Below the Bishop's Miter

Taking time for Pura Vida

BishopM — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:44:00 GMT

Following the hustle and bustle of file-reading season, coordination of a few accepted student receptions, and two record-setting open houses, I jumped at the first chance to take some time to visit a friend who is halfway through her Peace Corps assignment in Costa Rica. (FYI: In recent history Seattle U has found itself on the "Top 25" list of American colleges and universities with the highest number of alumni currently serving in the corps.) We did some standard tourist stuff-- zip lines, snorkeling, hiking to waterfalls, etc. We also took a couple of days to visit Las Mellizas, my friend's assignment location and a small community of coffee farmers in a rural mountain town about a mile north of the border with Panama. In a place where nobody had heard of Starbucks, the coffee was exquisite. Imagine.

I've returned rested and wiser, eager to convince the admissions team of the untapped potential in my returning to Costa Rican high schools to help bring the Pura Vida spirit to SU.

Some highlights:

Montezuma Sunset

Las Mellizas and surrounding coffee farms

Zip Line Extraordinaires

Flying 600 meters

Trolling the waters of the Pacific

View from the Puntarenas ferry

Juniors! Seattle Spring College Fair is around the bend!

BishopM — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:25:00 GMT

Members of the class of 2009, don’t think we’ve forgotten about you! While it’s true we’re currently spending nearly every waking moment reading and evaluating your senior peers, we want you to start thinking about colleges and the higher education opportunities available to you.

What: Seattle Spring College Fair
When: Saturday, March 15, 2008. 12-3 p.m.
Where: Seattle University. Connolly Center. 14th & Cherry, Seattle, WA 98122.
Why: There will be 130 colleges from around the country with whom you will want to discuss the limitlessness of your future.

Look for the following poster in your high school guidance offices! Tell your friends, family, and like-minded associates!

Questions? Contact me, Matt Bishop, at bishopm@seattleu.edu or 206.296.6971.

The Tune of the Season at Seattle U

BishopM — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:26:00 GMT

I often extrapolate on the virtues of Seattle’s rich music scene; this past week I experienced the strengths of Seattle U’s own music programs.

On Friday, Gwen, Shametrice, and I ventured to the inspiring confines of St. Joseph Church on Capitol Hill to take in A Festival of Christmas, the annual candlelit concert put on by the Seattle University Choirs. The evening incorporated a host of Christmas mainstays—songs like “Silent Night” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”—but the highlight for me were two pieces that closed the show: a soulful gospel tune written by Lee Peterson, SU adjunct professor and choir accompanist, and “Betelehemu,” a traditional Nigerian Christmas song that came alive with drums and shakers galore.

Come Monday evening, I was at the Lee Center taking in the Jazz Band’s Fall Concert.

In its third year and under the leadership of Clarence Acox, a local Jazz legend, the concert was concise but enjoyable. A favorite moment was their rendition of “Sugar Rum Cherry,” a Duke Ellington take on “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

After we in Admissions met with a number of Fine Arts faculty a couple weeks back, seeing these performances only provided further proof that Music (and Fine Arts as a whole) is growing pretty well at SU: degree options are increasing, new facilities are inspiring jealousy around Seattle, and relationships with members of the city’s arts community continue to be strong. (These being relationships that often lead to those ever-important internships or experiences one can put on a resume.)

Some notes I made regarding Music from that recent meeting:

a new Bachelor of Music in String Performance will be offered for fall 2008.
SU has four choirs: Men’s and Women’s chorale, the University Chorale, and the Consort Singers.
music lessons are available for all students in piano, voice, guitar, and string, brass, wind, and percussion instruments.

And, as always, information on Music and all Fine Arts program can be found here:

http://seattleu.edu/artsci/finearts/

Albums to accompany oneself while driving from Montana town to Montana town

BishopM — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:04:00 GMT

Having spent two weeks in September driving through Central and Western Montana as part of a college fair tour, I decided that for my October/November go-round, while visiting high schools from Billings to Kalispell to Missoula (and a number of places in between), I wouldn’t rely solely on the uncertainty of Montana’s radio signals to provide my company. Below are CDs acquired during my travels and thoughts thus related, in no particular order.

