Confession time: in the past week, I've spent a total of about an hour in my office. I've been completely wrapped up in an annual event called DecemberFest, which is a program for high school counselors sponsored by nine colleges (the 5C's plus Caltech, Oxy, Whittier, and Redlands). This year we had counselors from 48 schools and community-based organizations across the country, all in SoCal for a week of college visits, networking and lots (and lots) of eating. This is my second year in charge of DecemberFest, and while it's great fun running the program, my job has not recently resembled "admission counselor" so much as "den mother, wedding planner, portable ATM, and carrier of large boxes."
Among the unusual/entertaining things I got to do during the planning and execution of D-fest:
- Spend 45 minutes debating the merits of Oreo v. New York cheesecake
- Use a microphone approximately 467 times
- See a mini version of a favorite HMC class, "Building Los Angeles"
- Conduct "research" in the Costco sample aisles
- Max out Thyra's credit card paying for an elegant dinner at Harvard Square Cafe
And if all those aspects weren't delightful enough, the dinner at the end of the program was the icing on the cake. The high school counselors rewrote the lyrics to a couple of Christmas tunes and treated the college staff to songs about our campuses; Falone organized a quiz show with questions about each of the colleges and the counselors competed for dollar store prizes including the coveted tome "Six Degrees of Paris Hilton" (Shady Side Academy students, be prepared -- this could soon pop up in your school library).
This year we had an especially great group of participating counselors; they could not have been more gracious throughout the program or more intensely competitive on game show night. So naturally, next year we want to have a cohort that's just as amazing. Okay, students, time to weigh in -- who would you want us to invite to DecemberFest? Do you have a counselor you think would enjoy and benefit from a week visiting nine California colleges? Let us know in the comments section!
Pamela McDonough
ReplyDeleteSchool Counselor
Exeter High School
1 Bluehawk Dr.
Exeter, New Hampshire 03833
She would love to be invited to the Decemberfest
College Tour
How do I find out about Decemberfest? I want to attend in the future!
ReplyDeleteBeth Fuson
fuson33@msn.com
I am a new High School College Counselor and I would love the opportunity to attend Decemberfest. Thank you for your consideration.
ReplyDeleteRenee Sherburne
Trinity High School
7574 W Division St.
River Forest, IL 60305
rsherburne@trinityhs.org
I would also love to be invited! I am high school counselor in Michigan. We are the 6th largest high school in the state and our students apply to colleges all over the country. I would love to be able to provide my students with information on some of the colleges in California! I would love it if you could please provide any information that you have. Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteNicole Toderan
Counselor, Department Chair
Clarkston High Schnool
6093 Flemings Lake Rd,
Clarkston, MI 48346
248-623-3528
nrtoderan@clarkston.k12.mi.us
To everyone who has commented about DecemberFest invitations, here's what you need to know: first, there are some specific rules regarding who can be invited and why. Each year the nine sponsoring colleges issue invitations to about 80 counselors from across the country. Because there are nine colleges involved in the program, there must be some general agreement about who to invite -- we hash this out at a meeting in the spring each year (so by mid-May, invitations for the upcoming December have already been issued). Finally, one of program rules states that each counselor must have met (in person) a representative from one of the sponsoring colleges. This is meant to help ensure a good group dynamic. Short answer: I don't actually issue invitations myself; a committee of folks from all nine colleges do. Hope that clears up any confusion.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be considered for this event. I am a School Counselor in Kinnelon, New Jersey. Kinnelon High School is a small high school in an affluent community where students apply all and attend colleges throughout the country. Please contact me, if possible, regarding this event. Thank you so much. gormleym@kinnelon.org
ReplyDeleteHi Colleen. Are you still involved in DecemberFest? Do you invite independent counselors as well? If you do, I'd love to be considered for a future DecemberFest tour. I am in northern California and many of my students apply to many of the schools on your tour. I have also met the "in person" rule as Angel Perez was one of my instructors in the UCLA College and Career Counseling Certification program.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I can be reached at hollis@strategies4admission.com