An Open Letter to College Admission Officers

So yesterday was the “First Day of School” here in my household. And it went about as well as one could expect for my three children trying to join an entirely virtual program all at the same time. Actually, it was the experience of 45k students joining all at the same time. And, much like any Virtual Instructor Led Training, the first round of sessions is plagued with technical issues. Around 9:00 a.m. we were seeing notices of a “Cyber Attack” or Denial of Services plaguing many students attempting to login to their classes. Our household had 1 in 3 connect initially. But, as with most tech issues and first day jitters, things settled down.
As I reflect on today, it actually isn’t much out of the norm for my children; especially my son who is a High School Senior. In the past four years he has endured more challenges just to get through his high school years than I ever did. In his Freshman Year we experienced Hurricane Harvey. His High School was flooded which necessitated sharing a campus for most of his Freshman Year. Fast forward to his Junior year – cut short this past Spring due to the global Pandemic. Now he’s starting his Fall Semester of his Senior Year from his bedroom. Keep in mind through all this his grades have stayed above a 3.0.
Which brings me to this conclusion, the students graduating this year are probably some of the most capable individuals you could ever imagine. It has been a constant that in the past few years with low unemployment talent was a finite source. Graduating College Students were not demonstrating core skillsets that many HR Executives had come to expect. Much like pressure changes carbon to a gem, many students were not being challenged – in my opinion. Now, this class of 2021 is beginning their Senior Year under the weight of a pandemic using Virtual Instruction. If that’s not character building, I don’t know what is.
I realize that with this being a Global Pandemic there are numerous stories of students experiencing similar challenges. However, for my son and many students in the Gulf Coast area of Texas, only 1 out of their 4 years was close to what you could call normal. It is with this in mind that I’ve penned an open letter to college admission officers:
Dear College Admission Officers,
You are about to receive one of the most dynamic and capable sets of High School Graduates ever in the Class of 2021. Any student from the Texas Gulf Coast, in the class of 2021, should be on the top of your list for recruitment. Why? These students are Battle Tested. There isn’t anything you could throw at these students in College that they have not had to deal with in their four years of High School.
As Freshman, they battled through one of the worst Hurricanes to hit the United States since Katrina in 2005. Many experienced flooding in their neighborhoods, homes and even schools. Classes were delayed to start their Fall Semester as Freshman so they could: muck out homes, find alternate living situations or volunteer in their communities for those impacted by the storm.
Unlike the typical Freshman year where anxiety for a new school and new teachers occurs, these students took on an entirely new set of variables at the last second. Some of them living in cramped and strange surroundings while others dealt with a multitude of disruption in their lives otherwise. Yet, they persevered.
During their Junior and now Senior years, they are adapting yet again to unprecedented challenges due to a Global Pandemic. As schools were shuttered in March, they adapted quickly to hastily developed online curriculums to finish out the year. Throughout the following months they coped with quarantines and disruptions to theirs and their family’s lives.
Now that schools are opening again, their ability to adapt to changing start dates for virtual instruction as a first day of school is no small feat. They are again rolling with the punches through the technical challenges that any organization should expect and does see when they initiate a Virtual Instructor Led Training event for the first time.
The choice could not be any clearer, if your College is looking for students that will represent your campus with the best of the best, these students should be at the top of your list. I would highly recommend any of the Graduates from the Class of 2021 with the knowledge that there isn’t an academic challenge they haven’t experienced or overcome. Forget the standardized tests, these kids have proven themselves over and again where it matters, in life.
Sincerely,
Parent of a Kingwood High School Senior, Class of 2021
This may be a bit overdramatic, but I cannot think of a time in recent memory that has subjected students to so much over such a prolonged stretch of time. The most recent examples of 9/11 and the 2008 Recession are most akin to this situation, while as significant, were much shorter in duration. In current day events we’re all being forced to adapt to overcome challenges at work. Who better to join our organizations than those who have learned it not just as a way of life, but as a part of how they learn. The Class of 2021 is truly an exceptional group of students, my own biases aside. I very much see these graduates as the beginning of a new generation of talent. Developed by the times, for the times. Here’s hoping life gets just a little more normal for their Senior Year.