Horace Mann - Winter 2012 - (Page 28)

news of the school Canh Oxelson Becomes Horace Mann School Director of College Counseling if there is anything oxelson finds challenging about directing the college Guidance office, it’s helping HM’s students navigate the process of matching the myriad exciting options they have among colleges and universities with their academic accomplishments and aspirations. in fact, oxelson’s sincere concern for helping students make the right college match are among the reasons Horace Mann School felt he was the best person for the job, Dr. Kelly said. “We deeply value canh oxelson’s considerable qualifications. We also wanted to incorporate into the life of Horace Mann School his passionate commitment to students. canh expressed this when he wrote that he finds ‘great joy in helping young people discover enough about themselves to find a college environment that provides them a safe space to become the best and most evolved person they can be,’” said Dr. Kelly. canh eric oxelson began his work as HM’s Director of college counseling on July 1, 2011, taking up the role longheld by Steven Singer, one of the most esteemed administrators in the country’s college counseling profession, who retired the position in 2009 but now teaches at HM. oxelson joined Horace Mann’s accomplished college counseling office team including: Senior associate Director of college counseling, Thomas Katzenbach, who served as the office’s interim Director last year; associate Directors of college counseling amber long and elizabeth (beth) pili, both of whom have also worked on the college side of the admissions equation; and counseling office administrative assistants barbara billies and linda Dowling. oxelson has also worked on both sides of the application process. He THE JouRnEy To HoRacE mann our life story begins on a page of history so epic you’re the subject of a documentary film. your athletic skills bring you acclaim as a high-school all american, ncaa champion, and an olympic hopeful. your academic prowess earns you a graduate degree from Harvard University. your professional life is personally fulfilling and of service to others. and, you have a sideline that’s so unique your name is a question in Trivial pursuit. With these chapters already written, what can you do to bring some serious challenges into the plot of your life? become the Director of college counseling at Horace Mann School. That’s what canh oxelson did when he applied for the position and was selected by Horace Mann to fill the post. a veteran high school and college admissions officer, oxelson was selected from over 100 highly-qualified candidates, following the school’s yearlong, nationwide search for the ideal college counseling head, said Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly. 28 Horace mann magazine Winter 2012 y for anyone from outside the Horace Mann School community who believes the myth—media-made or otherwise— of stressed-out HM students for whom acceptance into the country’s top universities is the ultimate educational goal, a college advising position at this school would be a challenge. That wasn’t cahn oxelson’s belief. The reallife protagonist of each of the novelistic possibilities listed above, oxelson was drawn to Horace Mann School by its reality—its long tradition of talented students dedicated to “The life of the Mind” and prepared by their school “to lead great and giving lives.” as a Harvard alumnus, a former admissions officer at the University of pennsylvania and someone who inhabits a world where educational excellence is prized, oxelson was acquainted with Horace Mann alumni, and knew this school was about much more. as he reassured a group of seniors at an october instruction session in the legendarilytense early days of the 2011-2012 application season: “i know you can do this. i’ve read Horace Mann essays.”

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Winter 2012

Horace Mann - Winter 2012
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento ’90
Horace Mann School’s 125th Anniversary Observances Begin
Strategic Thinking
New Initiatives in Institutional Research and Admissions
HM's New Director of College Counseling
Timothy HO and Monica Merlo are 2011 Tina and Dave Bellet Teaching Excellence Award Winners
Langfan Oratorical Contest, 2011
Horace Mann School Graduates 178 in June, 2011
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Winter 2012