Jessica Mobbs

I am back from my wonderful trip to Michigan. I spent time in Ann Arbor and Traverse City. It was amazing to see all the hardwood trees changing colors, and the never-ending lakes. I had a great time meeting potential new students and speaking with high school counselors about the possibilities for their students at Evergreen.

Traverse City, Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan

While I had a great time on my trip, I am also glad to be home. I love driving into the Evergreen campus every morning. The trees are beautiful and I love having the chance to walk in smelling the freshness and feeling the crispness of the fall air. If you’re interested in seeing this wonderful campus for yourself, feel free to contact me directly and we can set up your personalized visit experience. There’s nothing like seeing this 1000-acre campus with your own eyes…. I love it here! I’m fairly certain there’s nowhere in the world quite like the Pacific Northwest.

The Fall Quarter at Evergreen is an exciting and busy time for us in Admissions. While the newest Greeners are beginning class for the first time, we are already out looking for the freshmen who will enter in September 2009. For the first time since I have worked here, I will be doing some high school visits out of state. I’m going to Michigan next week! I’ll be visiting schools in Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Traverse City. I’m excited to get out to a new place; I’ve never been to any of the Great Lake States, so I’m definitely going to do some sightseeing after my official working duties are over. If you have any suggestions for places I’ve just got to see while I’m on that side of the country, please let me know! I’m up for a new adventure, even if I am a little nervous too. I hope to see you soon!

Do you know that the Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening is an Evergreen graduate? Well, he is. He graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1977 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. It just goes to show you that Greener grads go on to do some really amazing things! On my vacation in July, we went to Universal Studios in Hollywood, California, and I just had to meet the Simpson family. I work at the college their creator graduated from! It was a really amazing trip and Universal Studios was packed with fun and entertainment (I recommend the new Mummy ride!).

Some of our other famous alums include Lynda Barry (author, cartoonist), Josh Blue, (winner, 2006 “Last Comic Standing”), Joe Dear (former director of OSHA), and Dr. James Moore (Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School, founder of GeoPartners Ventures). If you’d like to add your name to this impressive list of Greener Grads, feel free to give me a call or send me an e-mail. I can help answer your questions about the admissions process and what it will take for you to become part of our amazing community.

The Labor Day weekend was fantastic! I spent the entire weekend at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival. This annual event is an amazing blend of music, art, culture, comedy, food and lots of fun. I saw a ton of shows including Paramore, Stone Temple Pilots, The Offspring, T.I…. the list goes on and on! I also ate food from almost every continent – it was the perfect end to a warm and beautiful Pacific Northwest summer. Check out all the photos at Bumbershoot.org. Oh, and just so you know – Bumbershoot means Umbrella… that’s some good trivia!

Now that I’m back to work after all that excitement, I am fully aware that our newest class of Greeners will be joining us very soon. I can’t wait to meet the new students as they get settled in for their first programs, and I’m also excited to begin welcoming visitors who are looking at Evergreen for the Fall of 2009. Remember to check out the visit options, and give me a call if you’d like to schedule your own personal visit.

Summer is in full swing here in Olympia! We have had gorgeous, sunny weather and long days so we can get out to enjoy the outdoors. I spent my summer vacation this year getting married to the man of my dreams! I now have a new last name so don’t be confused if you see it on the website soon. After our wedding we headed down to southern California to check out the amusement parks and take some much needed rest time. My favorite destination of the trip would have to be Universal Studios. We loved it there! So many fun rides and movie sets to check out. Overall, this has been the best summer of my entire life!

Now, I’m back to work, ready to take on another wonderful academic year. I’m getting excited to begin meeting all the high school graduates of 2009 who are coming to visit Evergreen, and to welcome the new class of freshmen to campus in September. The Admissions Office has added new counselors who are ready and eager to help with the entire admissions process. Hopefully you can meet one of them when they fly around the country to visit high schools in your area. Also, remember to give me a call or send an e-mail if you’d like to see this amazing campus with your own eyes. I’m here to make your dream visit happen!

