Marc Welch - Hallo from Holland. Okay, I’m only in Holland Michigan, as I’m sure you can tell by the picture of the not-so-real looking windmill. This is my third week of travel season. For those of you that don’t know, I’m new at this gig. And well, until this Monday, it had rained everyday. Yes, for 10 days, while on the road, it’s been raining. It even rained when I came home this past weekend. I must admit that rain and dark gloomy skies caused me to have the blues.

Being away from home and family coupled with constant rain really had me down. However, this Monday, the sun was brighter than ever. Ironically, the big blue sky of Michigan and the breathtaking views of beautiful and yes, blue Lake Michigan chased my blues away. As I travel from high school to high school, the sun provides me with an extra spring in my step and I’m more optimistic about my new job. Sharing my passion for Wabash with others and knowing that I’m impacting the lives of young men make this new position both enjoyable and rewarding.  

Sharing my passion for Wabash with others is where I need to be careful. It’s all too easy to ‘sing the praises’ of Wabash to prospective students, thinking that the longer I talk, the more likely they will apply and ultimately come to Wabash.

However, today I reminded myself that I need to listen to the students as well. Finding out about their passions and what excites them, takes the high school visit to a deeper, more intimate level. By listening and asking questions, I’m able to establish a connection with that student versus merely rambling on and on about Wabash and all of its greatness. However, I know there are worse people out there.

One student shared with me today that a college representative talked about her institution for over 90 minutes without any dialogue with the students. As I approach my fourth week of travel, my goal is to talk less and listen more. I think my wife has been trying to teach me that for years!

As I sign off for this week, I share with you just two pictures that really captured my attention—two giraffes in a front yard and an inflatable pumpkin, not just in the yard, but on top of the house!

I’ve never considered putting life-size animals in my front yard, nor an inflatable pumpkin on top of my house. I won’t share these pictures with my two-year old daughter. If so, you can bet I would be in search of a life-size Dumbo for the front yard as well as an over-sized inflatable pumpkin—both of which would be the source of envy from all the neighbors. Maybe people would even drive by my house and take pictures.