Bean There, Done That

We are just home from a couple of days in Chicago, where Katie registered for her first semester of classes at Columbia College. There are multiple days of orientation, but Tuesday was one of two choices for students majoring in marketing or photography. As Katie went off to have her picture taken for her i.d., we grabbed our orientation backpack and a provided muffin and juice. As Jim doctored up his coffee, I jockeyed around the masses to grab the last table. A woman and her son quickly asked if they could join me at the table. As there were five chairs, I said that would be great. What a great way to start the day! It was very interesting to share the table with them. Michael is in the same major as Katie, and is minoring in photography, which is one of Katie's hobbies. Lynna is very personable, so we were soon chatting like old friends. They are from the Chicago area, so it was fun to get their take on Columbia. We spent the day together, except for the time period when Michael and Katie were separated to register for classes.

Katie was able to get into all the classes she had selected, so that was great. Rumor going around was that a lot of the required courses were already filled. We were happy to find out that it was not true, at least in her case. Because there are still orientations going on in early August, and I was wondering what those kids would do.

As we sat through the presentations geared towards the parents, I was excited to find that my original impressions of this school seem to be true. The level of creativity offered by the teachers, majors and college in general is truly inspiring. And all with the goal of building a portfolio to assist in job placement upon graduation. Every parents dream! I think Columbia is a perfect fit for Katie. The big disappointment in the whole day was that there were no dorms open for viewing. We had heard from a friend of Katie's who went to orientation last week that you needed an appointment to see a room. We had tried unsuccessfully to obtain one. While we saw a room back in 2007 on a campus tour, it wasn't in the building Katie was placed in nor would I remember specifics even if it had been. The online virtual tours are cool, but you can't get a feel for dimensions. So much for shopping for storage containers ahead of time!

Though all of Tuesday was taken up with the orientation, we did have time Monday and Tuesday nights to walk around the downtown area. Chicago is such a vibrant city, even in the evening. Jim especially wanted to see the "Bean" as he had only observed it in pictures. Katie and I had walked to Millennium Park when we were in Chicago in 2007. Bean there, done that.

The next trip to Chicago will be move in day August 29th!