One of the exciting benefits of working at Evergreen is that I have the awesome opportunity to visit different places all over the country. Last year, I was able to go to Denver, Colorado for a conference (that was really fun!). Last week I visited beautiful Spokane, Washington. A number of my Evergreen colleagues and myself were able to get together with other professional admissions counselors from colleges and universities around the Northwest. This annual conference is a great time for us to connect and reflect about the previous year’s work. It’s also a great place to learn new ideas and techniques that will make us better at serving students, which is the primary goal of all admissions professionals. I had a wonderful trip with lots of laughs and I met some really great new people. There was also plenty of learning during the classroom-type sessions, as well as an opportunity to check out the Lilac City for a couple days. I took some photos so you can see that the other side of Washington State is just as beautiful as this one.

This was our view from dinner the first night we stayed in Spokane. The river was raging!

An art piece from the Spokane Art Museum. We were lucky enough to be able to view all the galleries, and there was really unique and exciting stuff for us to check out. Oh yeah – we also saw a piece on display from one of our faculty here at Evergreen… Impressive work!!

Today I was reminded of yet another reason I love springtime so much… This week, our campus’ Organic Farm announced that they will begin selling tomato starts again. I’m very excited to buy another one of these and get some fresh, organic tomatoes growing in my yard at home. Being able to walk just outside my front door for fresh produce whenever I want is such a luxury! I love that I work at a place with its own farmer’s market for me to utilize. Every Tuesday and Thursday they are out in front of the College Activities Building selling produce, flowers, eggs, veggies and all kinds of other good stuff for us to enjoy. The students who learn about sustainable farming here also learn about the business aspect of the entire process which really sets our program apart from many others. It truly is integrated learning at its best! If you’d like more information on our Organic Farm, check out this website: http://www.evergreen.edu/cell/organicfarm.htm.

I find it hard to believe that it’s almost May! For our seniors, that means graduation is just over one month away. I love this time of the year. I think that springtime just brings out the happier side in most of us. After a long winter, we can begin to see the signs of summer creeping in. I tend to think of our graduation ceremony as the official beginning to the beautiful summer around here. It’s a perfect celebration honoring our students, this amazing college and the entire surrounding community. I know that seniors are beginning to pick graduation speakers and have already been making plans for families to fly-in from all around the country to witness this defining moment. I am one of the lucky ones because I get to be a witness to all of it. Personally, I feel more connected with this group of graduating seniors than any other class before. Some of my hardest working and exciting student ambassadors will be heading off for new adventures after next month. While I am definitely sad to lose them here, I know they will do amazing things in the world. The education and opportunities they have engaged in here at Evergreen have prepared them well, and for that, I couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments.

Picture taken during Super Saturday, a festival held each year on campus the day after graduation.

As I have mentioned before, this is one of our busiest times here in the Admissions Office. I have been tasked with the duty of presenting many of our daily information sessions, and I find this part of my job so fun! I have the opportunity to meet with students and families from across the country. Just today, I met families from New York, Minnesota, Idaho, and California… and that’s not even including the Washingtonians who come from all across the state to visit too. It’s enlightening for me to see such a wide diversity range in the people traveling such great distances to see this amazing college. It is a constant reminder of how unique and appealing an Evergreen education is to so many people. Our national reputation is growing and growing, and that is reflected in our eclectic student body.

You have come to the right place to check out what some of our students are doing here on campus. I encourage you to read the blogs our students keep on this web site (and feel free to comment; they love the questions!). I’m sure that you will be able to relate at least one of these Greeners. Their stories inspire me to stay focused, even when it feels like there’s so much to do around here. I hope that someday I will be able to share in your experiences here at Evergreen – I know you will do great things here too!

Spring Break is quickly approaching for our students on campus. The sun is shining (and the rain is falling) and flowers are poking up all over the campus. Students are running around trying to complete final projects and planning fun and exciting trips. Some of the students I work with are traveling to San Francisco, California, Orlando, Florida, and even China. I’m so jealous. For all of the college staff, there is no break. We work all the way through the change of quarters. This is great news if you want to come and visit during your Spring Break from high school or community college. We are continuing to host visitors all through March and April (typically a couple of our busiest months). Be sure to contact us if you’d like to reserve your spot. You can check out all our visit options at www.evergreen.edu/visit.