Classes have started ... and so have the company visits

Hello Again,

Well classes began today and the campus is electric again. After a long and sometimes painfully quiet summer, the Heights are abuzz with students running from class to class and eager freshman going to the wrong rooms or trying to find their way through the sea of students in the Quad and Dustbowl. I was walking into a class in Fulton and couldn't resist snapping this picture on my BlackBerry.

It's a table representing Deloitte and Touche a major international and accounting firm that is always around campus. They really know the caliber of students in the Carroll School of Management and have had countless students intern and go on to work with them. Just wanted to show that the companies are out early, and you should be too as prospective students. Look for these kinds of opportunities at all the great schools you are considering applying to.

Until next time friends …

-Luke Lapointe
CSOM '12 Finance
A & S '12 Communications
Student Admission Program
International Coordinator

Just Another Manic Monday?

Hello Again,

Greetings from the penultimate week of tours and information sessions here at Boston College. I’ve just finished being on a panel for one of our Eagle Eye Information Sessions and felt like I could use a break and blog.

Although today is Monday (and I’m not happy about it after a great weekend spent at the beach) I’m certainly not going to simply stay in my room and pout. Instead I have a great night ahead of me. It’s Restaurant Week here in the Boston which means all of the best restaurants are offering three course meals for $33 (227 restaurants to be exact!). I actually went to Antico Forno last night in the north end and it was absolutely fantastic. I’m going to try to hit as many as possible this week. It truly is worth it. I’m also going to frequent what has become my regular Monday night hangout during the summer, Trivia at Applebee’s in Cleveland Circle. Myself along with a bunch of the summer staff love to compete with each other and other locals for gift certificates. As a group we have dominated as of late, capturing 3 of the top four places each of the last 5 weeks. I’m really looking forward to tonight because I got a good feeling it will finally be my team’s turn to break out of our slump and jump from fourth to first.

Granted it is Monday and there is work to be done, but this is typical of any weeknight at Boston College, a balance between work/academics and spending quality time with friends. It was this balancing act exhibited by the student body that attracted me to BC in the first place. You might want to consider those kinds of intangibles when are viewing colleges.

Until next time friends …

-Luke Lapointe
CSOM '12 Finance
A & S '12 Communications
Student Admission Program
International Coordinator

Google Map Search: Undergradute Research ... Results: 1 - Boston College

The opportunity to become involved in research as an undergraduate is seemingly limited to the natural sciences. Thanks to the undergraduate focus of Boston College however, all the academic departments are keen to have undergraduates involved in research including all of the departments within the Carroll School of Management.

Professor Sam Ransbotham who taught my Computers in Management course recently won a grant from Google to conduct research on “consumer decision making in the context of visual search tools, such as Google Maps, and location-based advertising, such as Google Maps API ads layers.”

Earlier this summer he spotted me in the Eagle’s Nest (my favorite place for lunch on campus) and told me all about the research he was doing as well as talked about how each of our summers were going. He also offered me a position as a paid research assistant during the academic year with him to help conduct this research.

While BC does have several formal avenues for getting undergraduates involved in research such as the Undergraduate Research Fellows Program, the faculty really are phenomenal about engaging their students in the entire research process.

I guess undergraduate research opportunities was something I never considered when I was looking for schools because I really wanted to go to a school with a great undergraduate business program (and was under the impression there was no research going on in business). Nonetheless, having now been given opportunity to do so, I wouldn’t consider a business program that didn’t have its primary teaching and research focus centered upon undergraduate involvement.

Until next time friends …

-Luke Lapointe
CSOM '12 Finance
A & S '12 Communications
Student Admission Program
International Coordinator

Getting Ready for Portico

Hey readers,

My name is Greg Pidgeon ('11), and I'm going to be contributing to the blog along with Luke. As we get further into the summer (and finally get some sunshine around here), I wanted to talk a little about the Portico program we have for incoming freshman. Portico is a class all CSOM freshmen will take, focusing on an introduction to business ethics, as well as an introduction to CSOM and BC as a whole. It was a pilot program last year, but this year will be extended to the entire freshman class.

I'm really excited about the program because I will be a T.A. for Professor Sarah Cabral's 3 p.m. class next semester. The program gets its kick-off a little before school starts with an expedition into downtown Boston to get to know classmates and get the Portico experience going. After that I'll be doing the usual T.A. work of grading papers and helping out with assignments and projects, but for the most part, I'll be serving as a peer mentor for the students. I benefitted from a great peer mentor as a freshman so I'm definitely looking forward to being able to assist the freshman the way my mentor aided me. Through the Portico program, the Carroll School will continue its great tradition of facilitating relationships both in terms of advising and general friendships between its students, a tradition that I have found invaluable throughout my time here.