Johnathan Rice- Further North. ** An alt-country album I’d hoped would inspire lyrical creativity, it being that when on the road for long periods of time, my musician friends expect me to write more. The album has instead reminded me of the saturation of the singer/songwriter genre and the difficulty of not sounding like every other Dylan fan who has heartbreak to express.

Snow Patrol- Eyes Open. *** During the third verse of “Hands Open” I hear a subtle siren that consistently startled me on each of Montana’s major highways. Fun activity-- counting how many times the words “open” and “shut” are utilized over the entirety of the album.

Snow Patrol- Final Straw.** Purchased at The Border’s in Bozeman because I didn’t want to pay what they were asking for Eyes Open. “Run” has been and continues to be a personal anthem.

Peter Bjorn & John- Writer’s Block.*** Swedish indie rock with melodies that I’m still warming up to, but rhythms that inspire. “Young Folks” is brilliant. And I love how they pronounce “north.”

Kanye West- Graduation. **** The first hip-hop record I’ve purchased, but the album to which I’ve listened most this fall. “Stronger” was my soundtrack for pre-college-fair preparation.

Iron & Wine- The Shepherd’s Dog. ** Been a big fan since Creek Drank the Cradle (even before "Such Great Heights" was covered on the Garden State soundtrack-- important to clarify for any iota of indie cred I might have and want to maintain), but I'm still acclimating to the full-band version of Sam Beam.

The White Stripes- Icky Thump. ** The White Stripes hit everyone’s radar during the heart of my college experience, so they have a special place on my CD shelf. But... I put most of my energy during this trip into the above-listed albums, in part because Icky Thump couldn’t convince me to do otherwise. Though “Effect & Cause” is a fav.

Next related entry: "Albums to accompany oneself while reading college applications."

Clap Your Hands Say Colorado!

BishopM — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:41:00 GMT

Having spent two weeks traveling through Central and Western Montana as part of a large group of representatives from various (primarily) Western colleges, I had a couple days at the end of last week to breathe some Seattle air before heading out to Colorado, which is where I find myself now.

On Friday, I walked from SU to Safeco Field after work to take in a Mariner's game with some high school friends (a pair of which were recently married and let me sing at their wedding). The M's really blew it down the stretch this season, but to be honest, not a lot of folks had any expectations that they would even approach being competitive for the playoffs. On Friday, they won on a Jeff Clement homer in the bottom of the 9th inning, which I'm hoping is a sign of great things to come in the very near future.

Saturday allowed me the opportunity to finally watch some of my Netflix DVDs-- I highly recommend Can Mr. Smith Get To Washington Anymore?, a documentary about a young college prof's run for U.S. Congress in 2004-- and take in a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show at Neumo's. I'm glad I had an opportunity to experience at least one of the excellent shows that happens in Seattle every autumn, and CYHSY didn't disappoint. Electric it was... very high energy, even if I can never understand what the lead vocalist is singing.

My first days in Denver have been enjoyable; I've had a number of good conversations with students and I'm appreciating the warm weather and the Rockies. We have a couple mountain ranges in Seattle that are beautiful on clear days, but they're not as close as the Rockies are to Denver. There's something inspring about the immediacy and grandeur of those mountains.

If any Coloradoans read this, please feel free to leave recommendations as to how I should spend some of the coming evenings and/or weekend days in your fair state. I'll be in Denver the majority of the time, but also in Fort Collins and Colorado Springs some. AND! If you're a high school student, come see me when I visit your school and/or at any of the college fairs going on next week.

Rafting

BishopM — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:03:00 GMT

In preparation for visiting those outdoor-oriented residents of Colorado, Montana, and Utah this fall, I tested the waters of Washington's rafting scene this past weekend. Some friends from Snohomish and I went down to the Tieton River in Yakima County and conquered its mighty whitewater.

