I’ve written several times here about the power of enthusiasm. When you legitimately enjoy what you’re doing and you put real energy into it, your passion is obvious. And contagious. A college admissions officer may not know or care at all about the tuba. But there’s a good chance she’ll be engaged by the applicant who absolutely cannot get enough of playing his tuba in the marching band.
Katie Konrad Moore in our Bellevue office is a huge college nerd—a term of endearment within the Collegewise walls. She never, ever gets tired of learning about or discussing colleges. I sent her an email today and got the following out-of-office-reply, shared here with her permission:
Hi, and thanks for emailing!
I'll be out of the office Wednesday and Thursday visiting beautiful Whitman College. Fun facts about Whitman:
1. Whitman sends a box of Walla Walla sweet onions to every first year student. Seriously!
2. I've sent two students to Whitman, one of which is featured in the style column here. (He wore shorts and t-shirts every day in high school, too, and was the author of one of my all-time favorite college essays.)
3. Whitman is known for its exceptional Outdoor Program.
4. Ducks are big at Whitman. There's a duck pond called "Lakum Dukum" and they celebrate "Duck Fest," where students produce duck artwork. I don't really get it, but maybe I will after my visit.
5. Whitman is the 116th college I will have visited.
Anyway – I won't have access to email while I'm gone, but I will be sure to respond to your email when I'm back in the office on Friday.
Best,
Katie
A person receiving this reply may not share Katie’s insatiable appetite for college knowledge. That’s OK. She’s not trying to appeal to anyone else. She’s just being her authentic self. And the people who are likely to respond to that level of college enthusiasm will know they’ve found the right counselor.
Students, if you’re spending your time doing something that could inspire you to write an auto-reply like this, you’re definitely on the right track to being a productive, happy and successful college applicant.