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Meet Admissions Counselor Zach Wielgus

My name is Zach Wielgus, and I’m the new guy at Holy Cross. I’m currently the youngest member of the admissions staff, fresh out of college, which means I have the exciting yet daunting task of learning everything I can about this great school. This also means that I did not graduate from Holy Cross (please forgive me!). I did graduate from another Jesuit school, for what that’s worth – and for my money, that’s worth a lot. The question-everything, reflect-on-it-all nature of the Jesuits is the reason I realized my love for admissions, and why I am posting on the Holy Cross admissions blog. I owe Ignatius a drink the next time I see him.

Here’s the thing: I’m really excited to be here. Like, really excited.. To be able to help high school students around the country realize how great a school Holy Cross is, and then to help construct a new class of Crusaders, is downright incredible. I can’t wait to get on the road and get to have those conversations with students, to ask them “What do you get to do in your free time?” or “What qualities would your perfect school have?” or “After four years at a college or university, how do you hope to have changed?” will be beyond rewarding (and a little fun, of course). And for those of you in Minnesota; Tennessee; Pittsburgh; Cleveland; and Fairfield, Connecticut, I hope you are equally eager to answer those questions from me.

But, believe it or not, admissions isn’t the only thing I enjoy. I am a huge sports fan, and get way too into the Packers and Brewers. I know the players can’t hear me through the TV, but I’m going to shout at them anyway. There isn’t a more exhilarating feeling than cheering among tens of thousands of fans, watching your favorite team in person. (And yes, watching the Packers win the Super Bowl this year was the best night of my life, even if it was just from my living room.) Though I would hardly consider myself athletic, I love to play golf and tennis, and am still very proud that I ran the Boston Marathon in 2010. Trust me, if I can run it, anyone can! I also love to read, watch The Amazing Race and 30 Rock, and occasionally write short stories if I’m inspired enough.

Enough about me. Tell me about you! Whether in an interview, through an e-mail, or in person while I’m traveling, I look forward to meeting you.

Zach Wielgus

Admissions Counselor
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Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Ada K. van Wyhe

Hometown: Reedley, CA
Year: rising senior! 2012
Major: History, Peace and Conflict Studies concentration, Pre-Law
Activites, clubs: Senior Interviewer for the Office of Admissions, SPUD (Student Programs for Urban Development) at the Nativity School of Worcester, College Democrats, CAB (Campus Activities Board).

Why I love Holy Cross:

I am in love with Holy Cross because of the vast number of opportunities that have been offered to me on this campus, and because the entire Holy Cross community has made my education a true living and learning experience. Coming from over 3,000 miles away, I arrived to Mount St. James during move-in, August 2008, not knowing a single person, and I was immediately embraced by the students and faculty on The Hill. I’m excited by the awesome faculty (Midnight breakfast study session during finals week? Thank you Professor Hooper!), the small class sizes, and especially the fact that we’re a solely undergraduate college. I appreciate that as a community we are all working together toward our goals – for now, and for well beyond our four short years here on campus.
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Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Amanda Osowski

Hometown:  Hopkinton, MA

Year: 2014

Major: History

Activities: Mock Trial Team, Holy Cross College Choir, Giving tours to prospective students and working with the Admissions Office!

One of my favorite memories of freshman year was traveling with the Mock Trial Team. The Holy Cross Mock Trial Team traveled to various colleges and universities this year, including the University of New Hampshire Law School, the University of Massachusetts, Tufts University, and Clark University. The team would stay at a local hotel and would compete in a weekend-long tournament against other schools. It was always nice to get away for a couple of days during the semester! Although we were still working hard during the weekend to perform well as a team, we still got to have a lot of fun together! The coaches would always take the team out for a group dinner and it was always a good time. The coaches are knowledgeable, friendly, and also hilarious at times! Participating on the Mock Trial Team allowed me to develop my analytical and public speaking skills as well as helped me to branch out and meet new friends and upperclassmen.

Favorite Place to Study at Holy Cross: The lower stacks of Dinand Library (it’s cozy and quiet!)

