Only one week left until Fall Orientation, so you know we're really busy here at the School of Nursing! We are diligently putting your packets together, planning the sessions, oh, and ordering the food!
August is generally the "dog days of summer", but around here in Bmore the weather couldn't be much better. The humidity is down, the temperatures are balmy, so for all of you new to Charm City enjoy the unusual weather! The days are starting to get shorter, but there is still time to enjoy the warm weather of late summer.
For many of you arriving next week here are some events that you should check out before you have to start hitting the books after Labor Day. Enjoy the free time while you have it!
Now until September 1st: Body Worlds at the Maryland Science Center, 9am - 9pm. http://www.mdsci.org/
Now until September 7th: Faces of Ancient Arabia at the Walters Art Museum, 11am - 5pm. http://www.thewalters.org/
Now until September 1st: Maryland State Fair at the Timonium Fairgrounds. http://www.marylandstatefair.com/
August 27th: Baltimore Orioles vs Chicago White Sox, 7:05pm at Camden Yards, http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/
August 30th: Historic Homewood Artwalk, 1pm at the Homewood House, 2pm at the Baltimore Museum of Art
For more events check out http://baltimore.org/.
Enjoy the rest of the summer! School is right around the corner!
If you are thinking to yourself, "Baltimore has a subway?", then you would be sufficiently surprised to find out that, in fact, it does! The Metro Subway is 15.5 mile, 14 station system that runs from the Johns Hopkins Hospital to Owings Mills by way of downtown. In the 6 years that I have resided in Baltimore, I have been on the subway less than a dozen times. For much of my time here I didn't live anywhere near the Metro, and upon discovering this system, much to my disappointment, found out that it did not connect you to Washington D.C. So, where does the Metro Subway go? Good question. Since it is less than a month away from new Traditional Student orientation, I felt it my task to ride the Metro to find out exactly where it goes, so that you too may ride it, and feel like a rapid transit champion!
Friday, July 25th:
I walked on over from Washington Hill to the Johns Hopkins Hospital Metro Station in the middle of Broadway. Descended the escalator to the ticket machines and purchased myself a $3.50 Day Pass which allows passengers unlimited trips on the Metro, Light Rail, and Bus System. Trains for the most part come every 8 minutes (two minutes less frequent than the DC Metro) during the day. I caught a mostly empty car at Hopkins and started Westbound to Owings Mills. (Hopkins is the last stop so all trains head West), a 30 minute ride. The first part of the trip was all subway. As you pass through downtown the Metro stops at the Shot Tower and Charles Center before turning Northwest. the first nine stops are underground and the remaining six are above. The traffic picked up downtown with many riders getting off at Reistertown Plaza and Owings Mills, which was my destination. All of the above ground stations have free parking, with the largest garage being at Owings Mills Station (3,500 spaces). My experiment for the day was to see how close the Owings Mills Town Center was to the station, looking at the map it would be a close walk, but upon walking outside of the station and with the mall in plain sight I was thwarted by a fence, "Mall accessible by M-9 bus" Take a bus!? to somewhere I can walk? Well the only option was a 15 minute round-about walk along a street that for the most part has no sidewalk, so I WOULD NOT recommend this if walking to shop. According to the MTA this is a temporary situation until the Metro Centre shopping complex is finished construction in 2009.
Now on the return trip Eastbound, I decided to make a few stops to see what's around. Lexington Market Station, like it's name implies is right at the renowned Lexington Market. It's also close to the Hippodrome, 1st Mariner Arena, and about 6 blocks from Camden Yards. Charles Center Station puts you right downtown in the business district, on Baltimore Street, just a few blocks from the Inner Harbor, Aquarium, and Science Center. Shot Tower/Market Place Station puts you on the east end of the Harbor right at Power Plant Live, Port Discovery, and Little Italy.
Well not as widespread as the DC Metro, the Baltimore version does get you to a lot of good places, if you have the convenience of being close to the line! If you have a monthly pass from MTA (www.mtamaryland.com) you have the ease of transferring from the Light Rail or Bus to the Metro Subway. MTA has in the works to extend the Metro Subway passed Hopkins up to Good Samaritan Hospital, but don't hold your breath, the earliest it'll be done is 2015!
