Bow Tie Friday and Holiday Festivities

This past Friday is a date that will live forever in the hearts of the Stonehill Community. A lasting tradition was started, friends were made, and admissions cleaned house at the Christmas Party Raffle. On this special day there was one thing that made the holiday party extra special, there was one thing that brought the entire Stonehill Community together and made each Stonehill staff member believe in the magic of Christmas, if only for a moment. My friends, this one thing is BOW TIE FRIDAY.

Sam Smith Associate Dean, bow tie enthusiast

Now, you may be asking: Evan, I’m already on the edge of my seat, this tradition seems life changing and instrumental in the struggle for world peace, how can I participate?

Well wait one second there whipper snapper, why don’t we gather around the fireplace and I’ll tell you a little something about the long storied tradition of Bow Tie Friday.

Bow Tie Friday Begins

It all started way back in the dark ages when no one wore bow ties. Times were tough. Then people wore bow ties for awhile in the 70s and things were good. Bow ties faded out but made glorious sporadic appearances throughout North America. During this time bow ties still held a strong following among English gentlemen and Biology professors, often accompanied by a tweed jacket. (Reader disclaimer: This short history of bow ties may not be entirely historically accurate.)

That brings us to present day. I had been keeping tabs on the original bow tie Friday, started by a colleague, via twitter. Drew Millikin (a.k.a. the bowfather) held up the tradition strong and proud. I had been talking it up around our admissions office for awhile, and it was time for the first step of expansion: I wore a bow tie to work last Friday. Then it all snowballed into this:

The Donahue Hall folks

Notice we do not discriminate, all are invited to join in the bow tie love. This Friday also happened to be our Employee Christmas Party. To quote Stonehill President Fr. Cregan addressing the large crowd:

“We are a young college and new traditions are what keep us going. The admissions office has started a new tradition, and will all members of the office participating please stand up and be recognized.”

This quote may not be word for word, but that is what the sentiment was (and all I remember). I also remember an inspiring round of applause, the loudest of which was saved for Tony. Tony has been a custodian in Donahue Hall for 20 years now, everyone knows Tony and his willingness to participate really got everyone excited.

Tony, willing to particpate

Imagine that, being recognized by the President of the college, in front of everyone at the Christmas party. This was only our first attempt as a group wearing bow ties, imagine what could happen after some practice! I think the obvious overarching theme of Bow Tie Fridays is that anything is possible… even world peace.

To answer your original question, reader, to participate just grab a bow tie, throw it around your neck, get on YouTube to figure out how to tie it and BAM! You’re in. Just make sure it’s Friday.

Admissions News: This is what you’re really here for right? The Admissions office will be slowing down over the holidays, but certainly not stopping. We’re working hard reading some great EA applications, expect to hear something in mid-January.

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

For more media from Bow Tie Friday check out Facebook

If you can't get enough Bow Ties, here a video of BT1 (Bow Tie Week 1) to hold you over until Friday YouTube

As always, get the latest Stonehill Admissions news on Twitter

Chugging along...

Can you say busy?

We're in full swing with Early Action and just starting to receive all of the information from students applying Regular Decision. Need less to say, Christmas shopping has taken a back seat for me. I have a feeling I'll be one of those crazy people buying gifts on December 24th!

Just a quick note to address some concerns over Early Action and Early Decision notification letters: Due to a large volume of applications from a very competitive pool of candidates, we are working hard to send out decisions as possible. If your application is complete, you should be hearing from us soon! If your application is incomplete, please look for correspondence about your missing transcripts, recommendations, test scores, etc. so we can review your application as soon as possible.

And on a random note, enjoy these winter photos from around campus! Yeah!

Christmas Tree with "presents" on campus

Taking a break from reading applications to stop at Dunkin Donuts. Mocha latte and peppermint donut...mmmm

Donahue Hall after the first snowfall of the year


Admissions Staff Members (from left) Jacinda, Shamika, Eric, Evan and Andrew take a stroll around campus

Hello Blog World

This is my first entry in our Stonehill Counselor’s Blog, and judging by the time of year I bet you think this will be about reading applications and the whole process…WRONG.

Since it is my first blog it has got to be something fun and interesting….something that will make you want to tune in next week.

What could be so powerful, special, and exciting that each of you will follow my blog religiously from this point forward? I’ll tell you what: MR. STONEHILL

Conor Nordengren '10 making his parents proud

That’s right, Mr. Stonehill, if you’ve been on a tour of campus or spoke with a Stonehill student they probably talked about it. Mr. Stonehill is a glorified male beauty pageant….but make no mistake about it, we aren’t dealing with the Moms from “Toddlers and Tiaras” (no I do not watch the show...). This competition is not meant to be taken too seriously. All of the contestants have a great time, a lot of laughs and a lot of smiles.

Fourteen of Stonehill's finest young men, took part in the competition. The judges included officers from every class, a few others from the Stonehill community, and our very own Andrew Leahy. Our Senior Admissions Counselor extraordinaire is not just a compassionate,intelligent member of our Stonehill Admissions team- he is also a fantastic judge of talent (and I’m not just saying that because Andrew is my boss…)

I hear he accepts Mr. Stonehill bribes (cash or money order)

Four of our Student Ambassadors took part in the competition and did an awesome job. Clenton McArthur '10, or should I say his brother "Clenny Kravitz", performed a great rendition of ‘American Woman’.

Other notables included Jay Ardizonni '11 performing the vampire musical from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and the Tiger song Ed Helms sings in "The Hangover", and Randy Jose '12 absolutely killing it performing a Michael Jackson dance tribute, the crowd rose for a standing ovation after the performance. And I have to give props to our Student Ambassador Tim Cushing '10 for doing a great all around job (or he will keep bugging me about it).

Alas, in the end the deserving winner was Joey D’agostino '10 who performed some great magic, and was a crowd favorite in the swimsuit portion of the competition rolling through on his skateboard with lights all over him. The lights somehow made their way into the formal wear segment of the program.

Well, now devoted followers, that wraps up my wrap up of Mr. Stonehill. It was a lot of fun, everyone had a great time. All of the contestants did a fantastic job performing. I think this video of Conner speaks for itself.

If you are interested in any other media from the event check out Facebook

Also, don't forget, for all the latest admissions news check us out on Twitter