Lisa Endlich's Blog, page 402
March 30, 2017
How to Land a Job or Internship Out of College: 5 Secrets
This is the time of year when Juniors and Seniors are focused on getting a summer internship or job after graduation. Campus recruiters may have come in the fall to hand-pick a few candidates but many students are still looking for work. Common questions asked of me are, “What does it take to get hired?” or “What do other students have that I don’t?” Some students think their GPA is not high enough. Others are worried that they are not good enough or not graduating from a “top” school.
Freshman Orientation and Our Disastrous Road Trip Home
It was the perfect plan. In fact, I used the word “seamless” to recap the first leg of my journey to the University of South Carolina (USC) for freshman orientation with my son, Mac.
So, really, I jinxed myself right there. If this was a movie, the ominous music would signal I had sealed our fate
Dun, dun, dun…
Drive time to USC is a little over 7 hours from the old homestead, totally doable. However, the orientation schedule indicated a 5 pm end time. After a day trekking around campus, I w...
College Rejection Letter: How to Deal With “No”
I know from the subject line that the email is about disappointment.
“Our First No,” it reads. It’s from a mom whose son is in the midst of getting his college notifications. For the last five years, I have spent part of each year as a college essay advisor, assisting high school seniors on crafting their college admission essays. I work with kids who are fortunate enough to have parents that can pay me. I also volunteer at local high schools and for organizations for students whose parents c...
March 28, 2017
Two Secrets to a Successful College Interview
There are two key concepts that are critical to the success of your college interview, and yet most people don’t know them. They’re really quite simple.
The first concept is that the interview is about you! Later I’ll discuss why you are being interviewed and what the interviewer is looking for, and you’ll see that no matter what is going on, the whole process is about you. As the interviewer meets with multiple candidates and the admissions committee members consider thousands of applicants,...
Why I’m Thankful My Parents are Overprotective
Last week I was out until 9 PM, I went to the nail salon and did a little shopping. This is how my normal conversation with my mom went that evening:
6:00 PM I’m headed to a few stores and may get my nails done.
Ok, be careful. Let me know when you get home.
8:30 PM Are you home yet?
Not yet, I am headed there now.
Ok, text me when you get home.
9:00 PM I’m home
Ok, thanks for letting me know. I love you!
I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m 28 years old, married with a one year old and I live i...
March 27, 2017
6 Things You Should Never Do as the Parent of a College Kid
As a parent, I know how hard it can be to let go and allow our children to manage the bumps and bruises of life. I wish I could protect my daughter from every difficulty and shield her from every hurt. However, as a higher education professional, I know that I can’t, and shouldn’t, parent with that as my priority.
In my work, I see the effects of hyper-involved parents who have been more concerned with preparing the path for their child than with preparing their child for the path. Their par...
March 25, 2017
My Son’s Classmate Grew Up to Be a Killer
From the moment Darren was born, I tried to keep him safe and teach him right from wrong. Then his classmate pulled out a crossbow. Darren was only two when his father and I divorced. My ex and I shared custody but we didn’t like each other much. We married young and soon grew apart as we discovered how different we were.
Bob liked cars and scuba diving, interests I did not share. I liked books and outings with friends, while he preferred his record collection. Somewhere in those years, love...
March 24, 2017
The Gift, My Friend, is the Conversation
We met in college and spent four years travelling in the same circle of friends. Years later we reconnected over the loss of an infant. A condolence call was placed and so began a dialogue that has continued unabated for twenty-seven years. Neither one of us remembers much of the substance of that first conversation, but we do remember that, at a point in time, when laughs were hard to come by, we made each other laugh.
The phones we used have changed over time; landlines to portable phones,...
My Parents Didn’t Love the Man I Brought Home: What Happened Next
It was the very first moment of the new year. I stood under the shattered light of the disco ball as Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” played. The ball had dropped, Auld Lang Syne had been sung and now Dexy’ ditty was the theme tune for couples all over the dance floor to start kissing.
I was about to leave, having noticed my two girlfriends had found partners to smooch. Then he was there,”Happy New Year?” he offered and leant down to give me a kiss.
I was 17, he was 25.
He had a job...
March 23, 2017
The Five Stages of College Admissions: Getting Close to the Final One
If you’ve ever taken a Psychology class, you probably have at least a vague memory of the Five Stages of Grief. Known as the Kübler-Ross model, and introduced by Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, it offers a series of emotional stages experienced when someone faces an impending death.
It suddenly dawned on me this weekend, as the parent of a child mere weeks from making a final decision about college, that these stages are entirely appropriate for the whole college applicati...