'Twas a blast.

The Place to Be

BishopM — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:43:00 GMT

I, like Mr. Moy, took vacation last week. Mine, though, was seemingly less adventurous and decidely more urban. The majority of my time was spent cleaning and painting my recently acquired co-op apartment in Lower Queen Anne, a part of town that's slightly northwest of downtown and about a 3 mile scooter ride through the heart of the city to SU.

My preference for the place had less to do with district itself and more to do with the nuances of the building-- its architecture, light, space etc. I was and continue to be fairly ignorant about the characteristics of Lower Queen Anne as a unique part of Seattle, but the more time I spend there, the more I'm realizing how much it incorporates a number of the things about the Pacific Northwest that I love...

A couple blocks up the hill and I'm at Kerry Park (for viewers of the weather on the local news, that's where those sweeping views of Seattle with the Space Needle are usually taken).

A few blocks down the hill, and I can lounge on the shores of Elliot Bay at Myrtle Edwards Park. For a brief period during my teenage years, I lived in a small town in South Australia that was right on the beach, and until I found myself sitting on Elliot Bay's shores over the weekend, I'd forgotten how important a nearby body of saltwater could be to my personal sense of serenity.

Downtown from Kerry Park, with verification of Michael's yesterday assessment of the view of Mt. Rainier:

From the edge of Elliot Bay, with the Olympic Mountains in the background:

Alright. No more saturating my blog with proclamations of Seattle's summer glory. We just need to revel in it while we can before the winter months creep in with the clouds.

Celebrating America in City & Country

BishopM — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 22:07:00 GMT

As Michael's post indicated, the 4th was a gorgeous day (as was yesterday and so should many of those forecasted for the coming week). I spent it with my family in Snohomish-- playing croquet, eating salmon burgers, and teaching my 21 month old nephew how to pronounce a multitude of words. (He can already shout my name, usually following it with a ""BRRRRRR!" referencing his fascination with my scooter.)

Although my parents' home is only about 40 minutes drive, I don't visit often. When I do, it's a much appreciated escape from the city. As much as I love Seattle and everything it represents-- the restaurants, music, arts, diversity, etc.-- I was born and raised a small-town guy. The more I stumble along, the more I realize I need space to breathe and grass to lay in and trees and plants to appreciate. Which, in a way, almost ironically, makes Seattle a perfect city in which to live; it's pretty easy to be downtown one moment, and less than 45 minutes later find yourself in some small cow-town like Snohomish*.

I had enough time that evening to head over to Elliot Bay and watch one of Seattle's two major fireworks shows with friends. It was a weekend's worth of relaxation packed into one day.

Speaking of weekends, I think I'm off to start this one.

P.S. In admissions-related news, College Planning Day is coming up August 22nd! Graduating class of 2008: get a start on all things college-search-process-related by attending this event at SU!

*To my fellow Snohomishians, don't be offended by that description; revel in it. Continuing development will likely soon eliminate the cows and everything they bring to our beloved borders.

Music.

BishopM — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 15:56:00 GMT

My eyelids are heavy this morning; I spent the late hours of last evening at the Tractor Tavern watching Damien Jurado, a local singer/songwriter who has had a tremendous influence on my musical tastes and my own initial explorations into songwriting. I stumbled across Mr. Jurado when I was in high school while watching UWTV--he was playing an in-studio on what is now KEXP radio-- and I was amazed by his ability to fill out a song with just his vocals and simple chord progressions. Being a stubborn guitar student who didn't have much patience for theory or the ability to read music, I decided then that I'd abandon lessons and just start playing chords and writing songs like Damien. That decision mayn't have been the best... I've always had trouble communicating in theory language with other musicians, although I've gotten by fine enough thus far. That weakness is one of the reasons I've signed up for guitar and vocal lessons at SU for summer quarter. By the time fall travel comes around, perhaps I'll have learned so much I can just recruit students with song.

