A Short Trip to Chapel Hill

I had been in the middle of writing my full wrap up post from Rome, but I never got around to choosing my best pictures. So it's still sitting in my drafts...

BUT I've been encouraged and asked to blog about my current, albeit short, trip to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. So here goes...

A few months ago, I received an email from a parent volunteer, asking if there was any chance I could come out to North Carolina and speak to the students at Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, and Carrboro High Schools about scholarships.

I was flattered to say the least and excited at the opportunity to share about scholarships with students. So after much planning led by their wonderful parent volunteer, who is an absolutely amazing individual, the College and Career Information Center (CIC) coordinators, and fundraising from the PTSAs of Chapel Hill/Carrboro City Schools, I finally arrived in Chapel Hill this morning after a red-eye flight from Seattle last night.

I've never been to North Carolina before, so this was a neat opportunity to visit the East Coast and share my scholarship tips with students, teachers, and parents. I left Seattle at 10 PM last night and arrived in Washington Dulles around 5:45 AM Eastern Standard Time, so 2:45 AM back in Seattle. After an almost three hour layover in Dulles, I left for Raleigh/Durham and arrived in North Carolina at 9:15 AM EST.

Phew! Needless to say, I didn't sleep much on the plane, and I used some of that time to prepare for my two presentations today--one to the seniors and some juniors at Chapel Hill High School and a second to the parents of students from Chapel Hill, East Chapel Hill, and Carrboro High Schools.

Aileen, the amazing parent volunteer at Chapel Hill High School, picked me up at the airport and, after a quick breakfast bagel, drove me to my hotel. I arrived to find a nice welcome basket, signed "The Scholarship Fairy," whom I figured out was the CIC Coordinator at Chapel Hill High School, Linda. Check it out!

Anyway, the presentations today went very well, and it was great to speak with the students today. It's definitely easier speaking to students because I can connect with them, having been in their shoes only three years ago. Also, they are much more responsive and emotional (which is great for keeping a positive and exciting atmosphere in a large auditorium), whereas talking to parents/adults is a bit more challenging. You can't use quite the same approaches as with high school students.

But overall, I really enjoyed my day today, even with the little sleep I got. I didn't feel too tired, which is good. But more importantly, I enjoyed the opportunity to connect with students, parents, teachers, and counselors who are part of an incredibly supportive community in Chapel Hill. I had some great conversations with both Linda and Aileen today and got to learn a bit more about Chapel Hill and North Carolina.

Tomorrow, I have two more presentations--one each at the other schools. Between them, I'll be having lunch with Aileen at what she said was a great place on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus and then getting a bit of a tour around the area. I can't wait!

Then at 5:15 PM EST, it's back to the West Coast, arriving at 11 PM Seattle time...back to a make-up German 221 test Thursday morning, back to my reading for EURO 301, back to more paper for my Rome study abroad program, and a whole lot more. My brief time in Chapel Hill has been great, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's presentations. Time for bed!