mrs-roboto's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everything I Could Have Hoped For So where to begin...... The anniversary was lovely. The cabin sat at the end of a long, dirt road on the banks of a river. The hot tub looked out on that very same river and was cradled by snowcapped mountains. There was Shiraz and chocolate covered strawberries and smoked cod from Whole Foods. We took long soaks and luxurious naps and hikes in the woods. In fact, we were so enchanted by Mt. Hood that we rented a cabin for the 4th of July weekend and we are looking into possibly returning next New Years to check out the skiing. Sunday evening I was snapped back into reality. I was just hours away from the interview. I rehearsed answers to questions yet to be posed. I tried on my suit. I fussed with my hair. I fidgeted. I drank wine to calm my nerves and then somewhere around midnight, I fell asleep. I woke at 5:30 the next morning and rushed off to the gym. I ran as hard as I could. Then I biked till my legs ached. Then I did a few stretches, prayed that I had beaten back the stress, and headed home to dress. I was prepared for the worse; a run in my stockings, uncooperative hair, a sudden explosion of pimples but for some reason, the gods decided to cut me a break and I avoided all of those scenarios. I was able to pull it all together and I actually looked pretty good (except that I sort of reminded myself of my mom back in the 80's when she was an executive at one of the old blue chips, minus the shoulder pads of course). I went to my office to kill time before the interview but I was worse than useless. I basically sat at my desk, surfing the internet for tips on graduate school interviews. Tip number one, take the first AM appointment. It will cut your available worry time down. 1:30 finally rolled around and I took a cab up to the university. I had considered taking the bus but it's a nutty bus and I thought I'd lose it if some crazy decided to chat with me. I arrived at the building with ten minutes to spare and headed for the restroom for a little last minute make-uping. There I ran into another woman who was applying for the program. We comiserated for a bit and then headed in together. The interview, as I mentioned was twofold. The first part consisted of a one-on-one interview and the second, a group project. The one-on-one interview (which was with a program director and a board member) went swimmingly. When asked the first question (listing my leadership skill set) I gave what I thought was a pretty mean run down of my positive attributes. When I finished speaking, the board member stepped in and said "You forgot one thing, you are a powerful writer. This is an excellent essay, the best I have read this year." Holy cow! Did he just really say that? It was just the confidence boost I needed. From that point on, it was smooth sailing. In the group project we (myself and three other potential students) were given a trying situation and asked to role-play while the program director and board members observed. We needed to find a solution for motivating a Board of Directors. I took Ethel A's suggestion and volunteered to record notes as well as participate and girl, I owe you a drink. I was really able to show a talent for listening and interpreting and then guiding peoples ideas towards a coherent plan. Not to toot my own horn, but I shined. After the exercise we did a debrief and the other students all mentioned how much they liked my solution and how well I had incorporated everyone's thoughts into something tangible. You see, I do a bit of this in my current position and we have actually faced this exact situation at my organization. I guess I had an advantage. So you know how sometimes you walk away from an interview thinking about what you'd change or do differently? In this situation I wouldn't change a thing. I gave the best I had and I feel great about it. If I don't get into the program, it wasn't for not trying. I arrived home to roses and calamari salad and congratulations from Pete (also the Degrassi Jr. High DVD's - woohoo). Sometimes all the planets align and the sun shines down on your shoulders and you feel so happy your heart may burst. That's what this week has been like. 4:16 p.m. - 2005-03-23 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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