“To love and to Cherish, ’till Death Do Us Part”

As Parents Weekend winded down, I managed to catch a wedding on campus near the Bates College Chapel this afternoon. As many Batesies know, it’s a well-known rumor that 60% of Batesies will end up tying the knot. As over-sappy as this may sound, a recent Bates grad after analysis for her senior project discovered that the accurate figure is “approximately 12.5 percent. Of the 23,356 living alums in the Bates database, 2,914 have a spouse or partner who is also a Bates alum.”

Sorry for all the romantics out there, but do remember, most of our parents (I can speak for mine, at least) met in college. You could call it a marketing strategy to attract prospective students and even more so, long-time partners, but one thing remains for certain: that this incident I’ve witnessed today demonstrates how deep the bond runs between Batesies, even down to love and to truly “cherish, till death do us part”- both of each other and our school.

And most definitely, “I do“.

Bobcat wedding cake of my own? We'll see.

<object width=”400″ height=”300″><param name=”allowfullscreen” value=”true” /><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always” /><param name=”movie” value=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10793019&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0&#8243; /><embed src=”http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10793019&amp;server=vimeo.com&amp;show_title=1&amp;show_byline=1&amp;show_portrait=1&amp;color=00ADEF&amp;fullscreen=1&amp;autoplay=0&amp;loop=0&#8243; type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowfullscreen=”true” allowscriptaccess=”always” width=”400″ height=”300″></embed></object><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/10793019″>60%</a&gt; from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user3547688″>M3Bobcat</a&gt; on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a&gt;.</p>

Don’t Waste New Precious Time; We’ll Dance Inside…

this song..because

there hasn’t been a dull beat or a dance concert I’ve missed here at Bates. This Parents Weekend, I thought I’d be the third wheel along for the ride. Instead, the day proved me entirely wrong. I had initially decided to spend this time staying in, seeing as I was an orphan for the weekend. And yet again, I found myself drifting with the current of parents who temporarily adopted me as one of their own.

The highlight was most definitely the Parents Weekend Dance Concert. A parent courteously allowed me to skip him in line while anxiously awaiting to enter the theater; apparently he had overheard my excitement for the impending student and resident artist-choreographed performances of a variety of genres- step, modern, jazz, hip hop, ballroom, and Bollywood.  Here are a few clips:

After, the throng of bobcats swayed me to catch the football game on the newly renovated Garcelon Field.Unfortunately, I left before they lost to Williams- heading over to the Bates College Chapel for Navratri, a Hindu holiday, to practice some Buddhist meditation and chanting.

Needless to say, it was the longest study break that I’ve taken. I wouldn’t generally categorize myself as a procrastinator, but I’d have to say I’m glad I threw the rulebook out the window today. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have run into acquaintances and professors I haven’t seen lately, friendly strangers, or even my custodian freshman year (who still remembers my name!) I’m reminded that I will never be alone  or even homesick- because this is where I belong.

No April Fool’s Rumor

This isn’t an April Fool’s Day joke, although one of my professors (Side Note: Bates faculty certainly have their own humor. Dark or dry, it’s still there. I haven’t yet taken a class with a professor who wasn’t spunky and who wasn’t simply there to lecture- and I mean it!) did play a nasty prank on our class today.. And as April 1st is up there on my list of favorite holidays, I admit- it was by far the most shocking foul ever bestowed upon a gullible victim. (In other embarrassing words, it was my first time being tricked, rather than the usual opposite).

Nevertheless, I’ve been invited to a luncheon tomorrow sponsored by the Bates Fund and Bates Parents Fund. As both a recipient of financial aid and the Charles Irwin Travelli  Fund and Alice S. Ayling Foundation Scholarship, I find myself extremely unable to contain my excitement to meet those who have been so generous for making it possible for me to attend Bates. It is such a wonderful opportunity, and I hope to return my gratitude for their contributions.

As I still strongly deem it my duty to always give back to the community, whether through volunteering or simply helping out a friend in need, I am anticipating this upcoming  event with a great extent of voracity. I sincerely hope that I one day will be able to continue this tradition by reciprocating the unspeakable depths of heartwarming altruism.

From the open arms in which both the education and the people here have extended to me, a voracious hug from a bobcat (no worries, no claws!)

As the Beach Boys would Say, “Be True to Your School”

Congratulations to the first batch of new applicants who have been admitted to Bates!

Looking back on the college process in high school, I remember how grueling the experience can be. However, now that I work at the Office of Student Financial Services, I had never realized it’s quite hectic up here on our end as well. Since it’s early decision season (the first round), the office transforms into a sort of a miniature Times Square, with frantic parents calling at least every six minutes to ask if we’ve received their W-2 statements while the staff bustles around on headsets attempting to restore the calm.

The office on a quiet Friday afternoon.

If you have any financial-related questions, please visit: http://home.bates.edu/admissions-tour/costs-aid/. (We’d be more than thrilled to assist you!) Financial aid is another reason that prompted me to apply to Bates early decision, and I don’t regret it for a second.

I find it phenomenal how so much work is completed in such a short amount of time, and I thoroughly appreciate that the efforts accomplished by such a small (but extremely competent!) team here at the office. There’s nothing better than throwing a little tea party every now and then.