Favorite Class:  Montserrat. I was in the Natural World Cluster and I lived in Wheeler Hall. My Montserrat class was called “The Road to Armageddon. ”  In this class, we learned about the history and science behind nuclear energy. We studied nuclear energy development all the way back to the founding of the atom and back up to the recent nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan. I really enjoyed the discussion and met a lot of my close friends in that class. Also, my professor was awesome and became a great guiding resource for me at Holy Cross!
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Meet Your Summer Tour Guides: Ashley Noel

Hometown: Sutton, MA

Year: Soon to be Senior

Major: History and French,  Prelaw

Activities: Purple Key Society, Summer Study Abroad in Paris 2010, member of Phi Alpha Theta (History Honor Society) and Pi Delta Phi (French Honor Society)

Why I love Holy Cross:  I love Holy Cross because of the overall atmosphere and community that you find here on campus. I was initially drawn to Holy Cross because of its academic reputation, but I knew I wanted to come here when I visited campus and immediately felt at home. Holy Cross is a small enough school that you will see your friends around campus, but you’ll still meet new people every day, whether it’s walking around campus between classes, sitting in Kimball, or going to a foreign country with a group of students you’ve never met before. As a rising senior, I’m still friends with many of the people that I met during my first year here, but I still meet new people every day. Holy Cross has exceeded every expectation that I had coming into college, both academically and socially.
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Contagious Symptoms!

Before you run for the hills or close out of this web browser, I should let you know that what I’ve got, you want.  I have a bad case of the College Interview Bug (or CIB for short).  Symptoms of CIB include:

1.        An irresistible urge to discover any or all colleges/universities in which you are interested which offer an Admissions Interview. You will stay up late at night to search these colleges’ websites.  You will call up Admissions Offices during your lunch break at your summer job to inquire about the details of the interview.  You won’t be able to help yourself until you have nailed down each college and university; it will just feel right.  CIB will take control of your motor functions and bring you on tours, plop you down in information sessions, and brag about your accomplishments during interviews.  It will have your body running on auto-pilot.

2.       An insatiable desire to speak with Admissions representatives like myself. You will sign up for those interview slots and count the seconds until you are able to present yourself in all your glory to the Admissions office at X University and/or Y College.  You cannot fathom waiting any longer to converse with these representatives because you need to tell them how your summer is going and how excited you are for a busy Senior year.

3.       A lingering thirst for continued interaction with representatives even after the interview. You will insist on keeping those representatives at your top college/university choices informed on your activities throughout Senior year.  Yes, Senior year will be busy, but you will toss and turn in bed at night until you shoot off a quick email once every month to touch base with those Admissions representatives.

The thought of catching CIB might sound unappealing upon reading this blog, but CIB is a pandemic.  It seems that current Juniors (soon to be Seniors) are most susceptible to CIB.   Like Hay-Fever, CIB appears mostly in the summer and it is communicable by word of mouth.  Don’t be afraid to pass it on to others as CIB forms a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with each host.  Like I said from the get-go, you want what I’ve got.

Dan Weagle ’08
Admissions  Counselor
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Reflections on a Year in Admissions

As a newer member of the Admissions Office at Holy Cross,  I’d like to share some of my impressions about my first year:

1. I really appreciate the committee process and the fact that 13 of us make a decision on every applicant together.

2. It is a democratic process. Each person has a vote and every vote helped shape the class of 2015.

3. We spend a lot of time on each applicant.  In the committee room, we discussed the positive attributes of each applicant and looked at each application holistically before voting. Hearing the different opinions and viewpoints of my colleagues taught me to  recognize what it is to be a competitive college applicant,  and what it means to be a “fit” for Holy Cross.

4. We read your essay. I found the most common question in committee was, “Can we see the essay again?” After making tough decisions all day, I found that a sweet, endearing, or funny essay could really lift the  mood of the room.

My favorite memory from this year occurred when a student, whom I met on the road and interviewed on campus, stopped by my office with a smile on her face and a deposit slip in her hand.  She could not wait to tell me she would be joining the class of 2015!

I look forward to meeting the 2016 hopefuls.

