Hi there! Megan Hoinkes here, back from a long absence. Sorry about that. I’ve been busy. Really! Stop judging me. Anyway, I’m here now, enjoying perhaps the greatest thing about Fall. I’m not talking about the changing of the leaves, I’m not talking about busting out my glorious collection of fall sweaters, I’m talking about the joy and happiness that comes from sipping a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  So delicious, so pumpkin-y, so…fall.

Okay, so before I get down to What I Did on Your Summer Vacation, a quick note about Transfer Visit Day.

That’s right, it’s the time again, time for you all you wonderful folks to come to our Fall Transfer Visit Day. It is a great opportunity for students interested in transferring to come check us out. It’s on Saturday, November 7^th at 8:45am and begins in the Lobby of the Wentz Concert Hall and Fine Arts Center.  We’ll start with a meet and greet with faculty, which is great, especially if you want to talk to professors from more than one department. Yes folks, this may be the only time you’ll ever see Biology, Philosophy, Business, and Physical Education faculty all in the same room (in my opinion, it’s worth coming for that alone).  Then we’ll head to Meiley-Swallow Hall for presentations on student activities, admission, and financial aid, and then we’ll send you on a walking tour of campus with some of our great North Central Student Ambassadors. To register, click here.

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get down to it. What I Did on Your Summer Vacation.

Well, in regards to work and North Central, the Transfer Admission staff was busy this summer bringing in the rest of the Transfer class for this fall.  After a long and exciting summer, I’m proud to say this fall we welcomed 266 new transfer students to campus. And when I say ‘welcome,’ I mean it: you might have see us on Transfer Move-In Day wearing those dandy white T-shirts. To the lucky person who I helped bring up her futon mat – you’re welcome. But yes, along with the 522 incoming first year students, this fall’s incoming class was the biggest North Central has ever seen.

We have a lot of great additions this year to academics, including majors in French Education and German Education, and some new changes coming up in different areas all over campus, so this year promises to be just as good (or better) than the last.

Outside of North Central, I had what you might call a Stay-cation. Instead of going away for a few days, I instead took some days and explore what our area has to offer. That’s probably the best part of living in the Naperville area: it’s also the Chicagoland area. And Chicagoland in the Summer = Good.

At North Central we always talk about location, and how nice it is to be near Chicago. Here’s what we’re talking about:

• Sports – Okay, so I’m a Cubs fan. I’m White Sox supportive (when they aren’t playing the Cubs), but I’m a Cubs fan. This summer I went to four Cubs games. From North Central, it is easy to get to Wrigley: One day I left work a little early, walked to the Metra station (about a 5 minute walk from my office in Old Main), took an express train into Union Station, walked to the El, and took it all the way to Wrigley. It was a day game, and I was able to stay for the whole game, grab a meal with a friend, and be back at my car by nightfall. To the CTA, bravo. To the Cubs, well, there’s always next season.

• Festivals – There are a lot of fun and silly festivals in the summer around the Chicagoland area. In Naperville, there are two that are especially fun. RibFest and Last Fling. RibFest, is a battle royale of ribs, with live bands playing and just fun for everyone. Last Fling, while less rib-centric, is just as much fun, with bands and carnival rides, and is on Labor Day weekend (a ‘Last Fling’ before school starts).

• Theatre – Chicago is great for theatre. That’s a fact, don’t even try to contest it. This summer in addition to the lighter fair (looking at you, Legally Blonde: The Musical), some standup comedy (Kyle Cease at Zanies Comedy Club), and some improv comedy (Second City really is great), I saw two other shows that were amazing. First, Million Dollar Quartet, which is about a night when Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins all ended up in a recording studio together. The actors all play their own instruments, and it makes for one rockin’ show. Again, I was able to get there all through the wonder and glory of public transportation. For more info, check here

• Another highlight of my theatre experience this summer also has (surprise!) a North Central College connection. I’m talking about History Boys, playing at the Timeline Theatre. It is a great ensemble show about young men who are trying to get into Oxford and Cambridge. Great show. The show was running for a few months, then got extended and ran for a few months more…then a few months after that.  The show will finally close this week, but not before receiving 5 Jeff Award Nominations (Chicago equity theatre awards, it’s a big deal), including a nomination for Best Ensemble.  I saw this show in part to support my friend Michael Peters who is in the cast, and was happy to see that North Central alum Will Allen was also in the cast. Will just graduated from North Central this spring, and was great in the show.  While I don’t know him personally, I did get to see him in a few shows at North Central, so it was great to see him transition to a professional production. Congratulations to the whole cast. For more information on the TimeLine Theatre and History Boys, click here.

There’s more, but I think you got a little taste of my Stay-cation. Just a few notes to wrap it up:

-The Transfer Staff is back on the road. To see if they’ll be visiting your neck of the woods anytime soon, click here.

-We are still taking applications for the Winter 2010 term at North Central. Please contact your admission counselor or contact 630-637-5800 for more information or apply now.

-We are also now reviewing applications for the Fall 2010 term. For more information, check out the transfer information page, or click here to apply now.

-Don’t forget the Transfer Visit Day! Click here to sign up.

Coming up in my next blog – Giraffes, safaris, and other North Central Adventures.

Until then!
-Megan

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 10:54 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response.