Oh my….how fast the semester has flown by. The week that we
have all prepared for is finally here, FINALS!!! I always remember this being
one of the most stressful, but exciting and quite times of the year. Students
all hideaway in their room or crowd the library and fireside lounge to get in
the last minute studying that they can before taking their finals.

So you don’t think this sounds exciting?  Well, I can promise you it is not the
studying, but it is the famous Pancake/Bingo Night! Each week of finals on the
first Monday, our Caf opens at 10:00pm to serve the students pancakes and give
them a break from studying and the famous, Chief Johnson hosts Bingo. I can
assure you this is not your traditional Bingo; it is so much more exciting than
that. Students have the chance to win flat screen TV’s, cash, free parking
passes, Wii, Xbox and so much more. I assure you this is one of the most
exciting times and one of my favorite memories of being a student here at
Gardner-Webb. I am sure that if you decide to come to Gardner-Webb this will be
something you look forward to each semester!

For those of you preparing for finals: “Good Luck and enjoy
BINGO/PANCAKE NIGHT!!!”

EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME!

 Last Thursday, I headed to our Campus Shop to take a quick break and grab a snack. Before I could enter the Campus Shop, I ran into six of my students that I recruited this past fall. They quickly stopped me just to say hello and tell me about their time at GWU. I noticed that each one of them had some sort of milkshake in their hand, so of course I had to ask what they had. They said that it was just another great thing about Gardner-Webb, an Oreo Blast Blizzard. They were shocked and very disappointed that I had yet to have one, and demanded that I have one very soon! While we were standing in the lobby, two other students walked into that building and to my surprise they were also my recruited student. Each one stopped by and we all chit-chatted for a few.

Why do I tell you all of this? Well, this morning, the theme song for
Cheers chorus rang in my mind, “Where Everybody Knows Your Name!” As this year
winds down and you start to make your final decision on what college to go to,
think about the important things that matter to you. Will it make
a difference if you go to a college that has over 10,000 people and you are
just one in a crowd, or are you looking for a place where everybody knows your
name? These things may seem insignificant at the moment, but I can promise you
that it does make a difference. Being at a smaller school allows for others to
get to know you on a more personal level; and I personally could not imagine
working for an institution in which I didn’t know who my students were and couldn’t
call them by name. From my personal experiences while being at Gardner-Webb and
developing relationships, I have had the opportunity to obtain internships,
receive personal letters of recommendations and seek advice and counsel
through personal matters. Do you think that you will ever come across a matter
and you need to seek advice or assistance from someone during your college
experience? If so, do you think that it would be easier if you were at a large institution
or smaller?

I encourage you again to seek out the important things that matter to
you. Are you looking for a place “Where Everybody Knows Your Name”?

This past Saturday we had our 2^nd DAWG Day event for the 2011-2012 school year. DAWG days is a great time to come and visit and see all the great things that the University has to offer. Our day began with Registration in the concourse of the LYCC. Here is a picture of some of the crazy students that may have checked you in:

DAWG day’s consists of a Welcome Session from the President (and a chance to win some great GWU gear or iPod through a raffle), Campus Tours, Student/Parent Sessions, and a Faculty Fair. We always wrap the fall semester DAWG Day’s up with given you and your guest tickets for dinner in our Caf and to our Football game. We definitely have a great spirit when it comes to our athletic teams. I was a little late arriving to the game, and as I was walking towards the field, I heard a lot of commotion from our side of the bleachers. There were bells ringing, blow horns and people just a screaming. I could not wait to get to the game, because I knew that the sound coming from our side meant that we obviously were winning. To my surprise, when I arrived, I realized that we were not winning and was actually a little behind. Unfortunately, our Runnin’ Bulldogs did not receive a win at this game, but I was pleased with their hard work and effort that they put forth on the field. What I was most pleased with though, was the support from the students, faculty and staff, parents and alumni. No matter where we were in the game, the crowd continually went wild and cheered on our team. I thought about this a lot and realized that this is such a great example of what Gardner-Webb is always about. No matter what you are facing, struggling with or whatever the situation may be, here at Gardner-Webb you always find support and someone cheering you on as you continue to push hard. Our students, faculty, staff and President are here to help and encourage you along the way. This is the best place to be and I am confident that you will receive the same encouragement if you choose to attend GWU!

Our prospective students are even involved in supporting and helping GWU.  I had the opportunity to oversee the Student Panel at DAWG Days. Our current students were sharing about what events and things there are to do at GWU. Our students explained to the prospective students about how they were trying to get Need to Breath to come to GWU. In order to get them here, our students needed help with tweeting @needtobreath please come to @the gardnerwebb #gwusecretshow. We received so much support from our prospective students; check out their picture of them tweeting!

We still need your help so go ahead and tweet @needtobreathe asking please come to @thegardnerwebb #gwusecretshow

Traveling to places is such a great opportunity. I really enjoy being able to drive to new areas and see all the different sites that other states have. I just returned from traveling from South Carolina and Tennessee, and in just one week I will be Virginia bound! Typically, Admissions counselors travel alone when we head to different states for college fairs, so you have to find something to keep you occupied to pass time. I find myself gazing around at my surroundings or simply jamming out to my favorite tune, until I realize that the people in other cars are staring at me (but hey, it makes time go by fast)!