Anyway, I've seen Mr. Jurado perhaps a dozen times in the last few years and he never disappoints. I just wish he wouldn't play such late shows on week nights.

The slower pace of late spring/summer has allowed me to delve back into other musical goings-on here in Seattle. A couple Sundays ago I saw Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie) and Dave Bazaan (Pedro the Lion) play an acoustic show at the Showbox. I'm looking forward to seeing Rocky Votolato at the Triple Door in a couple weeks. I'm thinking about stopping by the Georgetown Music Fest this weekend. And my own band has been busy with practices and shows and recording. And every once in a while, as the warm weather and sun become more of a staple, my accordion player and I head over to Gasworks Park to serenade the downtown skyline and the boats on Lake Union.

It's a wonderful season for music.

P.S. I'm in love with Andrew Bird's Armchair Apocrypha. Go. Listen to any of these songs. Any fan of multi-instrumentation and whistling will be a fan of Mr. Bird's.

Springing into the Season

BishopM — Tue, 08 May 2007 23:03:00 GMT

Having emerged from my file-reading hibernation, completed accepted student receptions in Northern and Southern California and Idaho, and returned from an admissions conference in Denver, I am ready to face the spring!

I’m about a month and a half late, but the Seattle weather is just starting to catch up too. Today is bright and clear and sunny and gorgeous and my scooter ride this morning was equally exquisite; it’s nice that I can start commuting without having to take the extra time every morning and afternoon to ensure I’m appropriately layered.

The spring also means the start of baseball season, which I always anticipate with fervor. (I still assert that the happiest moment of my life was being in the third deck of the right field Kingdome bleachers when Edgar Martinez doubled down the left field line off Jack McDowell of the Yankees to score Joey Cora from third and Ken Griffey Jr. from first in the bottom of the 11^th of the 5^th game of the 1995 Divisional Series to send the Mariners to the ALCS… just so you know…) My M’s have made it through 27 games and they’re still above .500, which these days is cause for celebration in Seattle.

Baseball season also means I’ll be suiting up as an umpire three to four times a week for the local little league. Fewer day-to-day things are as discouraging as an 11 year old who can throw harder than I can. Umpiring also reminds me, however, that the stress for family members that can be a part of the college admissions process doesn’t hold a candle to the anxiety of Little League parents and the creative ways they can communicate that anxiety to the person behind the plate. Besides the ability to enjoy the sun and have the chance to remain involved in the game, it’s a good way to thicken one’s skin, and skin-thickening, as we all know, is an opportunity never to be turned down.

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...

BishopM — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 17:41:00 GMT

Despite Seattle's rainy reputation, did you know it's not even in the top 50 cities in the United States with regard to average annual precipitation? Miami, Atlanta, New Orleans, New York, and Eugene, as well as cities in Texas and Hawaii, receive more rain annually than Seattle!

You wouldn't have known that by stepping outside any of the past few days, however. Some of the heaviest rainfall in decades has been hitting the Pacific Northwest, and because I'm of the Seattle mindset that dictates umbrellas to be a sign of weakness, I've soaked up my fair share of water. Some local places have soaked up more than that; my hometown of Snohomish has been hit with its worst floods in 50 years. Today has provided some respite, however, as the sun appears to be poking through the clouds.

I've returned to the office after approximately two weeks visiting schools in Spokane and Idaho and going to three giant college fairs in Boise, Seattle, and Portland. Things I've learned: in Idaho, my lips need chapstick like my lungs need oxygen, and Woodburn, OR-- south of Portland-- has the best outlets in the Northwest. And of course, those places have some of the best students in the country! For those folks I,or any of us SU admissions counselors, haven't run into on the road (and even if you have), be aware we've got one more Fall Preview Day coming up on November 18. Register for it if you haven't already!

