Where in the world is... "Admissions Nicole?"

Two Nicole's Hit the Road!

Where was I the end of this week?

Clues: A country town with a smiling barn and another city with a temple!

On Friday, September 28th I had scheduled Waterford, Mukwonago, Palmyra-Eagle, and Muskego High Schools.  Nikki Kulas, a UW-Parkside sophomore majoring in Theatre Arts is a 2006 alumna of Mukwonago.  She had no classes scheduled for that day, so I had asked her if she'd like to join me for a day of high school visits, and she jumped at the chance. Two Nicole's hitting the road could only mean one thing - trouble!

I picked her up at University Apartments at 7:15a.m., and we made our way to Waterford where we met with several students.  We then went to Nikki's alma mater, Mukwonago - where she seemed to know everyone!  We had a great discussion with the students we met there.  We went on to Palmyra-Eagle and then had a break before going to Muskego. We decided to stop for lunch back in Mukwonago at the Elegant Farmer. 

This place is like a magnet.  It seems every time I come to this town on business, I find myself grabbing lunch at the Elegant Farmer - I'm sure it has nothing to do with the apple pies baked in a paper bag, or the local farm-fresh produce.  I grabbed a little baby pumpkin for our 1 1/2 year old daughter, and Nikki grabbed a ride on a huge rocking horse - we saw more adults than kids on those things!).  We then made our way to our last stop at Muskego High School.  At Muskego, we met with a few more students. One of them was a girl who had visited Parkside with her boyfriend this past August, and I had given them a tour of campus.  She informed me that she was in the process of applying to Parkside.  You can see pictures from my tour with Nikki, in the "September 2007" album.

Today (Saturday), I had the pleasure of attending a college fair at The Bethlehem Temple in Kenosha for a Youth Conference.  There were students of all ages, many with their parents. Some students very young, but it was fun to see them become interested in college at such an early age.  Many were fascinated in the animation video loop I had running on my laptop from our digital arts program.  The younger ones said, "Can I really do that in college?"  The spark in their eyes was a delight to see!  I had some college planning sheets with me for students in junior high and just entering high school, and I made sure they each received one.   

Tomorrow (Sunday) is a welcomed day of rest with my family and then it's another busy week, but one that I'm looking forward to.  Keep checking back as things will really get busy as October gets into high gear - and look for my next, "Knowledge for College Tip #2" coming mid-week.

See you on the road,

~ Nicole

PS: As a person that bleeds Ranger Green and Cubbies blue, I have to say... YAY Rangers Men & Womens Soccer Teams for Wins this weekend and YAY CUBS!  Way to go last night winning the Division!

 

Coming to a Town Near You...

I wanted to post this early so you can get this information on your calendars:

Below are two documents that you can open that show all of the college fairs and open house events that our entire staff will be at over the course of this fall, and my personal schedule for high school visits and fairs.

Download all_college_fairs_and_college_nights_for_blog.doc
(UW-Parkside Admissions Counseling Staff Schedule for Fall 2007 College Nights & Experience Day/Open House Programs)

Download admissions_nicole_schedule.doc
(Nicole's High School Visits & Fairs - Fall 2007)

To see if we're coming to an event in your area, open the documents and you can do an easy search... or you can always contact me at leipski@uwp.edu if you don't see anything listed. 

Also check Wisconsin Education Fairs - these are regional college fairs held throughout the state of Wisconsin and we will be attending all of them.  So we will be coming to a town near you, thanks to Wisconsin Education Fairs.

For Illinois folks, we attend many of the Illinois College Expos (knows as ICE fairs).

We also attend the National College Fairs in Milwaukee, Chicago and Minnesota.

Finally, the best way you can get a perspective on UW-Parkside is to get it first-hand experience from the inside!  Don't forget our on-campus visit opportunities such as:
Experience Days and our daily scheduled tours led by our Campus Ambassadors!

See you on the road,

~ Nicole

Knowledge For College #1: Know Your Counselor."

Each week I will be posting a college planning tip in a series called, "Knowledge for College."  Here is this weeks, and my first installment "Get to Know Your Guidance Counselor":

# 1:  GET TO KNOW YOUR GUIDANCE COUNSELOR:

I was at a high school this week with a student who was interested in UW-P. I asked the student if they knew who their guidance counselor was. They said, “I don't know her name, and I don’t think she knows me, since I don’t get into trouble.”

That wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but it was a start to an important talk I had with the student (hence the purpose of this post)!

Ask yourself these two questions:
1. Does your high school guidance counselor know you by face and name?
2. Does that counselor know you want to go to a 4-year college?

If the answer is "no," then you need to go to your counselors office and say, “Hi my name is __________ and I want to go to college. I want to start planning, so would you have time now - or can we schedule an appointment?”

Your first step in your college planning process should be making your guidance counselor know who you are, and where you want to go so they can help you get there. Many counselors have caseloads of 200+ students and between scheduling everyone, counseling on personal issues, etc., it becomes challenging for them to know every one of their students. Many students think that their counselors will come to them to assist in their post-high school planning, but at many high schools this is next to impossible due to enormous caseloads, therefore you need to advocate for yourself.  It’s a life-skill in assertiveness that is important to develop now so you can grow into adulthood with the skills of independence.

