As a recent graduate of Holy Cross and one of the newest admissions counselors, can I really admit that Holy Cross was not at the top of
my college visit list? I guess it’s safe
to say I can. The truth is I had never
even heard of Holy Cross until October of my senior year of high school. It had popped up on one of my online Princeton Review searches as a college I
would most likely love — but I honestly didn’t take a second look. Why? The
name scared me. I was worried Holy Cross
would turn me into a nun. That’s just
the plain, candid truth. But as the fall
approached I started to panic. I had
visited twelve schools and none of them had “clicked” with me.
I felt like I was never going to find a college I absolutely
loved. After all I had attended tours
and info sessions at colleges in North
Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Colorado, Arizona and California. My parents were patient throughout the whole
process but I could tell they were at the end of their rope with planning
college visit trips disguised as family vacations. Since I felt like I was out of options I
decided to send away for information from Holy Cross. One Saturday night at 12 a.m. (Junior Driver’s License typical curfew
time) I returned from my friend’s house to find the Holy Cross “What Am I Doing
Here?” booklet on my bed. I opened it up
and started to read….and read. I was
intrigued. So intrigued I jumped out of
bed, ran downstairs and woke my parents up.
I remember sitting on their bed telling them that Holy Cross was where I
wanted to go and where I was meant to be.
Since I had said this twelve other times, they were rightfully skeptical. The next day we scheduled my November Day Visit
to campus.
One of the reasons November is my favorite month at Holy
Cross is because it is the month I fell in love with my Alma Mater and the
month I realized that there was still time for me to apply. The moment I stepped onto campus that crisp
November day in 2003 I knew I had found my school. I got the feeling I had been searching for
all along. Simply put, there is just something
about Holy Cross in the fall. As a
prospective student I had not yet fallen in love with autumn at Holy Cross
because of Halloween on campus, Thanksgiving Dinner at Kimball, or apple picking
trips to orchards planned through Student Programs. Those things indeed came later and only
affirmed my love for this special season on the hill. At first I simply fell in love with the students,
the architecture, and of course the changing leaves with their crisp browns and
rich maroons. Finally, I had found the
place I knew I belonged and I never looked back.
So as a high school senior reaching the month of November I
urge you to take a deep breathe and realize that there is still time for you to
discover Holy Cross….and what if you already have? I hope the feeling I just described resonates
within each one of you.
’08
