An amazing group of tomorrow's Parkies drops by to say hello...

OK, so it happened to be raining.

It does that around here this time of year (here and everywhere else on the Eastern Seaboard....).

But, as my 10-year-old daughter reminded me in response to my grousing about it: "The rain makes the light so beautiful in Ithaca. It's just as pretty as the sunshine."

And of course, she's right. Besides, the folks who crowded into the Park School auditorium on Saturday morning weren't as concerned about the weather as they were about the programs, opportunities and career options we offer.

It was the first of our fall Admissions events -- and I have to tell you, I just love it. There's nothing I'd rather do than stand up in front of a whole room full of high school seniors (and their loving and supportive parents) and talk about how great the Park School is.

Problem is, I only had 45 minutes - not nearly enough time to even hit the highlights. But I did my best, and with the help of Dr. Nancy Cornwell, chair of TVR, and Dr. Virginia Mansfield-Richardson, our exceptional associate dean, I think we managed to give them a sense of what it means to be a Parkie.

After I got done racing through everything from our new Gaming and Immersive Media degree program, to our free trip to France (don't forget to put your name in the hat tomorrow!), to our extraordinary alumni network, I reminded our audiences that, here in the Park School, we truly believe that if you can dream it, you can do it.

I walked past some of the Dean's Hosts who had arrived to take our families and students on a tour of the school (THANK YOU to all of you amazing Parkies!), and junior Jeff Tatanus grinned at me.

"Sound like a school you recognize?" I asked him.

"You're talking about all the things I've done since I got here!" he said.

Hey - I'm a journalist. It's nice to know that my conclusion that Park really is the best undergraduate school in the country is supported not just by the facts, but by the experience of the students who are living it - every single day.