Some students are happy standing on the sidelines and allowing their parents to take the reigns in working with your guidance counselor and colleges.  While parental help is nice, as they only have your best interests in mind, it's also important for you to know that this process is one that you need to take the lead in.  You should be scheduling the appointments with your guidance counselor, scheduling college tours, finding out deadlines, filling out your own applications (yes, I've had parents call to say, "I'm filling out my son's/daughter's application and I have a question about...).   

You may not realize it now, but this process is one of those first steps in adulthood where you are responsible for scheduling, submitting paperwork, applications, etc.  Doing this correctly on your own will only help to strengthen your skills as an adult, whereas having someone do it for you only makes you less independent.  Getting to know your guidance counselor and using that person as is a resource is important to this process.

Just think about it - you will need your guidance counselor to write admission and/or scholarship recommendation letters for you - how can they do this if they don't know you?

If you learn nothing from this posting remember one thing: MAKE your high school counselor know you by face and name and that YOU want to go to college!

The earlier you can do this the better, so you can get on a 4-year college prep curriculum, but no matter what year you are in high school - the time is now! If you haven’t done so already this year, ask for a college planning meeting so you can get your 4-year college prep curriculum plan in place.

The ball is in your court.
How are you going to play it?
Don't stand on the sidelines.
Get out there and get moving, talking and doing.

 

See you on the road,

 

~ Nicole

Homecoming, Cubs Fans & Lighthouses.

Where have I been so far this week?

Clues:  A city where Hillary Clinton went to high school, a town famous for drag racing, another town famous for it's landmark lighthouse, and a couple high schools that REALLY get into wacky homecoming spirit fashion!

My first week of high school visits was a fruitful one!  I had students everywhere I went, and for many schools it was homecoming week.

Shoreland Lutheran welcomed me to visit with a table set up in their cafeteria during lunches.  It was homecoming so everything was decorated in a tiki theme and students were dressed for pajama day.  I saw many students, several of which I've been speaking with since their sophomore year so it was nice to see them again.  Now they are seniors and are in the process of applying to Parkside.  It seems like yesterday they were sophomores!

Next was Union Grove and Mr. Hansen had a great group of students who all were Seniors. All had taken their ACT and were already in the process of applying for admission.  We had a great discussion about majors and life on campus.

That night, I had a college fair at Maine East in Park Ridge, Illinois and a student came up to me in a UW-P sweatshirt!  Her brother is a UW-P Baseball player and now she's considering Parkside.  I also met a parent who attended Parkside before we had residence halls - he had some fun stories of UWP "back in the day!" 

I've been traveling with my camera in case I see something interesting during my travels that I can capture to post onto my blogs.  Already into my first week, I haven't been disappointed!

This morning I pulled into Westosha Central in Salem, Wisconsin and was greeted by students dressed in wild and crazy outfits.  This could only mean one thing - it's homecoming week at Westosha High School!  They turned out a large crowd of students for me and a few who were dressed in blue also turned out to be fellow Chicago Cubs fans (I'm a Parkside Rangers fan first, but I'm also a die hard Cubs fan too). 

Later today I visited Prairie School in Wind Point, Wisconsin (north Racine).  Prairie School is a gorgeous school situated on a beautiful winding road that goes along the Lake Michigan shoreline.  I arrived early, and it was such a beautiful day.  I decided to take the road a mile north to the Wind Point Lighthouse - and to my surprise found that it is currently getting a face-lift! 

You can see the pictures of my adventures from today in my album. 

See you on the road,

~ Nicole

Road Tunes & "My Voice"

Between high school visits and college fairs, I spend a lot of time in the car.  Sometimes I'm in remote areas that have little or no selection in radio stations.  Wondering what's playing on my iPod? Check out my bookmarked songs on the left margin of my weblog!

Also - I have a feature on my blog where you can click on an audio player and it will read my blog to you.  Unfortunately, the feature does not allow me to choose a female voice.  I've had a couple friends email me and say, "that doesn't sound like you?!"  So, no - that is not me talking... In "real life" I don't sound like a male robot! LOL!

See you on the road,

~ Nicole

Admissions Counselor, Road Warrior.

Last week while I was at Wilmot High School, a father said, "do you do this for a living?  This looks like fun!"   I said, "yes, I love what I do, it's a rewarding career!"  He had lots of questions about the daily life of an Admissions Counselor.

So I thought before we "hit the road," I'd talk about what role an Admissions Counselor plays in helping you through the college admission process.

In short, our mission is to keep you and your family, informed about all things Parkside - and make you comfortable with our campus so you can make the best decision to see if we are the best fit for you. Any questions you have we are here for you.

How do we do this?

In the fall and spring, we are road warriors, that visit high schools by day, and college fairs by night.  We work open house and special college fair programs on many weekends. When we are on-campus we meet with students and their families for counseling appointments.