I think the peer mentor experience really sets BC and the Carroll School apart in that so many of our students love to pass down information to their fellow students. There exists a great sense of friendship and community between all students here and through that stems terrific inter-year relationships as well. I’ve never seen an upperclassmen treat freshmen or sophomores without a tremendous amount of respect and care. Whenever I have had questions about classes, internships, or just life in general, I’ve always been able to go to my mentor or just older students in general for advice. I’m really excited that as I get older and spend more time here I’ll be able to continue this tradition both in the formal sense as a Portico T.A. as well as through the informal ranks of just helping out my younger friends whenever they have questions.

So that’s just a little what’s going on right now as we all prepare to head back to school in another month and a half or so. As always leave me comments or feel free to email me at pidgeong@bc.edu if you have any questions.

Pino's Pizza & The Half-Blood Prince

Hello Again,

This past week was an absolute whirlwind of activity. Highlights included a victory for the Undergraduate Admission Office Softball Team over University Advancement, the Stanley Cup visiting campus, and of course the midnight screening of Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince.

The softball game was played on our Brighton campus which has a tremendous amount of green space available to all students. It was certainly a high scoring affair with our team punching out a 24-13 victory. We're looking forward to our biggest game of the year coming against Boston University in the world famous "Beancan."

But if you couldn't tell from the title of this blog, my favorite part of this past week was undoubtedly going to the opening of the newest Harry Potter movie with a number of the staff in the city. As a group we grabbed a bite to eat at Roggie's, a favorite among BC students located in Cleveland Circle. We then hopped onto the D-Line of the MBTA and headed into the Fenway stop and waited in line at the Regal 13 at Landmark Center for about three hours before the movie actually started. The movie itself was fantastic and the company was just as entertaining.

As we grabbed a cab back to campus we spotted that another BC favorite, Pino's Pizza, was still open. Pino's is a staple of many BC students' diets. Their pizza is great (I personally recommend the sausage pizza) as well as great subs and dinners. I may or may not be on a first name basis with the delivery guy.

If you ever take the journey to Chestnut Hill and want to grab a slice of BC culture, I thoroughly recommend Roggie's, Pino's, and the rest of Cleveland Circle as fantastic spots to taste the local flavor. While the food here on campus is great, you can't let yourself pass up the great dining and culture options along Cleveland Circle. Until next time friends.

-Luke Lapointe
CSOM '12 Finance
A & S '12 Communications
Student Admission Program
International Coordinator

Independence Day

Hello again,

The 4th of July has come and gone and the busy season of college visits is upon us here at BC. Boston is such a great city to be in to celebrate Independence Day, where the Revolution itself started. The largest attraction is the Boston Pops concert on the Esplanade, a waterfront park along the Charles River in Boston.

A number of the staff working here during the summer camped out for the day to get great seats, basking in what could be considered one of the best days of the year so far. Eventually the sun set, and at 10:30pm sharp the fireworks began. One of the staff members snapped the picture above. The fireworks display, when coordinated with the music of the Pops, is absolutely incredible and something everyone should experience at least once.

The easiest and most efficient way to get into Boston on the 4th, or any day for that matter, is by using the "T". The T is the nickname for our public transportation system, also called the MBTA. Boston College is located next to three branches of the Green Line of the subway: the Boston College B line runs right to the edge of campus, and BC provides shuttle buses to Cleveland Circle nearby, where you can find the end stop of the C line and one stop along the D line. BC is a fantastic school for its campus, but you can't forget the incredible city you have at your fingertips everyday. Until next time friends.

-Luke Lapointe
CSOM '12 Finance
A & S '12 Communications
Student Admission Program
International Coordinator

Admissions Softball

Hey Prospective Students,

So it's the summer here in the Office of Undergraduate Admission, but that doesn't mean we aren't working hard. There's plenty to do and tons of visitors everyday. That, of course, doesn't stop us from having some fun as well! Our office began our softball season against other admissions offices in the area by making jerseys in the mail room. You can check out the picture of Julie and I ironing on the numbers. Then it was off to Brandeis!

The crew there put up a fair fight, but BC prevailed with a resounding victory. We have a pretty good schedule for the summer with some other Boston schools and I'll keep you posted on any new games scheduled and the results.

If this post doesn't tell you anything other than the fact that as a staff we take our job seriously, and love working together as well as having fun, that's fine by me, but maybe it can give you a sneak peek into the psyche of a "typical" BC student. Dedicated to their work and responsibilities, but by no means scared to have fun. Talk to you soon friends.

-Luke Lapointe
CSOM '12 Finance
A & S '12 Communications
Student Admission Program
International Coordinator