Keeping Busy...

So, I realized that I haven't done an update blog on our lives in a very long time. To say the least, we've been keeping very busy around the Zaruba household! If you've read my post on "Life as an Admissions Counselor", you have an idea of what I've been doing. Honestly I haven't had much time for anything else.

AJ has been busy with school, getting ready for his fall concert - which is next week! - and preparing students for their All-State auditions, which are happening this weekend. He's also helping put together the All-School Talent Show which will take place in November. But they've been doing a lot of pre-planning and having auditions and interviews before hand. It's actually good that I've been gone so much because AJ has been working early mornings and late in the evenings with all these different activities! And whenever I am home, I like him to be home too, so it's good he's been keeping busy!

A couple of fun things that we've gotten to do this fall...

At the end of last month, we spent a weekend back home in Minnesota. My mom had managed to get tickets to the NDSU vs. U of M football game in the Twin Cities! With Dan being a freshman at NDSU and in the Marching Band, they were going to be at that game and perform during half time. So AJ and I went up along with my parents and we met my sister there. It was a blast! The game itself was awesome!! With NDSU winning! ;-) The people were a little crazy... it was my first Big 10 football game and I'm not sure I'd ever do it again... haha But the band performance at half time was awesome! It was so fun to watch! We even managed to find Dan with the binoculars we had brought and got to talk with him after the game for a little bit. It was a great time. 

 We were also able to go to a local apple orchard near my parents house and get some famous Minnesota apples and the best caramel there is! :) Definitely made the entire trip worth it! haha

Last weekend, AJ and I also got to head back to our old stomping grounds. We actually meet there because I was coming from Minnesota... but we were able to both head back for Homecoming at Wartburg! We even managed to make it back for the Wartburg Choir alumni reunion and open rehearsal.

For those of you that don't remember, it was actually through the Wartburg Choir that AJ and I met. And it was on our European Tour that we got engaged. The Wartburg Choir holds a very special place in both of our hearts. We learned about a special concert they want to do next year at Homecoming with about 5 or 6 pieces sung by an alumni choir! We really hope that we're going to be able to attend and be a part of that! At the rehearsal, it was great to listen to such an amazing group sing - even if it was just the practice! They've come along way with the new director and I think he's going to do some awesome things with the choir! Sometimes I hope that maybe someday down the road, that will be AJ conducting the Wartburg Choir! :) One of the greatest things that happened at the rehearsal was that Dr. Nelson actually invited all the alumni to join in and sing "Give Me Jesus". That song is a traditional song of the Wartburg Choir and is sung at the end of every concert. The choir actually circles the Chapel and holds hands. Being back in a large group of people like that, so passionate about music, was amazing. Even though it's been a couple years since I've sung that song, as soon as it began it all comes back. I wish I could describe what it felt like to be singing that song again with the Wartburg Choir, but I can't. I know for anyone else that was there singing it with us, they'd understand. But the feelings were so powerful. After the last note of the song, I think it either took your breath away or you were holding you breath in. That feelings of belong, unity, family, praise, meaning - it all hung in the air. It was unbelievable.

On Saturday, we spent the day walking around campus and meeting up with old friends! You couldn't even walk 10 steps without being stopped by someone you knew! It's an awesome feeling. Wartburg, I believe, will always feel like home to me. It's where AJ and I both meet some incredible people who we consider to be life-long friends. It's where we meet. It's where we got married. It's the place that's helped define us. It will also be home to us. I think that's another reason why I love to go back every year to Homecoming. Homecoming will always fall right around our anniversary, and since campus is where we got married, it's fun to be able to go back every year and not only celebrate homecoming and see all of our friends, but to also celebrate us and our marriage. 

Trying to recreate a wedding picture :)

On Saturday night, we drove down to Tipton to see AJ's parents! It had been a long time since we had seen them and so it was nice to be able to spend some time with them! AJ was able to stay the night and I unfortunately had to leave that night to drive down to St. Louis for work. But it was still great seeing them! They even got me a birthday cake that we were able to enjoy before I left! And I must admit, it was nice to just hang out there in front of the fireplace before I had to leave! :) We're looking forward to the next time we'll be able to make it back over there and spend some more time with them!

