Director Diaries

Champlain College's Director of Admission, Ian Mortimer, will be traveling across parts of New York and the Mid-West this fall, visiting high schools and attending college fairs. Check back frequently to hear from the Director himself as he shares his experiences on the road with you!

Day 8: Tuesday October 6, 2009

Good to breathe Upstate NY air again.  Staying downtown not too far from SU.

Great schools visited today: Manlius Pebble Hill and Skaneateles.

It was my first time to MPH although I have heard a lot about it.  Great environment.  Met with a student that seemed to really identify well with Champlain from both an academic and outdoor adventure perspective.  There seems to be a high-level of awareness and enthusiasm for Champlain in the Syracuse area.  I know we have quite a few students from here, but I am amazed at the knowledge level.

Skaneateles High School: Awesome!

At first our meeting was 5 students; then it grew to 6; then to 7, and I think we finally landed at 8.  All great students with a lot of different interests.  After I met with some of the students that are evaluating Champlain, I had a great meeting with three members of the counseling team.  Great people with really solid questions.  Drove away more impressed with this district than when I arrived. 

Growing up as a kid, I would spend some time in Skaneateles due to my mom's work.  It was always a nice place, but it has turned into a major destination.  Go Lakers!

You don't go to Syracuse without visiting Dino BBQ downtown.  Let's do it.

Day 7: Monday October 5, 2009

New York, Boston, DC or Chicago?  Not best food, greatest sports teams, but WORST traffic.  Chicago wins.

Trying to get to Lake Forest was like trying to get through the traffic jam at Woodstock (so what I hear).

Unbelievable beauty at Lake Forest.  Had a real nice conversation with a well-respected counselor at LFHS.  It was funny, she brought up a situation a few years ago when one of their top students did not get into Champlain, and is still reeling from that a bit.  I assured her that our staff are always willing to discuss certain applications and learn undocumented attributes of students.  She was pleased to hear this, and it was a great dialogue.  

After some other stops in the North coast and a meeting at DePaul, it was off to the airport to fly to Syracuse.  Brett Favre returns to Minnesota tonight.  It will be interesting to see what happens.  Twins are in the ALDS baby!  Unbelievable.

Frank Sinatra said it best about Chicago, "I had the time, the time of my life...."

Day 6: Sunday October 4, 2009

Catching up on emails, enjoying the Windy City sun and rest. 

Day 5: Saturday October 3, 2009

No Olympics!  Bummer.  I was hoping to arrive in the Windy City with hoopla and celebrations everywhere.

Arrived in Chicago around 8:30 and drove downtown to get settled in the hotel before the National Fair.  I am always surprised how easy it is to get out of O'Hare given its size and volume of passengers.  On the bus to the rental car I sat next to a Notre Dame fan that was heading to South Bend for the game.  Real nice guy who graduated last year.  Was not too optimistic, but that is why they play the games.

The National College Fair was at the end of Navy Pier.  On my way to the pier I swear I saw actor John Krasinski and Emily Blunt walking down Wabash Ave.  It had to be them!

The fair was very good.  The father and brother of a current student from Lake Forest High School stopped over to say hello.  Their daughter is studying in Dublin this semester and having a great experience.  Lots of students expressed interest in Criminal Justice and Social Work.  All in all, a great 4 hours.

The Twins are in it baby!  Going into Sunday they are even.  Could be one of the greatest comebacks in division history.

Day 4: Friday October 2, 2009

There are nice high schools and then there are nice high schools.  I was blown away by the organization, beauty and quality of Edina High School.  Really impressive.  The parents of Edina seniors assist the guidance office by meeting with college representatives, get information updated, etc.  Super nice people.  Although visiting Edina was enjoyable, I was really looking forward to seeing what the Perpich Center for Arts Education was about.  A number of people recommended that I visit Perpich based on their strength in design and creative writing.  Our Game Art and Animation, Graphic Design and Professional Writing majors align well with their offerings and mission.  Met with a really great senior while at Perpich.  He is a vocal music major at Perpich, but has realized that he needs to build a future around something in addition to his singing talents.  With Burlington having the incredible music scene that it does, he would definitely be able to continue his love for music.

After my meeting at Perpich I got the dreaded call from United Air Lines - Flight cancelled to Chicago.  Thus after some reorganizing I am staying another night here in the Twin Cities and will head to Chicago tomorrow morning (at 5:30am) for the National Fair.

