Summer is Here!

Thank you all for reading CMCNation this past year and congrats to the incoming class of 2010!

As summer has arrived, new content on CMCNation will slow down. We may have a couple articles to post throughout the summer and the links at the top may have a new article every few weeks, but don't expect much more then that. That being said please peruse the website! There is a lot of content on here and some of it may be of interest to you, so make sure to click around and see what you can find.

Now, don't worry! We will be back in September with lots of new ideas/new content and ready to go! If you have enjoyed CMCNation and would like to get involved with us next year then be sure to check out VSAC (Volunteer Student Admissions Committee) at the beginning of the year at the club fair and keep your eyes open for emails from us.

Enjoy your summer and we can't wait to see some of you at CMC in the Fall!

The Kravis Leadership Institute recently sponsored me to attend a 4-day leadership conference at the University of Texas-Austin. The conference was put on by the Center for Ethical Leadership by the Lyndon. B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.

I left Claremont early Thursday morning (like before the sun came up early) and started my adventure to Texas. This was the first time that I had ever been to Texas and having been born and raised in southern California and then chosen to stay for college, I was excited about experiencing the great state of Texas! I arrived, made my way to the hotel and then hopped on the bus that would take us to our first day at the conference.

There were about 140 of us attending from all over the United States, Mexico and Canada. We were divided into smaller teams of about 15-20, and my team named ourselves the "donkey sparrows." (at the time there was a good reason for that name, but I am not sure why now...) We had dinner and team bonding activities and then we had our first speaker Thursday night; Mary Robinson, the first female president of Ireland. Hearing her talk about the challenges she faced and the tough choices she had to make was fascinating.

Friday morning we got up early to start our first full day at the conference. We had two speakers Friday morning. Dr. Howard T. Prince, the man whose inspiration is what made the conference possible and Dr. Raj Sisodia. Both spoke about ethical leadership, the conference theme, and Dr. Raj focused on ethical leadership in the business world, more specifically, "conscious capitalism."

I admit that I was hesitant to embark on a sport that would take over my schedule, and I was terrified for that first week of practice. Now I'm a graduating senior and look back on my decision to play basketball as one of the very best parts of my college career.

My freshman season was fantastic. Between my fabulous teammates, sense of pride on campus, and being named Second Team All-SCIAC, I was on cloud nine. Then it all came crashing down early one morning during my sophomore year. I had torn my ACL. I was out for the season and never
even got to play in a game. Devastated by the injury, I realized just how much I loved the sport. It was a tough transition from player to spectator, but in the end the injury became a blessing. I was able to study in Paris that spring, and in doing so, I traveled guilt free knowing that I didn't have to choose between basketball and study abroad.

My final two seasons have been equally rewarding. When that final buzzer rang on my last game, I knew that my life would never be the same. In those first few weeks post season, it was like there was a
void in my life. Unlike being injured where I knew there was still a future, my identity as an Athena basketball player will never be repeated.

I will forever cherish the friendships and the memories. Basketball has been my source of laughter, competition, exercise, pride, and challenge for four years.

The season marked one of the most competitive in SCIAC history, with the conference dominated by competition between the CMS team and the Bulldogs. It was only fair that these two outstanding teams competed against each other in the last dual meet of the regular season, with the Athenas pulling ahead with a score of 139 - 104, and the Stags dropping by only 5 points (a second place finish score in an individual event) to the Bulldogs.

CMS Swim and Dive are not only defined by incredible season rankings and statistics. Talented swimmers, divers and coaches share a commitment to excellence and dedication to our sport. With one of the largest co-ed teams representing the Stags and Athenas, team goals are defined by a devotion to personal responsibility and merit.

After losing honorary All-American Vincent Pai (HMC '12) in the 400 medley relay on the first night of the conference championship to an injury, freshman Brad Perfect (HMC '13) hustled and gave a lifetime best performance to help secure a second place finish in the 200 medley relay the following night. The 100 backstroke race was dominated by five Athenas: Katie Bilotti (CMC '12), Tessa Dover (CMC '11), Jenni Rinker (HMC '11), Elsa Cheng (CMC '13) and Amy Tresenrider (CMC '12) after the morning preliminaries. The championship final resulted in a 1-2-3-4-6 finish, giving CMS a huge vote of confidence after Pai's heartbreaking injury.

CMS Swim and Dive went on to send 4 Stags and 7 Athenas to the NCAA Division III National Championships. Annie Perizzolo (CMC '11) won 2 national champion titles in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, and the Athena relay team came 2nd in both medley relays. The Athenas concluded with their highest finish ever (5th place) at the national championships. The Stags had a relay team at nationals for the first time in 10 years and finished 41st.

To me, last weekend summed up the CMC experience. On Friday, I went with the Claremont Consulting Network to a firm visit of Bain & Company. This company is one of the top 3 consulting firms in the world; getting a job offer there is the hiring equivalent of getting into to Harvard. To start the day, the head of recruiting at the office greeted us and took us into a conference room. There, top managers and entry level consultants alike gave presentations on the firm and what working there entailed. We then took a tour of the office (which was super nice and swanky), getting an insight into a typical day in the life of a Bain employee. This was an awesome career networking experience, as we were able to talk personally for a while with the head of recruiting and many current employees. The connections I made that day could very possibly land me an internship or job offer there in the future.

The next morning, things went in the complete opposite direction. Saturday was CMC's annual Marathon Party, aka the 24 hour party or the Olympic Torch Relay Party. This party, from 12pm Saturday to 12pm Sunday, was one of my favorites of the year. Each time period had its own country theme and location, ranging from Irish Pub in Claremont Hall to Mexican Cabo-style party at the Senior Apartments. The crowd dwindled somewhat as the party went on, but people were still raging. In the morning, we had breakfast and a celebration, partying for the last couple hours until noon. As one of the proud people to make it all 24 hours, I am happy to say it was well worth the exhaustion that followed.

The contrast between these two events defines what we call at CMC the "work hard, play hard" mentality. Everyone here takes academics and advancement opportunities seriously, but everyone is also as ready as anyone to let loose on the weekends. So CMC paid for me to go network at a world renowned firm one day, then made it possible for me to party for 24 hours straight the next day. Where could be better than this?

Kyle Jenkins