Mark Twain & the Essay

For admission officers fall is travel season and winter is reading season. At Whitman two officers read each application, scrolling through 30-pages on laptops and writing comments on the electronic “vote sheet”. We review apps “holistically”, meaning that we take into account a student’s transcript (curriculum and grades), writings, passions and activities, letters of recommendation and—lastly—test scores.

My favorite part of the application is the Common Application Personal Essay, which gives a student multiple subject options.  An excellent essay makes my day and distinguishes the student from other applicants. I have a file of “essay keepers”, writings that knocked my socks off and that I keep to re-read when times slow down.

Memorable essays are always well-written and can be on any topic. The best ones tell me who the student is, what makes them tick, what they’re passionate about, how they interact with peers, parents and pariahs. Some are humorous (but it takes a talented writer to nail humor), some take a surprising turn, some are heart-felt, some make me shed a tear (but don’t try to make me cry!). Don’t try to impress, just be honest. Don’t tell me what you do unless it explains who you are. Don’t use big words when little words better convey what you have to say. Conciseness trumps verbosity. When in doubt follow Mark Twain’s advice:

“I notice that you use plain, simple language, short words and brief sentences. That is the way to write English….don’t let fluff and flowers creep in. [Adjectives] weaken when they are close together. They give strength when they are wide apart. An adjective, a diffuse, flowery habit, once fastened upon a person, is as hard to get rid of as any other vice.” (Letter to D.W. Bowser, March 20, 1880)

LIBERAL ARTS: WHAT ARE THEY OR WHAT IS IT?

If you’re an accounting major what you study can be defined. Liberal arts is a different animal (and as I type this Word indicates I should be typing liberal arts are). I’ve read a lot of good statements about liberal arts, usually by college presidents who apparently have some need to describe and defend, but for me it’s not about what it is but what it does.

My wife and I have a standing joke: When she asks me something (What’s hirsute mean?) and I provide the answer she says, “How do you know that?” I always reply, as she rolls her eyes, “I went to a liberal arts college.”

I was a good student at a good public high school. At Whitman I became a history major because I fell in love with the study of history. It was about discovery, new ways of looking at old news, considering cultures rather than distilled facts. I became an engaged intellectual, someone interested in ideas.

The residential context of the small, liberal arts college demands interaction with diverse peers who find their own intellectual and activist passions. Late night conversations are the norm. And it’s no surprise that Whitman turns out a disproportionate number of Teach for America and Peace Corps volunteers. The liberal arts is about involvement and engagement, about joyful living and having an impact.

I think of my Whittie friends: Tom, a philosophy major who’s a psychiatrist; Terry, the first of his family to graduate high school, now a PhD physicist; Wendy, a sociology major with a PhD in Italian Lit; Wes, an English major who works as a criminal defense attorney; Evan, my fellow history major, now a journalist.

An admission: I’m the old guy in Whitman’s Admission Office. The above mentioned friends and I graduated from Whitman 43 years ago. We all continue to be passionately involved in our careers, relationships and avocations. Whitman’s liberal arts environment nurtured that.

Hirsute: covered with hair

Making a Difference

Often students wonder what to do during the summer to improve their chances of getting admitted to a selective college. I understand but am mildly aggravated by this preoccupation. Sure, you can find a cure for cancer or save the world from war and famine but you can also spend time with friends, read some books you didn’t have time for during the school year, mow the lawn, paint the trim, get a job, or find a worthwhile volunteer opportunity near your home: One does not need a passport to do community service. Remember the bumper sticker: Think Globally, Act Locally. And if these ideas sound a bit too pedestrian think of the essay you can write: How I Saved the World by Reducing My Carbon Footprint by Riding My Bike to Work/Library/Food Pantry.

Gems in Walla Walla

Unfortunately, as a regional officer, I’m only on campus about five weeks a year. I have my favorite restaurants (Brassiere Four, Clarette’s, the Marcus Whitman Lounge) and scenic drives (Frog Hollow, Lower Waitsburg and Five Mile roads), but a Walla Walla visit isn’t complete without a stop at Klicker’s.

Klicker’s is a family-owned business out Issacs Avenue, about three miles east of campus. Depending on the season it stocks antiques, ice cream, Christmas trees, culinary specialties, and fresh produce (there’s a Klicker Mountain in the Blues where they grow their amazing strawberries). In my most recent visit I picked up a couple bottles of Creamy WallaWalla Onion Dressing and stuffed them in a pair of shoes in my suitcase for the trip back to my Cape Cod home. If I’m lucky enough to be in town in spring the freshly harvested asparagus, at about a dollar a pound, is to die for. And later, cherries, melons, garden vegetables then the July orange mesh bags of Walla Walla Sweet Onions. After Walla Walla produce New England produce produces mild depression.

Reading Season, Regional Variety

I fire up the computer sometime between 6 and 7 each morning—read my overnight email, go upstairs and brew Starbuck’s Sumatra (my older daughter works for Starbuck’s so no whining about corporate coffee, yadda yadda), walk the dog, pick up the two newspapers in front of my house.      Drink the coffee, read my newspapers and then am in front of my two screens about 8 a.m. for a day of reading—vote sheet on the screen to my left, scrolling app directly in front of me.

I do the easy lifting first as warm up: 2^nd reads take 10-15 minutes each and I’m looking to see if the 1^st reader has missed something or if I disagree with the read: sometimes yes, usually no.

The heavy lifting begins. 1^st reads can take over a half-hour. I come at them with a blank slate and scroll through the app with great care, taking notes on scratch paper as I go. I want to know what the student has to say and what the recs say about the student. Most everyone is a good student so what distinguishes this individual? Do they have special talents, intense passions? Will they fit in Whitman’s participatory, collaborative environment? What will they bring to the table and what will they take from the table?

An admission from an admission officer: I sometimes email a student whose app I’ve just read if their writing knocks my socks off. Sometimes they email back, surprised that there’s a human being on the other end of cyberspace. There is.

Meet Bruce!

Name: Bruce J. Jones

College, year, major: Whitman, ’67, History

Grad School, year, degree/concentration: Wesleyan U, ’69, MAT, Urban Education; Cal Berkeley, ’77, Counseling Certificate

Recruitment Territories: New England, South, Southeast

Other Office Duties: Alumni/parent initiatives, fall counselor visits, “yield” events, office edits, college info database updates

Favorite –

Color: Don’t have one

Ice Cream Flavor: Coffee

Book: All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy

Movie: Breaking Away; Open Range

Taco Truck Order: Walla Walla Sweet Onions

Favorite thing about Whitman: Location, location, location

Favorite place to eat in Walla Walla: Creektown Café

Stuff I like to do: Cycle, road and mountain; walk in the woods; drink Walla Walla wines; hold babies; cook; write; putz around the house.