A.M.E.R.I.C.A. I have to admit that I have not been feeling particularly patriotic this year.
And it’s been hot. Like crazy hot. Like breaking records and we don’t know what to do with ourselves hot.
Having grown up in Astoria on the Oregon Coast, I am used to being able to escape the summer heat in the valley and feel the reprieve of cooler air wash over as we drive west on hwy 6 or 26. But this year, during the heatwave, we actually got sunburned ON THE BEACH. And had to move back to Ted’s adorable family beach cabin to play cards out of the sun. Nuts!
We did happen upon some record low tides, though, and that is always a special thing to experience. Starfish are finally coming back after a bout with Sea Star Wasting Disease (SSWD). And I even found a baby sand dollar, which always feels like the ultimate beach prize.
Back home at the Garden Shed, rising seniors are opening their Common App accounts and starting to plug away at all the basic data entry, while also working on the content, structure, and polish drafts of their personal statement essays.
Rising sophomores and juniors are in the midst of setting summer check-in appointments, and I am looking forward to hearing what everyone has been up to.
For rising juniors who have already taken Advanced Algebra, this is a good summer to do some test prep and take a practice ACT or SAT to start getting a feel. I recommend students on this path plan to take a fall assessment before they get too far into pre-calc/calc instruction.
Then we’ll start to do some of the activities and assessments to help get you started in earnest on your research. Searching for an understanding of what’s out there, and what you’re looking for to help you find your fit.
I had a lovely lunch date today with one of my former students who just finished her freshman year at Drexel in Philly, and she is soooo happy with her choice. Even with the weird COVID start, she has found her people, loves her classes, connected with professors, and can’t wait to go back. She described jumping on the SEPTA trolley to her favorite close-by neighborhood where it’s “totally worth it” to pay $30 for all-you-can-eat sushi, and she is excited about the “sick” new dorm building Millennium Hall where she spent the rest of the year once she was on campus. She is in the spring-summer cohort for the Co-op experience and while she doesn’t know exactly what she’ll be doing yet, she’s already heard about a number of cool-sounding opportunities for connecting with folks on the marketing front (her major) either in Philly or back home in a Drexel-sanctioned local connection.
Next up is August Application Boot Camp, and then it will be back-to-school time before you know it. So soak up the rays of summer while you can!
