James Tweed

The phrase “back to school” will take on a whole new meaning for the class of 2011 over the next few weeks. On September 6th, Lasell’s doors will open once again to welcome our newest students. Thursday is “move-in day” – part mayhem, part magic.

Curious, what’s planned? Click Welcome Class of 2011 for a sneak peek!

You can also check out last year’s new student move-in day at Class of 2010 Opening.

Having just gone through the moving process not once but twice in the last month, I am positive Pam, Thai (our Siamese cat) and I can relate to what the class of 2011 and their families will be going through over the next few weeks. The boxes, the packing, the lifting, the unpacking, etc, etc… Moving is just plain hard.

As roughly 450 new resident students and their families finalize their moving plans to Lasell's campus, I’m sure they will be faced with some initial confusion, for example:

1. New college students are forced to decide what to bring with them for their first year of life away from home.

2. New college parents are forced to determine how the item’s that “made the cut” from dilemma number one, will then fit into the family vehicle for the trip to campus.

However, both students and parents alike will get to experience a little personal satisfaction and even a little “magic” during move-in day, as they watch in disbelief as all of those items make there way into a “dorm room”.

Trust me, it all fits!

All kidding aside, if you’re paying attention during “move-in day” you’ll also witness other subtle transformations, magical in their own way.

Lifelong friendships will be formed over discussions of where to put the stereo and who’s the biggest Red Sox fan. Skills ironically perfected in kindergarten, will be tested immediately – patience, tolerance, and sharing. In a matter of hours, new students will begin to grow and to learn, all before stepping foot into a traditional classroom.

Soon after Mom and Dad have said their good-byes, “move-in day” transforms into “moving-on day”, and there’s plenty of NEW STUFF to see and do on the Lasell campus, especially if you haven’t been here since summer orientation.

For starters:

We’re putting the finishing touches on Rockwell Hall, our newest student residence overlooking Grellier Field. Check out this great shot of Rockwell at dusk

We’ve expanded dining capacity in Valentine Hall with over 100 new seats added to the 1851.

We’ve technologically enhanced and renovated Rosen Auditorium.

And there's more!

We’ve added seven additional full-time faculty.
We’re introducing baseball as a club sport for Spring 2008, with plans for baseball to become our thirteenth NCAA division III varsity sport in 2008-09.
We’re celebrating the grand opening of the Center for Spiritual Life with Rev. Barbara Asinger as Director.
Also, we've made dramatic renovations to Taylor Field, and the new tennis court on Seminary Avenue.

And, we’ve expanded our “blogging team” - check out Katie’s and Amanda’s blog! Two current Lasell students, “telling it like it is at Lasell”. And, don't forgert Dr. Sciegaj's blog. Mark is one of our current faculty bloggers.

It’s been an exciting summer, and like the class of 2011, our plan is to keep moving!

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Just arrived on campus or will you find yourself “moving” next year as part of the class of 2012?
Comment - and tell me what’s on your mind as you head back to school!

Is your son or daughter headed to college for the first time?
Comment - I’d love to hear from you and what you think about the whole experience!
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Preview my next Blog:
The "art and science" of decision making.

Posted by James Tweed at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you get to know me through these blogs, you’ll realize I have a couple of “loves”. One of them has prompted this entry and pushed my blog on recently moving to the back burner.

Today is the second round of the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) Championship. This year the tournament is being played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa Oklahoma. The talk after round one was surprisingly not about the world’s number one golfer - Tiger Woods. The media and many die-hard golf fans were buzzing about an almost forgotten soul on tour - John Daly.

“Big John”. “Inconsistent John”. “Troubled John”.

All accurately describe a personality, a golfer, and a man with the innate talent to win two majors, coupled with the physical and emotional turmoil to recently lose his PGA tour card.

Why is any of this relevant to education?

Just as John Daly was finishing up his first round at Southern Hills, I was concluding a meeting with a young man who had applied to Lasell, and subsequently been denied admission. These conversations are never easy to have. My objective was to try and turn a challenging situation into a teachable moment and to help this young man realize his educational journey should not end with the receipt of our thin envelope.

