Ray Diffley
Director of Admission
Choate Rosemary Hall, CT
Member of AISAP Board of Directors
This summer when good friends joined up for some R&R we got to
talking about kids, life & school. One of our friends (spouse of an
Admission Director) said something that perhaps we all think about but
I’m not sure say out loud: will kids (meaning teenagers) ever work a
day in their lives (think of the old concept of summer jobs) before
they actually have a job? " Great question," I thought, "I must make
this a blog post and explore."
What she meant was: is every
summer for teenagers now filled with (altruistically wonderful of
course) adventures helping less fortunate people, or on Wall Street or
in some really interesting corporate environment? Or how about the kids
who never stop going to school: summer work at Stanford, Harvard,
courses online and beyond? While I hear college admission officers
grumble at how all these kids are doing these "extravagant service trips
and internships," the fact is they are still doing them, and I have to
say, there are some incredible experiences out there. Yes, some are
resume building, but others are having really interesting,
developmentally wonderful, experiences. I'm even a tad jealous.
We
stumbled on this conversation because, in part, my own child, while on
the cusp of doing one of those neat programs abroad of which I speak,
actually changed course last minute and decided to get a job at Dunkin
Donuts (6 AM to noon shift.) I thought this was great until I realized I
had to drive her for her 6 AM start! And while I was very proud of
her, I was curious to see what the reactions would be from near and far
when we responded to the inevitable question of what our daughter was
doing this summer. I had different responses when asked, but I often
made one comment that went right to parents' hearts…their checkbook. I
said it may not look as "interesting" on a resume, but it kept her from
asking me for a penny all summer. Actually, it might look good on a
resume if the admission officer is a parent of a teenager!
What
does this have to do with assessment you ask and why am I telling this
story? Well, if one of the realities of working these days is
collaboration, teamwork and getting along, it might be of some value to
do so in an environment that provides no sugar coating or fanciness, and
provides direct contact with the "American consumer." So while I'm not
so sure a fast food job (or the like) is the answer to building a
collaborative nature or spirit, I sure like the question: will students
ever work a day in their lives, before they work for the rest of their
lives? And does it matter?