In the week when the University of Washington (UW) sent out its many rejection letters to freshmen, there were only a select few who were accepted. Ironically, this select group might not decide to be Huskies.
My job was to convince the future Nobel Prize winners, premiere artists, new-century biotechnologists, and world-renowned architects to choose the UW.
Many of them were also accepted at other top-notch schools in the country. In this competitive world, if the UW wants to have the cream of the crop, it better do more than send out acceptance letters.
Hosted by the Graduate School and Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP), I was invited to speak to more than 200 prospective students. I got my master of arts degree in 1979.
I walked into the UW Club and saw plenty of food placed on the table, including yummy brownies. Hey, I don’t remember the UW luring me with brownies in my grad days. The orientation was much more organized than I expected. There was a special session called Survival Tips for Students of Color: Hearing it from Faculty.
I don’t know whether I succeeded in luring in students. Apparently, the students who came have already been leaning toward the UW. All I did was reaffirm what they have been hearing about my alma mater. ♦