Alexandra Grobman's Blog

I have to tell you lovely readers that I was a little bit sad when I drove on to campus last week to find that there was no snow on the ground. Before I left ME we got about 15 inches, it was great. But have no fear the snow has returned. Although, we did not get anywhere close to 15 inches yesterday there is still a light dusting on the ground. There is something so nice about waking up in the morning, looking outside, and seeing snow! I love it, but maybe that is because I’m from the north! haha

We have a 2 hour delay today because of the weather we had last night so I am definitely not complaining there! If you are in NYC, Philly or Boston please enjoy ALL the snow that you all got last night for the rest of us southerners!

Yes your eyes are not deceiving you; I have returned to the land of blogs.

The thing I love the most about returning to school after a long break is the renewed excitement about the upcoming semester. It is a time to start a whole new set of classes and you might even have a new roommate. You also get to see friends that were abroad for fall semester as well start to miss ones that just left for spring semester. Everyone also gets to welcome a whole new group of transfer students. See, there is so much to look forward to. You can always tell when it’s getting closer to the end of break because people’s facebook status start saying things like, “I better start packing!” or “I can’t wait to be back at the briar.” Also, the faculty and staff are excited about our return as well since campus is a little quiet when we are not there. So all and all returning from break is just plan awesome. I leave ME bright and early tomorrow morning to head back and I can’t wait to be back in the pink bubble!

I cannot wait to start a new semester and dive right back in the hustle and bustle of campus life. See you around the quad.

Check out this amazing new video!!!

I’m thankful for being able to attend Sweet Briar…

I know that when I cross the stage at graduation I will be able to look to my left and to me right and not only know the names of the women on either side of me but also know who they are as people. When I look at CS yes, I see our Dean of Co-Circular Life but I also see the woman that lead my learning on the land group, the woman that opens her home to practically every single student on this campus, the woman that has students over to watch a weekly TV show, the woman that is ok with crazy students dropping by at 10pm on a Saturday night just to say hi and the woman that cares so passionately about making every single student welcomed. When I look at HM, I see the Vice President for Alumnae and Development but I also see the woman that I sat on a Search Committee with, a woman that LOVES chocolate and the woman that also enjoys to watch Grey’s Anatomy from time to time. I also can look around and see the woman that has the cutest dogs on this campus, the woman that truly cares about the students, the woman that loves to play racquetball, the woman that use to play badminton in college, the woman that has helped me grow as a person during the short time that I have known her and lastly I see that this woman is the President of the College. I could go on and on and talk about Dean Green and his love for music and how I always know that when I see him I will come away with one more random piece of knowledge that I did not have before. Today on this Thanksgiving I am thankful for the professors that have helped shaped me into the leader and academic that I am today. The staff members that opened their offices to me and allowed me to vent my frustrations, occasionally cry, but also share almost every success that I have had thus far. I am also thankful for my fellow classmates who have guided me and shared every single minute of my college experience with me, the girls that lived on my first-year hall and my little sisters. I know they have my back through thick and thin. Over the past three years we have become more than just people that go to class together we have become a community. On this holiday I know that all the memories that we have created here will live on but also that there are many more to come. I also want to thank each and every member of the Sweet Briar Community for everything that they have done for the student body starting with move-in day to right now. We owe you everything!

With that I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

So the other day as I was walking back from Green Village around midnight without a care in the world. That is what prompted my post for this week. Sweet Briar’s campus is one of the safest places ever, I feel. As you drive onto campus you will go past what we like to call “Check Point Charlie.” There, we have a campus safety officer stationed from 6pm to 6am everyday. If you aren’t a Sweet Briar student they will stop you and ask you where you are headed. Also there is a campus safety officer patrolling in our really cool SBC SUVs 24/7. If you are at the library studying until it closes at 1am and aren’t comfortable walking back to your room, you can call Campus Safety and they will come and pick you up. I usually walk and I have yet to encounter anything sketchy. Sometimes an occasional deer will stare me down but other then that nothing. I really appreciate the fact that I can walk around campus in the middle of the night and not have to worry about anything happening so, Thank you Campus Safety. You’re awesome!

If you remember a couple posts ago I mentioned that I was sitting on the VPFA search committee. I promised one of the candidates that I would update my blog, so here it is! Well, this weekend we were in DC…well Herndon… conducting interviews. It was such a learning experience for me. I am so thankful that I am able to sit on this committee with some of the most amazing faculty and staff members at Sweet Briar. Although the actual interviews were interesting it was more the times in between the interviews that I enjoyed the most. Starting with the ride up there early Saturday morning talking about TV shows and the like, dinner last night which ended up being followed by a side trip for ice cream and then the drive back to SBC today! My group made a detour and stopped at Wegmans in Gainsville to do a little grocery shopping before continuing on our way towards campus. How many people out there can say that they have gone grocery shopping with their college president? I don’t see many hands raised. Well everyone, I can! I had a lovely time with JEP wondering around Wegmans trying to figure out what the best Halloween candy was. It is moments like that and conversations that were had this weekend that really make me thankful that I go to Sweet Briar. Where else would you go grocery shopping with the president? Just sayin!