Working with the “millennial” generation now for a few years, I have grown accustom to some of their traits. In general, they’ve been the U.S.’s most important commodity. Protected. Special. Millennial’s are not use to being told “no”.

So I wasn’t surprised that this young adult wanted to appeal the decision. I figured he would just ask. But he didn’t.

Maybe it was the gravity of why the Admission Committee had made the decision we had. Or maybe he had experienced a moment of honest self-assessment sitting in my office. Either way, the results were inspiring.

The young man looked me in the eye and asked, “If my goal is to attend Lasell in the future, what do I need to do now?”

Over the next hour, we developed his plan. We talked about his future, and his options. We wasted no time discussing his past, but focused on his new goals and the path to a second chance at Lasell through the transfer admission process.

After round one of the PGA championship, John Daly who shot a 67 (3 under par), spoke of his round. "I honestly don't know," when asked why he performed so well. As for clearing a series of personal hurdles, all he said was, "Just gotta keep on plugging, keep going."

Its doubtful John Daly will win this weekend’s 89th PGA championship. But, I believe golf fans and educators alike would agree, it’s nice to know second chance guys always have a shot.

Preview my next Blog:
The "art and science" of decision making.

Posted by James Tweed at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After learning I work in college admissions, an aquintance asked me Monday night, "so what do you do all year, what's a typical day like?"

I must confess, I was a little offended by the question. But I got to thinking, what an apropos topic for my first blog.

Who am I, and what exactly do I do at Lasell?

OK - here it goes, I'm James and I'm the Director of Undergraduate Admission.
That's it, there's no more time today for lengthy introductions. (Maybe Later)
The Admissions Office is just too busy for that right now.
Why? Because there are no "typical" days in admissions.

The calendar indicates the start of the fall semester is only about a month away. That means the Office of Undergraduate Admission is confirming our new students as they prepare to move in and particpate in our "week of welcome". Simultaneously, we've already begun recruiting the class of 2012 (the next class to enter the college), by re-designing publications, updating our literature, the website, and our statistics. You'd be amazed by all the changes at Lasell!

Ironically as the incoming class arrives on-campus - our admissions team will depart, traveling to over 800 high schools and attending college fairs from Maine to Maryland. Curious if I or one of our couselors is headed your way? We've been planning fall travel since June. Meet the team and see if we're planning a trip to your area. http://www.lasell.edu/admission/counselors.asp

Back on-campus in the fall, we'll be preparing to host our Open House - it's Sunday November 4th, and the day is jam-packed with activities and information for prospective students and their familes. Click on the link to learn more about Fall Open House - http://www.lasell.edu/admission/open_house.asp

In the winter, we review the thousands of applications we've received and we'll begin to mail out decisions. It's not as easy as it sounds. Each year we grow more and more competitive, making the selection process extremely challenging. Not too many people know this, but I hand sign each applicants decison letter. When I first joined Lasell, over 5 years ago, I was signing far more acceptance letters than I do now. For me, signing letters has become one of those unofficial ways I know we've become more selective.

Spring means accepted students day, spring travel, orientations, and of our enrollment deadline of May 1.

Which brings us to the Summer and to yesterday...Monday. Just another "typical day" in the Admission Office - right? Wrong!

Yesterday, we welcomed 20 students from Global Citizens, a holistic, Cambridge-based youth program, for an afternoon of college awareness. The day included campus tours, an overview of admissions, financial aid, college athletics, and we provided these young adults with a sampling of two of Lasell’s popular majors, Fashion and Communications.

I almost forgot, we did take a break for some ice cream...
Breaks over, and I've got work to do...

Preview of my next Blog:
I recently moved and as you'll read - lived to blog about it. However, it did bring back some fond and some not so fond memories of moving into my first college dorm room. Stay tuned...

Posted by James Tweed at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)