First Day Back After Spring Break

Is it strange or just inevitable that the academic calendar is still the shadow organizer of my year? It's been that way since, well, forever, and I guess it'll be that way until there is no longer a family member in school. September? Beginning of the year. January? Illogically, halfway through the year. Summer? Kind of a time unto itself. Spring Break has always been a little more variable--it moved around depending on which school my daughters were in--but one thing was always true: the day it ended was the beginning of the push through to the end of the year (June) and time to get back to work.

I'm going to interrupt myself to introduce myself. I'm the very proud mother of two Barnard women. My elder daughter Nicole, who transferred to Barnard as a sophomore, graduated last June with a degree in American Studies. She lives in New York City where she has a job with a financial consulting company. My younger daughter Campbell is a Barnard sophomore. She's majoring in religion, minoring in psychology, and plans to work in the fashion industry. (She's already had some incredible interning experiences working for fashion houses, and is steadily building an impressive resume.) So for anyone who is concerned about what one can do with a liberal arts education in a world that values specialists, the answer is anything. In addition to a superb education, Barnard has brought out leadership and organizational skills in both of my daughters, has enhanced their writing and verbal communications, and has fostered a poise and confidence that will take them into whatever field they want to explore. We're big fans of Barnard in our house.

To return to where I left off, among the other things on today's "Spring Break is Over" to-do list is starting the second phase of outreach work for Barnard's annual Scholarship Dinner and Auction (1. It's on April 20, The Plaza, NYC--and 2. Yes, believe it or not, you can continue to volunteer for your child's school even once they go to college. ) Every year, Barnard's entire community from trustees to faculty and administrators, from alumnae to parents to current students, comes together to raise money for financial aid. It's a big event; there's a cocktail party and silent auction, sit-down dinner for 500+ people and live auction, and for little while bracketing either side of the event, there is an online auction. (Here is a plug: visit www.charitybuzz.com starting on April 15. The items are not to be believed.) I've been helping with the Scholarship Dinner for the past four years now, and it's hard to express how rewarding it is to be part of something that raises so much money for financial aid--$1.7 million last year, even with the economy in tatters. Through my committee work, I've met other parents and their daughters, gotten to know people in the Barnard administration, and have worked with Barnard alumnae of all ages. It's a great community.

I'll be writing from time to time, but I'll also be checking for comments and questions and I'll do my best to answer. Please feel free to ask me about anything you'd like a parent's take on---whether it's general, specific, practical or theoretical. I want this to be helpful to you.