Krystle Leveille
Admissions  Counselor
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The Final Push

As I walked from the parking lot to my office this morning, I noticed a particular stillness to the campus.  So much so that I had a brief moment of panic that I had mistakenly come to work on Saturday.  I quickly remembered that for our students, today marks the first study day before exams.  They wrapped up classes yesterday and spent last night celebrating at our annual spring concert.  The stillness explained.  Rest.  A much deserved, albeit brief rest.  Soon enough, our students will crawl out of bed, balk at the clock (can I still make it to lunch before Kimball closes?) and make their way to their favorite study spot on or off campus.  They have worked so hard all year, and they’re not going to stop now.  We hope you won’t either!

Lynn Verrecchia
Associate Director of Admissions
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Why Holy Cross? Because it’s Spring in New England

Having moved back East after four years of living a stone’s throw from the beach in Los Angeles, people often ask me, ”Why would anyone leave California for Massachusetts?”  To me, the answer is simple:

There is absolutely nothing like spring in New England.

You can smell its approach in the air.  After an arguably “character-building” winter, the first scent of spring is nothing short of amazing.  It’s an indescribable mix of soil and daffodils, mineral-y spring water,  and unadulterated joy.  And the second that scent matures into sunshine, and the temperature ticks above fifty degrees,  the air buzzes with a new sense of excitement.   The flip flops come out,  the window screens descend, the birds are chirpety chirping, Youk is up to bat, and all is right with the world.

New England’s four seasons instill in its patrons a unique sense of appreciation…an appreciation  for the characteristics and rhythms that each season presents, and an appreciation  for how quickly one season is engulfed by the next.  We learn to appreciate every day as it comes.   We watch the multi-colored leaves dancing overhead as we head to the game. We snuggle up and study with hot cocoa after tray-sledding.  We savor every last inch of spring sunshine from blankets on the quad.  We eat lobstah’ and chowdah’ with sunburned noses, and then we get excited to do it all again.

Julia Sanders
Assistant Director of Admissions
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How to Choose the School for You

For high school seniors, April is the month for decisions. Once acceptance letters have been received, students spend time on college campuses, taking and re-taking tours, sitting in on classes and doing their best to find differences amongst schools that have so much in common. Some students will ask their friends or look for insight from social networking websites.

So how should they decide? What’s the best way for a student to decide amongst more than one quality choice? Conduct a poll on Facebook? Conduct a poll at the dinner table? Conduct an imaginary battle between mascots?

The answer is in the dressing room.

When we’re shopping for clothes, we all have that moment just after we’ve buttoned up a pair of pants – we take stock, we look in the mirror and we make a gut decision based upon how those pants fit us, how they suit us and how they feel.

And when we emerge from the dressing room and find family or friend waiting for us, they are sure to ask that one-word question — “Well?”

Buying pants, in that way, is similar to choosing a college. There are so many places and people to whom we can go for information or opinions. But what matters most is how a college feels to a student and what their gut is telling them.

So to all those students destined to wrestle between two or more quality choices, I encourage you to leave the websites and on-line polls behind and take a moment in the “dressing room” by yourself – go with your gut and choose the college which fits you the best.

Andrew N. Carter
Associate Director of Admissions
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“Did you go to Holy Cross?”

I’m often asked to talk about the things that make Holy Cross unique or special.  Though there are many things that I think make my alma mater both unique and special, I always find myself giving the same answer.  I may choose different anecdotes to express my idea, but my message is always one of an enduring loyalty and excitement from students and alumni.

This weekend my husband and I tackled the task of yard work.  He wore a Holy Cross t-shirt while he worked, as he often does.  From my weed-pulling post around the side of the house, I suddenly heard an excited, “Did you go to Holy Cross?”  Two recent graduates were passing by, and they couldn’t help but stop to say hello.  We chatted briefly, and they continued on their way.  Our interaction was brief, but meaningful.  I sensed they walked away feeling the same way we did as we watched them go-nostalgic and proud just to be an “HC person”.

Many colleges can provide a good four year experience, and any lucky student will count their college years among the best of their life.  This is true of many Holy Cross graduates I’ve met.  The difference is that the fondness people have for this place endures far beyond those four years.  For some, it’s homecoming, or a 10th, 25 or perhaps 50th reunion that makes them nostalgic for that place they once called home.  Many others require little more than the sight of those familiar purple letters on a t-shirt on a Saturday afternoon.

That’s pretty special.

Lynn Verrecchia
Associate Director of Admissions