The fall semester here is almost over. The campus tree lighting has taken place, fall semester classes are over, and final exams are underway. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that classes began. As our students complete their finals and head home for the holiday break, the campus will gradually empty out. By this time next week, it will be eerily quiet. Most of us who work here welcome the peace of a quiet campus for a few days, and then we realize how much we miss the students and begin looking forward to their return.
The Admission staff is also now wrapping up the reading of our Early Action applications. We were just getting underway when I last posted a blog entry a few weeks ago. This period seems to have passed very quickly as well. We’ll finish making all the decisions this week, but the end of most time consuming work – completing the evaluations of all the applications- is in sight- phew!
We sent the first Early Action acceptances last week. This is always very exciting- we are underway enrolling the Class of 2020! People ask me sometimes if I actually sign all the decision letters, and the answer is yes, I do. I develop a particular appreciation for the nature of the applicant pool when I sign a hundred or so letters at a stretch. I love seeing where the students are from and the majors they plan to pursue, because it reminds me just how exciting it is that LMU attracts students from such a wide variety of backgrounds and interests, who will study, grow and learn from each other throughout their careers here. I can get statistics from routine reports, but it’s much more interesting to contemplate Brian from North Carolina coming to LMU to study Accounting meeting Roman from New York, Maria from L.A. and John who is coming from Minnesota to study Screenwriting. I also got to sign acceptance letters today for two young men who attend my alma mater, St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland – that’s a good day!
It was also my birthday a couple weeks ago, and while I won’t tell you how old this makes me, I can tell you that it’s hard to believe- more evidence that time flies.