Working in the Admissions Office this summer has been wonderful for a whole variety of reasons.  The experience of working in a real, bustling office environment and the wonderful community of friends at Admissions I’ve made have greatly exceeded my expectations.  Moreover, some of the more specific functions of my job have given me a fascinating and wholly positive new  perspective on Middlebury through the eyes of some of its most senior faculty and staff.  As a Tour Guide Coordinator, part of my work over the summer involves updating the office on all the countless changes that happen to the programs and initiatives on this campus and ensuring that the information our counselors have and our tour guides speak about is as accurate and current as possible.  In that capacity, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with the heads of everything from Athletics to Study Abroad, Dining Services to Language School, The Project on Creativity and Innovation in the Liberal Arts to the College’s formal architectural master plan.  What I’ve come back with has been incredible; I have so much confidence in the vision and passion these people bring to their work and the departments they spearhead.  As a student and especially an underclassman, the workings of the administration can seem mysterious and disconnected from student life.  I’ve coming away from this summer absolutely secure in the knowledge that they are, in fact, entirely dedicated to students’ well being and the unparalleled educational experience Middlebury provides.  It’s so heartening to know the College is in such good hands.

By Nick Rehmus

It says something about my personality that my first feelings when summer started were of guilt, not relief.  I should be doing something, I thought over and over again.  What am I forgetting?  Life at Middlebury can be very high-intensity.  The everyday hustle and bustle of classes and meetings, the semi-subliminal buzz of upcoming assignments, tests on the horizon.  It’s enough rush and noise to make anyone feel, when you finally get that moment to relax, breathe, god forbid read a book for pleasure! that it’s probably only because you’re procrastinating or forgetting something.

And it’s weirdly addicting, that chaotic life.  You get used to doing fifty, a hundred things in a day–small though they may be–and suddenly that’s what constitutes fulfillment.  Productivity, efficiency.  Checking items off a list.

And for all the advantages of being one of Foucault’s “productive, docile bodies” (you know, like landing a job and being a functional member of society), I think that the true, deepest fulfillment is that which marries this traditional engagement with something subtler, calmer, at once more self-centered and selfless.  The ability to find happiness in just being.  Can you be content just sitting in the sun, no people around, no distractions, nobody to report to?  Because that’s a test all its own.  It takes different skills than willpower and work ethic.  For me, the beginning of this summer has been all about coming to terms with this second type of fulfillment.  A bit more free time, a bit less stress.  Certainly having access to beautiful forests and waterfalls helps.  Relaxation and contemplation that aren’t cause for guilt or worry, but rather an essential part of being well-adjusted and happy in the long term.

I’m jumping back into stress-mode in July when I enter the world of Bay Area finance, so there’s a return to normalcy looming on the horizon.  In the mean time, though, Middlebury is an achingly beautiful place to spend a small bit of time reevaluating, decompressing, and learning about myself.  Here’s to a wonderful summer!