This week while I was traveling to Tennessee, I really had the opportunity to embrace God and realize how much he loves me. I must admit I am a beach bum, but there is just something about mountains that makes me realize that God is so real. As I was driving along the winding roads it was as if I was viewing a maculate painting that someone spent hours on end creating; and just to think that God simple spoke and everything was there amazes me! The mountains are breath taking and to see all the colors changing on the leaves and feel the cool air, there’s a special warmth that comes over me. We are
truly blessed that God would make something so beautiful for us! Here is a
quick pick that I took while on my way to Tennessee.

The college search has begun! This week I had the opportunity to attend some local fairs in Cleveland County, NC, and I am so excited about the interest in GWU that we received from prospective students. I know that the college search can be very overwhelming, so I wanted to leave you all with some tips and questions to ask the college reps from those schools you are interested.

Tips

Tip #1: Apply early. Some schools offer early Admissions and scholarships and you don’t want to miss out on any of these.

Tip # 2: Visit, Visit, Visit.  Start with your top five and then visit your top three again. Get involved with the campus as much as you can, sit in on college class and stay overnight in the dorms; by all means, you are planning to spend your next four years there, right? So, picture yourself in that classroom, dorm or stadium, cheering on your favorite athletic team.

Tip #3: Enjoy your friends, but don’t let them determine your decision. Trust me, you will meet so many new people in college and after the first semester you will feel like you have known them all your life. As I mentioned this tip to a group of 10 seniors and their parents, the parents mentioned that out of all their close friends that they hung out with in High School, they may only still talk to one, if that many. So, don’t let your friends determine your college decision, go to the school that is the best fit for you!

Tip #4: Talk with your parents about what you want & what they want. I remember when my parents weren’t cool; they didn’t know what they were talking about. They always thought they knew what was best for me. Come to find out, they were RIGHT! Family is your best resource, they are the ones that love you the most and want what is best for you. Be open to hear what they have to say and vice versa. <-Insert shout out->Here is where I send a big THANK YOU to my parents, Johnny & Dana Langley, for always having my back, giving me the best advice and encouragement to always believe in myself. I love you BOTH immensely!

Questions to ask your College Rep

1. What majors/minors does your institution offer?
2. What is the cost of Tuition, Room & Board?
3. What is the average class size?
4. How many students attend your University?
5. Are there opportunities to study abroad?
6. What scholarships are available?

Good Luck in the college search! I hope to see you on campus and answer any of these questions for you about GWU!

KP

Thought I would share one of my favorite songs with you all! This Is Your Life, by Switchfoot. This song reminds me that I have a choice to make the decisions in my life and helps keep me in check with myself; Am I living the life that is pleasing to Christ, my family and myself?

It’s that time of year where representatives from colleges begin loading up their cars and head to your high school and local college fairs! I think this is one of the most exciting times in Admissions. I enjoy speaking with students and making contact regarding the Admissions process, but it’s even better when I can talk with students face-to-face about the great things at GWU! Being an alum of GWU, I have a personal testimony about my experience here. While here at GWU, I had the opportunity to form a personal relationship with my professors; they were not only my “teacher”, but they were family! Several professors of mine invited our class over to their homes for pizza parties and cookouts. This was a great opportunity to learn more about my classmates and professors, and although there were no lectures given at the parties, I still learned from my time at their homes. There were also several clubs and organizations that I was able to get involved in; SIFE, Intramurals, Math Club, Small Groups, and FOCUS, are just a few to name. My favorite memory about GWU was pitching a tent outside of Bost gym, and camping out all weekend with some of the greatest hall mates. See our Men’s Basketball team had just beat Kentucky (Victory!) and this earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament. GWU students were given the opportunity to purchase tickets, hotel and travel to NYC to cheer on our guys, for only $25. Of course tickets were limited, so we had to be first in line to guarantee we would receive ours. On Friday evening, we rushed to Wal-Mart, purchased a tent and moved (almost) everything from our dorm to our tent, since we would be living there until Monday morning. Our tent was 5^th in line, and after cheering on our guys and visiting NYC (for the first time), I would admit that the freezing weather that we camped in, was well worth it! There are so many more great things about GWU and I would love to share them all, so start looking for GWU to show up at your school or at your local college fair. See below to find out where I will be traveling this year:

9/6-9/11: NC CACRAO

9/6:       (8:15-9:15am) East Rutherford High School

(10am-10:45am) Chase High School

(1-2pm) RS Central High School

(6:00-7:00pm) Cleveland Community College

9/7:       (7:00-8:30pm) Lincoln Citizens Center

9/11:     (1-4pm)  UNCC-Barnhardt Student Activity Center

9/26-9/29: SC CACRAO

9/26:     (8:30-9:30am) Irmo High School

(10-11am) Dutch Fork High School

(11:30am-12:30pm) Chapin High School

9/27:     (8am-2pm) USC Coliseum

9/29:     (8:30am-9:40am) Batesburg-Leesville High School

(10:10-10:45am) White Knoll High School

(11:10-11:50am) Gilbert High School

(2:30-3:20pm) Lexington High School

10/3-10/4: TN TACRAO

10/3      (9-11am) Carson-Newman

(6-8pm) Oak Ridge High School

10/4      (9-10:45am) Hall High School

(11:45am-1:15pm) Knoxville Catholic High School

(1:55pm-3:30pm) Webb School of Knoxville

(6:30-8:30pm) Farragut High School

10/16-10/18: VA CACRAO

10/16    (7:30-9:30pm) Fair Oaks Mall

10/17    (7-9pm) Hayfield Secondary School

10/18    (10:30am-12:30pm) NOVA-Woodbridge

(7-9pm) TC Williams High School

Hope to see you there!

-KP