A Bryn "Mawrter" Kind of Day

A few weekends ago, I took a break from crazy NYU life and was able to reminisce about my Bryn Mawr days. Bryn Mawr hosted an open house for prospective students a few weekends ago, and I was asked by my good friend and admissions officer to participate as a panelist and alumnae interviewer. As  soon as she asked, without even thinking, I replied "yes."

Maybe this is arrogant of me or even obnoxious, but I love talking about Bryn Mawr. I literally could talk for hours about the college and not get tired of it. I really loved my four years there and I also worked in admissions as an undergrad, so I am pretty knowledgeable about the college. In particular, I love chatting with prospective families and answer their questions.

I remember looking at colleges, and even recently when applying to postbac programs, and it the one thing that sticks our the most is how daunting looking at school is. How can you choose an institution to spend four years of your life? What if you don't like it? What will the academics be like? What is the social life? Lots of questions float around and knowing that anxiety, I really take an interest in calming students and their families down. I try my best to get them excited about Bryn Mawr. I try to be as honest as possible and I make it a priority to relay my personal experiences. I believe that to get to know an institution, while it's vital to talk to admissions, to get the real story, you have to talk to the students. They are the ones that really know the school and can provide a more realistic portrayal.

So, I met up with my friend and admissions officer, "P", as well as other Bryn Mawr alums living in NYC. Some I knew, others I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time. Before the open house, several of us met for brunch at the very adorable "Bluebell Cafe."
293 3rd Ave, between 22nd & 23rd St

I'll admit, I am not a huge breakfast foods person. I mean, I don't mind an omelette or pancakes, but I rally prefer lunch or dinner foods. For this reason, brunch always poses a bit of a conundrum for me. Do I go breakfast or lunch? I usually go with lunch, but deciding is always a struggle. This brunch was no different. After much deliberation, I went with the trio of sliders with fries. I had been craving a burger and fries for a while. It was so delicious! 
Trio of Beef Sliders:
1. Cheddar and Bacon
2. Gruyere and Fried Onions
3. Bleu Cheese and Arugula

While the food was delicious, the conversation was even better. It was nice being able to catch up with friends and reminisce about the college. It was also even more fun to learn what my fellow alumnae were up to. One of my friends is in business, while another one works at the UN. How cool! My favorite part of brunch was gossiping about Bryn Mawr. 

After brunch, we made our way to the Friends Seminary School, the venue for the open house. What a gorgeous school! This is a Quaker school and also a host for Japanese weekend school. I had flashbacks to my youth!
222 E. 16th St

This Bryn Mawr event was incredible. We had about 40 students attend and with their parents, a total of 90 guests. In addition to myself, there were three other alumnae panelists, as well as two current students. What an amazing bunch. As I mentioned earlier, one of my friends is working for the UN, one alum does advertising for Pepsi Cola, whilst the third alum just began her post-doctoral fellowship in neuro-psychology!

I had so much fun learning about the college from other student's eyes, as well as listening to the questions of the prospective families. Mingling with the students afterwards was also lots of fun. Such amazing and intelligent young women! I wish all of the prospective students the best of luck!
Anassa Kata! 
(my green Bryn Mawr lantern)

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