So, overall I think it's been a good fall. I think we're both looking forward to the upcoming holidays and things slowing down a little bit to enjoy each others' company and see some family. But until then, we'll just keep going along!

Life as an Admissions Counselor

I thought for this blog, I would give everyone a taste of what my life as an College Admissions Counselor is like - at least during the fall recruiting season, because that is the most exciting time. :) Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be able to get Austin to write a blog about "Life as a Music Teacher"!

So, the fall is the busiest time of year for college recruiters. There are high school visits, college fairs and also a lot of students coming to campus to check us out before applying. This busy season goes from September to about mid-November when it slows down again until around March. During the spring we pick up again with some more high school visits and college fairs, although not quite as many. When I first started at UNO, I started about a month and half before that Spring recruiting season began. During the last spring, I did about two, two and half weeks of college fairs and visited about 23 high schools that were in the three counties in Iowa that were part of a program we offer those students to get a reduced tuition. This fall, we've decided to step things up a notch.

The MAP program that was originally offered in three Western Iowa counties has now been expanded to 11 counties which now means I have 52 high schools to visit this fall. We are also trying to recruit more in Minnesota and Kansas. This month, October,  is by far my busiest month. I will be in the office for roughly 4 days out of the month. I've rented a car from Enterprise for the entire month, which I'm currently contemplating keeping for another couple of weeks in November for my remaining high school visits.

It's only October 7th and I've had my rental car for one week. Today when I was in the office I determined that I have already been on the road for about 24 hours total and driven just under 1500 miles. In just seven days!! I'm both a little scared and excited to see what those numbers will look like at the end of this month.

To give you a little bit of idea of what I'm doing this month (and if you're curious why you might not hear much from me), here is my schedule - starting with October 1st.

On Saturday Oct 1st, AJ drove with me to Council Bluffs to pick up my rental car. From there I went into work for our Homecoming Open House. On Sunday, AJ and I drove to Des Moines where he hung out with his sister and brother-in-law while I was at the first college fair of the month. On Monday I had three high school visits before going back into the office to get some things done before leaving. Kristina and I then drove to Minneapolis where we worked the National College Fair on Tuesday (two 4-hour parts) and Wednesday morning. We drove home on Wednesday night where I enjoyed the night back in my own bed. On Thursday, I drove down to Topeka, KS for a college fair and home again that night. Today I was back in the office for a Friday Mav Day (a fairly large visit day on campus). I'm home this weekend until Sunday when I'm heading back to Minnesota for the week. I have college fairs Monday through Thursday. Thursday night I'll be able to stay at my parent's house for a quick hello before leaving again Friday to head to Waverly, IA. AJ plans on meeting me there so we can attend Wartburg's Homecoming. The party will be short lived as I head off to St. Louis on Saturday night for another National College Fair down there on Sunday - my birthday. :) Then it'll be a long 7 hour drive home to get back for some more high school visits on Monday. Tuesday I'll have some time back in the office again before leaving around mid-day to head back to Kansas for a college fair that night and two more on Wednesday. After driving home late Wednesday night, I'll be back in the office on Thursday and some of the day on Friday before doing another high school visit. Another short weekend as I leave again that Sunday for another round of college fairs in Minnesota, this time along I-90. The good thing about this is I'll be able to see my parents and some friends along the way! Those college fairs go from Monday until Thursday where I'll crash at my parent's again before driving home on Friday. Saturday will be my day of rest before we have a large college fair on campus on Sunday along with an Open House for a couple of colleges on campus. And on Monday, October 31st, I'll be back in the office for an Information Session (a campus visit).

And there you have it. My October. Exhausted just reading it? Yeah, me too. I could tell you about the start of November which is filled with the remainder of my high school visits, a conference and a couple more college fairs, but I won't. :) Welcome to the life of an Admissions Counselor!