Metro Subway Trip Pictures
Next Installment Coming soon: Baltimore Light Rail
It's June! And here at the SON everything is chilly thanks to an overactive A/C. Call me silly, but I thought windows were designed to be user friendly. After two years of trying to figure out how to open my window I've given up. I've come to the acceptance that the 1st Floor windows just aren't meant to be open.
On to Plan B: 
1.) Watch The Great Escape
2.) Dig Tunnel
3.) Motorcycle jump my way across the Swiss Border to freedom....Piece-of-Cake
A lot has happened since I last blogged. The 2008 Traditional class graduated, and now they are well on their way to top-notch careers in Nursing. Some are working just across the street at Hopkins Hospital, and some have sticking with the SON and continuing with their MSN. To the rest...good luck!
We welcomed 135 new Accelerated Students at the end of May who will begin their 13.5 month trek through nursing. They represent 29 States and the District of Columbia, 17 Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, 50 Programs of Study, and 96 Undergraduate Academic Institutions. Although there is only one from my alma mater, Loyola College, sorry representation there 'Hounds.
The Orioles dropped out of first place, but seriously we all saw that one coming.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull came out on May 22nd. It was good to see the Indy back in action, but seriously they had 19 years and that was the best ending George Lucas could come up with?
Answers to some FAQs:
1.) What are the class sizes? Incoming classes are divided into two sections of about 70 students each. There are some lecture classes with the entire BSN class together.
2.) What are the clinical sizes? Clinical groups are around 6-7 students each, with lab groups being slightly smaller.
Keep the questions coming! Now on to digging...
Has anyone else noticed how much it rains in Baltimore in the spring? They turned the fountain on at the SON the other day and I couldn't even tell it was on because it was pouring down rain. Anyway, enjoy the springtime weather while it lasts SONers because when June starts and the relative humidity hovers around 150% you'll wish it was raining!
I also just noticed it has been since December since I last blogged...whoops. Well see I don't have as much recruitin' this time of year, so I have little to talk about on a day-to-day basis besides the goings-on outside my window.* When recruiting end we switch into high gear to put all the classes together. This includes interviews, tours, open house, and accepted students day. Neadless to say we are always busy here in the Office of Admissions and Student Services!
Moving on. I recently completed a rare spring recruiting trip to Oregon, and guess what, it rained there too! If you haven't been to Portland lately they're doing a lot of construction downtown. Portland State University is expanding its campus and the city is extending its streetcar system. Long story short...traffic! You know it's messed up when your GPS system doesn't know where to take you and you start yelling at it. Oh, GPS I can't stay mad at your sweet voice.
Now I'm back in Bmore and it's almost summer break!!!!!....for the Trad students, sorry Accels. For all of you stuck here in Charm City for the summer here are some things to check out:
1.) New Farmers Market coming to Harbor East at 1000 Lancaster St: Open Saturdays from June 14th to October 25th, 9 AM to 1 PM.
2.) Orioles Baseball at Camden Yards. Catch them while they're in 1st Place! www.orioles.com
3.) Fort McHenry. Multiple events, Memorial Day (May 26th), Flag Day (June 16th), Independence Day (You should know this), Defeneders Day (Sept 12-14) www.nps.gov/fomc
Day Trip Destination:
Washington D.C. - take a day in our Nations Capital. Only 45 mins away and you can always drive to Silver Spring or Greenbelt and take the Metro into the city. For events, check out this: www.washington.org
That's it. Good luck with finals!
-Chris
*window view consists of small patch of grass, parking pad, and brick wall, i.e. nothing much.
There we have it SON fans, Fall Recruitment is over! It's been a lovely Fall Dance as I've seen myself go to 26 schools (some twice) across 13 states and the District of Columbia. I went from Phoenix, Arizona all the way to Tacoma, Philadelphia, Atlanta, L.A....or was that Steve Miller? Anyways, let's just say I saw a lot of the U. States this year, knocked off a couple of States I had not been yet, and all around had a very good, albeit tiring, time.
