New Kids on the Block

I’ll admit it, I was a huge NKOTB fan when I was in kindergarten, but this blog entry has nothing to do with the infamous early 90’s teen group. My title refers to the feeling of being the “New Assistant Dean on the Block.” Being a novice to any situation is always challenging, but luckily for me the Admission Office hired four new Deans at the same time. Instead of being the only person fumbling to find the right conference room, jamming the fax machine, and falling for the new person pranks, we are all going through the training experience together. Getting to know these well qualified and interesting people has calmed my nerves about starting a brand new job and provided solidarity in wrapping our minds around the day-to-day operation that is the William & Mary Office of Undergraduate Admission.

However, this comforting and supportive group has proven to only take me so far in my learning process. In all honesty, it feels as though I am a freshman all over again! Just as a new W&M student must learn what abbreviations such as CW, UC, MP, CC, and the Caf mean when translated into the Queen’s English, I too have had to walk around with a pen and notebook writing down words to reference later. The Deans here are so well versed in the Admissions underworld that they tend to speak in an acronym infused language I have not yet begun to decipher. Long hours spent together in committee and years of experience under each of their belts have created words which I am positive are not in any version of Webster’s.

For example, “a rec” in Admissions lingo is actually a good thing! It clearly means letter of recommendation, not a disaster that a perspective student might have endured. In Admission talk, ED is not a man’s name, rather a short term for Early Decision, the application process that we use to accept students early who really know W&M is the place for them. In the language of Admissions Deans, NACAC is not a disease sweeping through the southern hemisphere; rather it is the National Association of College Admission Counselors. Of course! Leg…you say its part of your body? Wrong, newbie! A leg is obviously an applicant whose mother or father attended W&M. Jeesh!

Clearly, I have some learning to do. The bright side to my steep learning curve seems to be that even though I might be the only one who is brand new to higher education out of our four new Deans, at least I am in this with a group of people who will be with me “Step-by-Step.” Hey! Maybe there was something about NKOTB in this entry after all!

– Amanda Norris