Rockin' On

BishopM — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 00:13:00 GMT

I celebrated the completion of this first week of fall travel by purchasing an Art & Lutherie parlor guitar at South Pasadena Music. (Thanks go to the South Pasadena HS students who recommended the place!) Parlor guitars are smaller acoustic guitars that were popular in blues and folk circles in the early twentieth century; as small as mine is, I should be able to take it with me pretty much anywhere I go without too much hassle and without too much sacrifice of the artistic brilliance that has been know to strike while in traffic on any of LA's four dozen freeways (I swear I've counted that many). Not that I'm playing guitar while driving my car... the instrumental implementation of the previously mentioned brilliance will occur only after I've parked, I promise.

Driving to a visit this morning and listening to my new best friend, LA's KPCC (the local NPR station), I heard that UCLA Admissions is implementing a holistic application review. For those of you who aren't aware, such a review is one which incorporates factors beyond GPA and standardized test scores-- things like the the type of classes one is taking, whether an individual has extracurricular involvements, whether he or she has overcome significant obstacles in the path toward higher education, etc.-- and such processes generally are associated with much more energy and resources than an index admission system requires.

The primary benefit of a holistic review is it allows admissions counselors to better understand the context of a student's academic experience and, from that, to better understand how well one's grades or test scores might really speak to a student's potential for college-level success. We at Seattle U use a holistic review for these reasons, making sure that each application is read at least twice. However, we had over 4,500 freshman applicants last year, whereas UCLA had about 47,000 freshman applicants (!!!).

I'm excited about more and more schools moving to a holistic review system simply because I truly believe it's a process that better ensures admitted applicants are prepared for the schools they choose to attend. I'm gonna watch with much interest as a school as large as UCLA takes on this project, and wish them luck as they pursue it.

As for my weekend, I've got a couple of interview days, but I'm thinking I might take in an Angels game tomorrow night. My Mariners don't give me much to root for these days, so I don't consider it too much of a betrayal if I swing by Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

Greetings!

BishopM — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 21:28:00 GMT

As a new admissions counselor at Seattle University, I’d better introduce myself sooner rather than later…

So… Hello!

I’m a native Washingtonian, although I’ve also spent some years inhabiting Baltimore, Maryland; Brewer, Maine; and Ceduna, South Australia. I’m a huge fan of Seattle, not only because it nurtures my love for indie rock and recycling, but also because, on my scooter rides to and from work, I drive by spectacular views of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges, the sparkling waters of Lakes Union and Washington, and the majestic downtown skyline. It’s a gorgeous place to exist.

Although I’m not new to the area or the admissions biz, I am new to Seattle U. Having set up shop in my cubicle just a few weeks ago, and having finally finished an unecessarily elongated moving process last week (from one Seattle district to another), I’m reminded that life is full of transitions and opportunities for growth and exploration.

In that way, I’m not too different from the average college-bound high school senior who has to decide what to do with the next four years of his or her life.

As an individual who mastered the college thing-- at least with regard to choosing a school and finishing a degree-- and is continually applying its lessons to life beyond the classroom, let me present some important questions that one ought to ask when thinking about where to spend the majority of his or her time for the next few years, whether it be choosing a place of employment, or, I don’t know… choosing a college, perhaps.

Do I want access to the activities and resources associated with an urban environment, the quite ambiance and scenery typical of a rural location, or something in between?
What will the community support system be like? Will it already be in place, or will I have to be fairly independent?
What are the values of the institution? What ideals do I want it to uphold and how does that relate to my being a member of that community?

These questions are not listed in order of importance, nor are they all-encompassing. You should be asking many, many more, some of which may be more relevant to your future decisions. But for me, these were a good start.

Of the many reasons I chose to be at SU, some of the most important included the strength of its community, the emphasis and clarity of its mission, and the strong relationship with the city from which it takes its name.

Convinced as I am of the value of being part of the Seattle U community, I have much to experience. As I continue, I hope to use this venue not only to share what I learn but also dialogue with prospective students as they engage in their own assessments of what they want from their higher-education experiences.

If you're one of those students, please don't hesitate to contact me or, when I'm on the road, say hello in person. I hope this blog (and those of my SU Admissions compatriots) can be helpful for both your and my Seattle University experiences.