Montreal Pilgrimage

Last weekend I went on a pilgrimage to Montreal. The pilgrimage was put on by campus ministry & was led by one of my professors - Professor Patterson.

Two of my housemates - Merrill & Cait - decided to attend too. Honestly, a huge part of why I attended is because Professor Patterson is an awesome professor. I'm in his American Catholicism class right now & it's so interesting. Plus he's funny & makes the class fun & engaging. I knew that the this trip would be interesting if Professor Patterson  was going to lead it.

Cait, me, & Merrill

We left for the pilgrimage on Friday afternoon & drove up to Saint Anne's Shrine - a retreat center run by the Edmundites, the sect priests who run Saint Mike's. The retreat area was beautiful - set right on the water with beautiful buildings & sleeping cabins.

Lakeside at Saint Anne's Shrine

Friday night we had dinner then had a few talks about what a pilgrimage is and what we could expect to see. We broke off for the night and had free time to chat & get to know the other students on the trip.

Cute shrub statue in Montreal

Saturday morning we got up early & set off for Montreal. We crossed over to Canada & then we spent the day looking at different churches throughout the city. We had some free time for lunch before meeting up again. We finished with a mass at Saint Patrick's Church, had dinner, and drove back to Saint Anne's Shrine for the night.

Saint Joseph's Oratory

Notre Dame de Bon Secours

Sunday was busy too. We had some more free time but then we had to pack up. We attended mass at the shrine & then got to join the Harvest Dinner. Essentially they were serving an entire Thanksgiving meal for lunch - it was delicious! Afterwards we drove back to Saint Mike's.

Outside Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

The weekend was really wonderful & it was interesting to learn more about Saints that we had heard of in class. Professor Patterson made sure the trip was fun & it was overall a great weekend.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me!

Vermont Business Roundtable - Executive Leadership Series

A few weeks ago I got an email from my advisor. She asked if I had heard of the women's leadership conference being held in South Burlington.

I was so interested without even knowing exactly what this was about. Since I'm interested in working in politics and am particularly interested in fighting for women's rights (aka equal pay, more women in leadership positions, etc.) I thought this leadership conference sounded awesome.

My advisor invited me & a few other students to attend the conference with her. We met up at Starbucks that morning, went to the conference, & ended up having lunch together afterwards.

Our far away seats during 

Jennifer Siebel Newsom's keynote

The event was put on by the Vermont Business Roundtable & featured a breakfast, keynote speaker, & a panel discussion for students. While we skipped the breakfast - we couldn't exactly afford the $1,200 per table - we got to attend the keynote & the panel. And it was awesome!

The speakers included, among others, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the filmmaker who created Miss Representation, and Madeleine Kunin, the first & only female governor of Vermont.

Quick video about Governor Kunin

The day was awesome - hearing from these women was exciting & inspiring. They've really done so much in their careers & are working to encourage & support other women so that they successful.

It was also great to visit with my advisor & with some other students & friends outside of class. My professor knows about my career goals & knows that I am interested in politics. She reached out to me about this event because she understood that it would really interest me & I am so grateful!

Trailer for the movie 'Miss Representation'

If you're interested in learning more about the Vermont Business Roundtable or about the Executive Leadership Series event that I attended, please check out this article by the VBR.

There are so many awesome events in Burlington & I'm going to more in the coming weeks! This Thursday our school is having our annual Fall concert & Foster the People are coming! Then next week I'm going to hear author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speak at UVM and I'm going to an Eric Hutchinson concert at Higher Ground. I've got a busy few weeks ahead of me!

Email me with any questions!

Looking Ahead to Post-Grad Life

Every time I introduce myself as a tour guide I say the same thing - "My name is Alex Brenock and I'm from Medway, Mass. At Saint Mike's I am, sadly, a senior and I am a business major."

I am, sadly, a senior. Seriously, sometimes it's seriously upsetting!

In May, after graduating, I am going to be so sad to leave my friends, professors, and so many other SMC staff members. But I'm also pretty excited to take a big jump forward in my life & to really get started in my career path.

I've been spending a lot of time at 

Klein, where career development is located

Right now I plan to go to graduate school & then to work in politics and eventually run for office. The end goal is to become a U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts. I know, I've got some big plans. This semester I'm busy applying to graduate school. I'm looking to go to school in Boston or in D.C. & I am interested in a joint JD & MBA program. In four years I'll earn both my law degree & my masters in business.

That means that this semester has been crazy busy for me! A few weeks ago I took the LSATs and I'll be taking the GMATs next month. Besides that, I have applications, essays, and letters of recommendation to compile! I'm hoping to be done with the entire process by the end of November.

So what else have I been doing to plan for my future? Well recently I've been working to figure out how to pay for grad school. I entered a scholarship contest a few weeks ago that's put on by Dr. Pepper. I've gotten enough votes to make it to the next round, & now I need more votes in order to possibly win!

Please shoot over to the Dr. Pepper contest page, where you can see my profile & check out a video, coming soon. On the bottom left of the screen, just click vote! Really, every vote helps me in this competition & every bit of money I can get for grad school helps too!

Please email me questions!

October 4 - Admissions Open House

Saturday, October 4 was our first open house!

Every fall we have two admissions open houses, during which prospective students can tour Saint Mike's, meet our mascot Mike the Knight, and hear from the President of the college, the VP of enrollment, and a whole bunch of admissions counselors.

The campus store decked out for open house
"Welcome to the #SMCVT family!"

I love, love, love open houses because there is so much excitement & energy! So many prospective students attend & almost all of our tour guides are out giving tours. The day gives prospective students a great feel for the college - they can hear from clubs at our activities fair, eat lunch, hear from professors, & feel the awesome the Saint Mike's community.

Since I'm one of the coordinators for Founders Society - the group on campus that organizes tour guides & bloggers & rallies students for phone-a-thons & for alumni appreciation week - I had to be at the open house at 8:45am. It was early for a Saturday!

Founders coordinators - Bizzy, Brian, me, & Erin

When I arrived I helped Mike the Knight get set up, snapped a picture with my other coordinators, & started greeting prospective students & parents.

My apologies for the awkward camera

movement - my computer wouldn't let me edit!

I got to listen in to some welcome remarks, including one of my senior friends, and listened to the Acabellas, the female acapella group on campus. Next I attended the business & accounting panel to listen & share. Two of my very favorite professors - Professor Doyon & Professor Popovich - were there to present about the curriculum for business & accounting students.

Professor Doyon was my accounting professor & literally made the class easy to understand & even fun! Professor Popovich is my advisor & I am currently in one of her classes. We're learning about how to use excel for business purposes & let me just say - I never knew how little I knew about excel. Next Friday I'll actually be going to dinner at Professor Popovich's house with some other students & I can't wait!

A rainy open house - but campus was still gorgeous!

After the panel was done, most prospective students went on tours. I went to the activities fair to visit friends & I had some lunch. Finally, I went home!

Open houses are exhausting - they're early, busy, & long days! But they're one of my favorite parts of being a tour guide & Founders coordinator. They really allow us to share our love of Saint Mike's, which is the whole reason why we're involved!

If you're interested in attending the next open house on November 9th, register here! And if you have any questions, please email me!