We are always armed with our laptops, cell phones, business cards and UW-Parkside literature - which is tightly packed into our rolling suitcases. 

Our staff of counselors travel throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, eastern Minnesota and eastern Iowa to meet prospective students  and their families to share the opportunities that await them at UW-Parkside. I, along with our other “on the road” counselors; Cassie, Desmar, Jessica and Joel, each have a territory of approximately 75-80 high schools that we visit once between the months of mid-September through early December, and between February and May. Students who are interested in Parkside usually get passes to visit with us and we discuss how to apply for admission, the programs they are interested in, life on campus, etc. In the evenings during the fall and spring, we have college fairs that we attend, where students have access to hundreds of college reps in one location.

When we are in-office we schedule appointments with students and their families. Sergio is our “in house” counselor, and does lots of appointments and coordinates special programs for new students once they are admitted.

Finally, we plan special visit opportunities such as UW-Parkside Experience Days in the fall, Spring Preview Days, and other special open-house related programs. Each of us has special programs we manage as well, like our Campus Ambassadors, who you will meet if you go on a campus tour during the academic year or attend a special visit day on campus.

So now you have a little peek into the life of all of those Admissions Counselors who you're going to meet this fall.   Just remember - we are here to help you, and never be afraid to contact us for any questions you have.

See you on the road,

~ Nicole

What a way to kick-off the season!

Where in the world was I this last week? 

Clue: It has a "Mountain" and is home to The Kenosha County Fair!

This week I had my first event at Wilmot High School at their first annual Panther Fest. The event was a mini-college fair with workshops and culminated in a college admissions panel.  The turnout for the event was AMAZING, Mr. Reynolds and the entire counseling staff did an amazing job organizing and publicizing the event!  We talked to Freshmen through Seniors and their parents.  It was impressive to see the large turnout of Freshmen and Sophomores coming out to talk with us and learning what they need in order to prepare for college and formulating their 4-year college plans.   Parkside had one of the busiest tables there and we almost ran out of materials!

Our Campus Ambassador Carly Surber-Ravnikar, who's also a 2003 grad of Wilmot and senior at Parkside, joined me at Panther Fest.  It was a blast for both of us to speak with prospective students.  Being from Wilmot, she knew tons of people and it was fun to watch her former teachers and counselors run up to her, give her hugs and welcome her back.  The Hess family (my roommate 's family from when I was a student at UW-P) came with their youngest daughter, because she is now considering UW-Parkside.  It was such a fun night and a great way to kick-off the fall season! 

Next week I officially embark on what many admission professionals call "the fall recruiting circuits," which are series of high school visits, and nightly college fairs.   I’ll be blogging weekly “from the road,” to talk about important college planning tips and time-lines so you can stay on track with your college planning. I’ll also be posting some fun pictures from my travels and our recruiting events on campus.

Visit often, shout out some comments and feel free to drop me an email for any questions you have at leipski@uwp.edu .

See you on the road!

~ Nicole

 

My Mission, My Life, My University.

“Make your life a mission, not an intermission.” 

...is a quote from American psychologist Arnold Glasgow and you’ll find that thought at the bottom of all my emails under my name and contact information.  I love that quote because it reminds us to live life to the fullest, with meaning and purpose. 

Helping students discover UW-Parkside and assisting them through the admission process has been my mission since 1999.   I love my career as an Admission Counselor, but my connection to UW-Parkside goes back a bit earlier.

UW-Parkside has played a big role in my life.  I’m a proud ’98 alumna (B.A. in Communication and Psychology), I got to Parkside by way of transferring from College of Lake County in Illinois.

While at Parkside I met life long friends and had experiences that I always look back and smile upon.  Many of my mentors are from UW-Parkside and through it's connections.  I had an amazing internship experiences with the Mayor's Office of Kenosha and with the HR Office at Six Flags Great America, a volunteering experience I will always cherish with Kenosha Safe House, a great student job with UW-P Precollege Programs, and the student activities/leadership opportunities that were granted to me were immeasurable - and I feel all these experience would not have been given to me if I attended a much larger institution.

When I get together with old roommates we talk about "our adventures," res. hall pranks and professors that we still keep in contact with to this day.  I've added some Parkside pics from "back in the day" in my album here in my blog. (Warning: of the mid-90's fashion is scary.).

I met my husband at Parkside. Christopher (B.S. Political Science, '00) is a sales rep. for Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals and is a Captain in the Wisconsin Air National Guard at the 128th Air Refueling Wing in Milwaukee.

We have a 1 ½ year old daughter who’s Ranger Bear’s biggest fan. 

UW-P has given our family so much. I’m honored to share Parkside with prospective students and to give back what I can. Without UW-P, I wouldn’t have had the family or career that I have today. It is amazing how one place can change a person’s life.

So now you know a little about me, my family and how UW-Parkside played a role in my life. 

Next time I blog from the road, we'll talk about what an Admission Counselor does, and what our role is in helping you get the know The U!

See you on the road!

~ Nicole

PS: To any UW-P friends/roommates, if you have any old pics of us from the "old days", email them to me so I can add them to my weblog album!