future CTCL tours will take place later this summer. I'll hit the West Coast August 1-6 and the Southern US August 15-20.
Posted by timmonsc at 10:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