Twins update: Down two to Detroit going into the final weekend.  They need to sweep and Detroit needs to drop all three to Chicago to get the divisional championship.  Let's see what they can do.

Day 3: Thursday, October 1, 2009

Just had a great conversation with a family from Minnetonka.  Their daughter is very interested in Creative Writing and is evaluating some of the best schools in the country for it.  I am incredibly biased, but I believe our Professional Writing major is as good as any writing program in the country.  I think the real differentiating benefit of our major is that for students with talent, passion and drive for writing, you need to have a thorough understanding of the career options; in addition to furthering writing skills, this is what we are good at.  Students spend time testing the waters of journalism, independent writing, public relations, etc to find their groove.  This happens in both the classroom and outside in the ‘real world'.  I hoping that this student will come out to the Young Writers Conference this summer to further explore our area and strength; she is a really good student.

The fair is over and all in all it was very good to be here.  However, next year I think I will say I am from The University of Minnesota-Burlington so I can hang in the Gopher area.

At 3:30 our team has our weekly call.  We have team members calling in from all over the country and it is good to connect with them.  Tomorrow Nicole Lentine is off to Colorado and I wish her safe travels and good luck.

Twins destroy Tigers today but is probably too late.  Down 2 with 3 to go.

Day 2: Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Wow.  Amazing the size of this college fair.  Moreover, I can't believe how large the Univ of Minnesota's booth is.  It is bigger than my house.  I am not kidding, I think I saw people making breakfast in their booth.

I am really impressed with how prepared most of the students are in asking the right questions.  The fair was held in the morning and then again in the evening.  I had some great conversations in the evening with parents and students interested in our Professional Writing, Game Design, Graphic Design and Environmental Policy majors.  I would say about once an hour a parent would walk up and say, "Can I come to Burlington and go back to school?!?!" (of course joking).  It seems quite a few families have been to Vermont and have a good understanding of our great city.

Between the sessions I visited The Breck School; also in Minneapolis.  What a great visit.  The college counselor and I had some common connections back in New York and Vermont, and she was genuinely surprised on how much Champlain has evolved over the past decade.  I was really impressed with the school's commitment to outreach, linguistics and the general ‘normalness' of the place.  I think from many perspectives the two cultures fit, and I hope to have a long and productive relationship with the school.

Twins drop another game to the Tigers.......(tears on face).  However, a great day.

Day 1: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Last evening I was getting off the plane in Chicago to make a connection to Minneapolis and it was like walking onto a concert stage.  At the gate next to me was the chartered flight from Chicago to Copenhagen that was carrying the Olympic dignitaries to make their final pitch to the IOC.  In the crowd were Mayor Daley, Jacki Joyner-Kersey, and other politicians and former Olympians.  However, no sighting of the Obamas.  It was pretty cool: there was a band jamming, and people getting all pumped up to get the Olympics in the Windy City.

Had a great first day in Minneapolis.  On Tuesday morning I met with some very good Independent Counselors to discuss Champlain.  It seemed the counselors were genuinely interested in learning about Champlain and our unique benefits.  As we discussed, college matching needs to take academic, personality and cultural aspects into consideration and they were very interested in our professional programs and the strength of our Core curriculum.

That afternoon it was on to the Blake School in downtown Minneapolis.  The Blake School has a long tradition of preparing students for higher education.  Their graduates are highly sought after by the some of the most academically competitive schools in the country: Stanford, Harvard, Penn, etc.  It was great to hear that one of last year's graduates is having a good experience at Champlain.  Frank Sachs is the former President of NACAC and a very well respected member of the college counseling community; it is great that we have his confidence.

After visiting Blake it was off to Minnetonka, the home of Prince (or the artist formerly known as Prince?).  My wife taught French at Minnetonka when we lived here, and I had a great meeting with a senior interested in Champlain.  She seemed like a good fit from a few perspectives, and she hopes to come out to Burlington soon.  Good luck with your hockey season!

I am looking forward to tomorrow's college fair at the convention center.  By attendance, it is one of, if not the, largest college fairs in the country.  It was a bummer that the Twins split with the Tigers today.  Being a former resident of Minneapolis I gotta pull for them.