So it has been awhile I know…

I have to say that Sweet Briar has the most accessible faculty and staff of any college that I know of. This past week a had a professor stay past 5pm to talk to me about questions that I had regarding a major. Since a little more than 50% of our faculty live on campus you will see some of your professors over the weekends in Prothro with their children or just walking around enjoying our beautiful campus. Sometimes you will even see the President walking her two dogs! One moment that stands out in my mind is when one of my professors was in her office at 9:30pm one evening. I was walking by on the way to print some things off and I noticed that her office light was on. I decided to see if she was really there, and she was. The internet in her apartment was not working and she needed to get something done for class the next day. She and I ended up talking for 30mins, not about class, but about paint colors, decorations for the office, field trips that my class should go on and most importantly why she was in her office that late. This, you will find to be something that is not that uncommon at Sweet Briar. It is definitely a moment that I will remember for sometime to come. So thank you PC for our late night chat.

I could go on and on with stories but I will mention just one more.  One night a group of my friends were studying for an Econ midterm and they were really stuck on a problem set. They decided to e-mail their professor with their questions in hopes that he would see it before class the next day. Around 12am or 1 Prof. G actually showed up to the classroom that they were studying in and helped them through the problems. If that doesn’t show commitment or accessibility I’m not sure what does.

I know that I have been negligent about my post but don’t you worry faithful readers Alex is back!

As some of you might know a couple of months ago I was selected to serve on a Search Committee for the new Vice President of Finance and Administration (VPFA) for the College. Right now we are in the height of our search process and this is why I have not been very vocal on my blog. Today I have been in my room reviewing copious amounts of resumes and cover letters. I would not trade anything for being on this committee. It is an honor and the things I have been learning over the past couple of months I will be able to bring with me into the “Big Kid” world.

At Sweet Briar it is not uncommon for students to be asked to sit on various committees during their 4 years here. When we were in the process of searching for a new President, there was a student representative for that. The college has complied many different strategic planning committees this year and there are student representatives on each of those. Sweet Briar is a place where the students really have a voice and impact the way in which the college grows. It is because of this I am looking for a new VPFA that will embrace this unique quality that this campus offers.

This year I am holding 3 campus jobs. Yes, some people say I’m crazy but I thoroughly enjoy all of them. Newly added to the list this year is my Student Assistant position at the Alumnae House. I’ve only been at this job for 2 weeks and I already love it, partly because I get to work with the amazing MCG. She has so much passion and love for this school it is incredible. One day I hope I will be able to give back to SBC the way she does.

Since we are only a month into the school year there is a new crop of Student Assistants in the Alumnae and Development Offices. So, the two offices decided to have a little meet and greet today. I have to say it was the highlight of my Friday afternoon. Everyone in that room had so much energy and was having so much fun, it was contagious. Some of my favorite lines of the afternoon came from none other than HMC, which doesn’t surprise me one bit. I have the great privilege of serving on a search committee with HMC and we just have so much fun. The reason I bring up this afternoon though, I got side track, sorry, was because being in that room exemplifies why I love Sweet Briar. Some of those women have been serving this college for more than 20 years. Some of them were graduates and decided to come back and some just heard about Sweet Briar and had to get involved. It is through your campus jobs that you get to meet amazing people like this. I am so fortunate that I go to a school where not just your classmates but also your bosses and other members of the faculty and staff care about what is going on in your life and whether you get to a meeting on time. So thank you GAL, JH and MCG for allowing me to arrive late to work sometimes and make me stop working so that I get where I need to go. Most importantly thank you for constant support and encouragement.

If I had to give you a piece of advice relating to working while in college it would be get a campus job. Jobs off campus are great and all but campus jobs are ten times better. The things you learn while working on campus are tools that you will take with you into the real working world. I wouldn’t trade my three amazing campus jobs for anything. I learn new things everyday, it’s awesome! So send in that cover letter and resume today!

It’s true. All academic buildings on this campus are always open. So if you have that one physics problem that you just can’t seem to get have no fear. You are more than welcome to go and take residence in one of the classrooms and take up a whole white board trying to figure it out.

I decided the other night that I really needed to practice my flute and I did not want to walk all the way to Babcock, where the practice rooms are. So at 10pm I went to the Chapel turned on some lights and spent quality time with Vivaldi.

Along with academic buildings, our computer labs are open 24/7 too. If you get done that 20 page research paper that has taken you the whole semester to write at 3am, go ahead and print it. I love printing late at night. There is no one else printing, it’s so peaceful.

So come one, come all. The buildings here are just waiting to be used at 2am!