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| I love this shot of some of my graduating girls in the French Quarter. |
Tulane has a way of taking hold of you and never letting go. We get to see this every day in the students we recruit. There really is no better feeling in the world than knowing that we as admission officers get to play even the smallest part in aiding a student to make that final decision to come down to NOLA for college. And knowing that four years later those very kids, who are now all grown up, just experienced some the best years of their life. All of a sudden, Maya Rudolph is singing the national anthem to you at graduation at the Mercedes Benz Superdome, you grab your diploma, and just like that, you have your Tulane degree, four years of the most remarkable memories and friends you could ask for, and one impeccably bright future ahead of you.
This concept has never been lost on me. Two years ago, I blogged about the Circle of Life at Tulane and how it always stays with you no matter how far you go. Even at 32 years old, that still rings true for me. Just this month I got to watch a fraternity brother and his Tulane girlfriend get married in Natchez, MS with a huge group of our friends from college by their sides. Tulane truly is forever, and to get to be there at the onset for the students we recruit is a dream come true. We get to be with them as they start this journey that will last a lifetime.
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| Team Tulane at the wedding. Loren and Jeff both went to Tulane and here we are with a bunch of my Tulane fraternity brothers. Ten years out of college and still going strong! |
So with graduation in the rear-view mirror, I thought I might take a bit of time to show you why this is the best job a guy could ask for. These kids I first met when they were 17-year-old high school juniors and seniors are all grown up. Now that we have officially said goodbye to the class of 2015, let’s take one last look at some of my former “kids,” and where they are today. Here we go!
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| Here is my man Andrew Dowley, who graduated with a BSE in Chemical Engineering and will be working for Schlumberger (oil field services) in their Dynamic Pressure Management group in Texas. I was lucky enough to recruit him from San Diego four years ago! |
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| Brooke and I go way back- I met her over five years ago when she was a senior in high school in Orange County. I'll never forget when she came to the admitted student event her senior year. Even better, Brooke came to the same event with me in the OC years later to help me recruit future students. I'm very proud of Brooke; she's getting a Masters of Science in Public Health in International Health Systems at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. She'll also most likely get a certificate in Vaccine Safety and Policy. |
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| I met Ethyn at Calabasas High School in California his senior year and I've gotten to know him really well over the years. He was a freshman back in the day on my NOLA Experience track (even getting to play on a very neat piano: http://tuadmissionjeff.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-nola-experience-photo-blog.html). He's an exceptionally talented singer and a member of Green Envy, one of our a capella groups. Ethyn's only a junior, but he's secured a Busy Season internship with Ernst and Young here in New Orleans this winter/spring. If all goes well with the internship, he'll be offered a full-time audit position with the firm when he graduates in 2016. |
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| Look how excited Lena and I are for graduation! I met Lena Grossman when she was a high school senior at Beverly Hills High School. She also was one of my rockstar Greenie Camp counselors this past summer. Starting in June, she'll be attending the Columbia Publishing Course at Columbia University in NY. It focuses on all aspects of book, media, and digital publishing. |
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| Here are Piper and Erica, two of my fantastic leaders in our Green Wave Ambassador organization and also interns here in the Office of Admission. And all-around incredible ladies. This fall, they will both be staying here in New Orleans after being accepted into Teach for America. They will teach as a special education teacher and a kindergarten teacher at two charter/community schools here in NOLA. |
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| This is Rachel Garcia, who I will never forget meeting when she was a senior at New Roads School in Santa Monica, CA. I arrived at the high school visit a half hour late (thanks LA traffic!) and she and the rest of the group were so patient with me. It's been awesome to watch her grow at Tulane the past four years. She's officially moved back to Los Angeles and has been offered a position with Iron Mountain in Southern California. She's also moved forward to the second stage with the Page Program at NBC Universal! |
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| Here's Tess! Tess was one of my finest student tour guides. This fall, she's off to teach English in South Korea thanks to a Fulbright grant. She leaves in July for a six week orientation and then will be placed in a home stay and school. What an amazing opportunity! |
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| I'll never forget reading Katie Pearlman's application to Tulane. She'd sent me a recording of her singing a cover of the song Smokey Mountain Memories. It was so fantastic that I brought it straight to the Dean of Admission to play it for him and we admitted her on the spot. I was overwhelmed with pride to get to see Katie perform on stage at the Howlin' Wolf just a few weeks ago during Jazz Fest. She killed it, as usual. Now that she's graduated, Katie is pursuing her dream of being a recording artist. She has a mentor that she's been working with who's been shopping her songs. She's moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles to try and get a publishing deal as a songwriter and to also continue performing. Check her out on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/katie-pearlman. Her song "Finally Free" is my absolute favorite. |
So with that, I bid adieu to my kids-become-adults. I’ll spare you the quotes from Oh The Places You’ll Go and just leave you with the idea that while your four years here may be done, your Tulane adventure has only just begun. I am so proud of you all and so glad that my office got to strike a match to that little Tulane fire, one that will burn with you for the rest of your life. Oh, and need more proof that Tulane is forever? Below is me with Jacob Sotsky. I spent this past weekend with a group of friends in Pensacola Beach and Jacob was there. Why is this significant? Jacob gave a young Jeff Schiffman a tour of Tulane fifteen years ago. That's right... I am still friends with the guy who encouraged me to attend Tulane in the first place.
Tulane is forever? You bet.
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| Jacob and Jeff. |
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