Now it's in to Admitting Season! Applications, interviews, tours and information sessions. As the semester rolls down to a close for the students, and they look forward to the relaxing tranquility of Winter Break, the Office of Admissions and Student Services keeps on truckin'. This is our busy season (just when you thought I wasn't doing anything since September). We need to put together the Summer and Fall classes of 2008!
Not that it has been all work and no play for this guy. I did get a chance to play Intramurals with the SONers this fall. Kudos to the Traditional class of '09 for getting the teams started (and a blurb in the Fall issue of the Johns Hopkins University Nursing Magazine pg. 13). Surprisingly with all the school work these students have to put in, both flag-football and soccer made it to the playoffs. Sadly the flag-football teams both came short and are still yearning for the illusive Championship T-Shirt, the "Stanley Cup" of Intramural trophies. The Renal Failures of the soccer league are still in it though.
Well there you have it folks! Another Recruiting season for the books. Sophomore Admissions Officer phenom Chris Boyle is hanging up his recruiting shoes for the off-season and hitting the locker room!
-Chris
December Baltimore activities:
December 6th - Lighting of the Washington Monument in Mt Vernon (who needs a tree...just light up George!)
December 15th - Yuletide at Fort McHenry. Come check out how Christmas was celebrated at the Fort. Free Candelight tours 6-9pm.
December 31st - Baltimore's New Years Eve. Fireworks at the Inner Harbor
Where we last left off our hero had just come back from a week long trip in Virginia. Then it was straight off to the mid-west. I blame global warming for this confusing and unpredictable weather. It was 86 degrees when I left for Wisconsin, and it was toasty 86 degrees when I arrived in the Cheese State a few hours later. "How nice" I said to myself, I didnt even need to bring the sweater and hoodie along. Oh but it was only a few hours later when the sun went down that the very pleasant 86 turned into a numbing 42. My first trip to Wisconsin and she fools me!
Then it was a quick hop over Lake Michigan to the Motor City and the University of Michigan and Michigan State. Always great schools to visit. Where else but in Ann Arbor would I find a hoagie shop selling Philly Cheesesteaks. Delicious, albeit without the cheez-whiz.
Oh right and then I went to Hawai'i for a 3-day-4-school extravaganza which included a red-eye flight out to California at the end, but someone has to do it! We haven't recruited much in Hawai'i, but we always seem to get a few interested students out there. With Hawai'i behind me, it was time to go to Sacramento and UC-Davis! I know there are a few Davis alums here. You have a great school, keep encouraging them to apply! That goes for all you California alumni.
So, I'm getting a lot of questions on the road about the new DNP program. It seems to be getting a lot of hype. DNP you ask? what is that? good question all. It's the Doctor of Nursing Practice, it will be the terminal practice degree for advanced practice nurses. Allowing all interested to increase their clinical education. If you're interested, it's currently a Post-Masters option, but trust me we will be having plenty of Info Sessions, so query the Admissions Office!
This is it, it's getting down to the last few weeks of recruiting season. The home stretch is right ahead. Next stop: the Pacific Northwest....Bear Country! Remember I promised a bear or two?
I am, as always,
Chris Boyle
cboyle5@son.jhmi.edu
Next stop, Virginia! I just got back from a 5-day- 5-school trip into Virginia, with a side trip to Chicago. Virginia to Illinois is no easy trip, but that is the life of the Admissions Officer. Getting from school to school in states that dont share the same borders let alone time zones. It was a familiar trip through Virginia, but a new stop off in Chicago. I've never been there before, and it was a great trip. I got to see a new city, and strike another state off of my "List of States to Visit" I'm currently up to 30, only 20 more states to go! I figure I'll get to most of them with this job.
For all of your non-east coast students, if you ever get the chance to go through Virginia, make the trip. You can quickly go from the urban centers of DC and Richmond to the middle of the Blue Ridge mountains in a short amount of time. Try hiking up the Appalachian Trail, or ride along Skyline Drive that cuts across the Shenandoah Valley. If you're a history person it's probably one of the best states to visit. 8 Presidents were born there, including 4 out of the first 5 presidents (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe if you were wondering), and dont forget about half the Civil War battlefields and historic sites.
I'll be making this a quick blog today, just finished up with Open House. Thanks to all of you visiting students who stopped by today, and for the current students and faculty for participating, giving tours, and answering questions!
Keeping you up-to-date on the travels
-Chris
p.s. GOOOOO PHILLIES!
Ok so trip one of the 2007 season was just short ride up the Northeast Corrider courtesy of Amtrak, to the City of Brotherly Love, or as I like to call my hometown. Phillies, Eagles, Cheesesteaks, Independence Hall, Rocky, Ben Franklin, I could go on. Made my way to UPenn for the first Idealist.org Fair of this year. If you have heard of these before, or attended one in the past, these are great events. Tailored specifically to the non-profit sector there are many students who flock to these interested in nursing, public health, policy, international work, or any combination of these. Always get a great group of interested students who know why they are there, and ask the best questions.
Philadelphia highlights:
- going to the greatest city in America...oh wait isnt that Baltimore?
- taking the train and avoiding 95
- seeing Eagles fans in their natural environment
Lowlights
- not getting a cheesesteak
Moving along to Trip #2: DC Area Grad Fair!
Onto our Nation's Capital, you know Washington, DC? It was built on the site of a swamp, some say it still stinks, but I say the Metro is an amazing feat of civil engineering, so it can't be that bad. You pull into Union Station and jump on the Metro subway, a quick transfer at Metro Center and next thing you know you're at Foggy Bottom, which ironically is neither foggy nor at the bottom of anything - discuss. The GW Fair always draws tons of students, and tons of schools which leads to a crowded, yet healthy environment. It is probably one of my favorite trips soley on the volume of traffic at the fair. Plus side is there is a large Hopkins contingent who goes.
DC Highlights:
- tons of students
- being in Washington DC, it's a cool city you should go there if you havent been already
- Being next to the Bloomberg School of Public Health, they always draw the most attention and you can sell the MSN/MPH program instantly
DC Lowlights:
- Not meeting the President, AGAIN!
Keeping you up-to-date once again on the daily life of the Admissions Officer
-Chris
questions, comments, grievances, want to know where i'll be going next? contact me: cboyle5@son.jhmi.edu
Well, it’s that time of year again, Recruiting Season!
Just when the humidity finally slackens and the weather becomes more tolerable, it’s off to far (and not-so-far) places to find the next class for the School of Nursing. It’s part of the never-ending job of an Admissions Officer: event planning, interviews, grad fairs, rental cars, hotels, meals on Hopkins, and crowded airports. Yet I still find myself cheery, clean shaven, with suit pressed ready to greet you when you ask me, “Johns Hopkins is in New York right?” ugh!
It’s surprising how quickly a few cups of coffee and a power bar will wake you up. The rewarding part is seeing new interested students who have a passion for nursing, and want to specifically come to Hopkins, even if they don’t know where it is.
For the last half of the summer, I have been registering for events, planning my travel route, and trying to find interesting local sites and points of interest around the schools to visit on my down time. Which surprisingly there is not much of. Before and after programs, I meet with interested students or faculty who want information about our programs. The Hopkins name travels far, so there must I go.
Make sure to catch up with me on my travels. I will be updating from different schools and different places, so stay tuned. Maybe think of Man vs. Wild, but without the British accent and being lost in the woods theme. Probably will be something safer like you’d watch on the Travel Channel. There might possibly be a bear or two, who knows! I’ll be carrying along the camera too, so no worries I will prove I was actually there! You might be surprised just where I’ll travel.
-Chris
My Upcoming Trips:
September 18 – Philadelphia
September 24 – Washington DC (GWU)
September 26 – Virginia (Virginia Tech)
September 28 – Connecticut (Yale)
Contact me: cboyle5@son.jhmi.edu