Television Moms at the University of Iowa

[pearlalum]

A Television Mom’s Recruitment Story

Since I am a mom, and writing this story about my daughter’s recruitment experience, it will be coming from a “Mom’s” perspective. Since my husband and I met while working at a local television station, I will be honoring some famous television moms by naming the chapters after them. The TV listing will be:

June Cleaver
Carol Brady
Shirley Partridge
Peggy Bundy
Louise “Weezy” Jefferson
Marion Cunningham
Jill Taylor
Clair Huxtable
Marge Simpson
Lucy Ricardo
Laura Petrie
Debra Barone
Elyse Keaton
Edith Bunker

I wasn’t sure if I would be able to tell this story since I felt I was beginning to smother my daughter with questions, advice, etc. I am a sorority girl (alright middle-aged broad now) and her mother, for Pete’s sake, so why wouldn’t she listen to my sage advice?!

I called her right after her Orientation session and she seemed tired and overwhelmed. She didn’t really want to talk and I thought, “well, this isn’t going to be easy.”

I thought about her all night and decided that I needed to back off. This is HER experience after all. I sent her an email the next day letting her know that I didn’t, in fact, want to smother her and that I just want her to know that I am here for her and to call when she wants advice or just wants to talk. A few hours later I got a reply with “I want you to be there Mom and I can’t wait to share everything with you. Love you XOXO.” What a difference a good night’s sleep can make!

Sure enough, I was a good girl and didn’t call her at all the evening of first rounds. Let me digress. Her recruitment consists of Round 1 on Friday night and Saturday, followed by a killer day (8 am-8pm) on Sunday for Round 2. Then, they have a weeklong break, and resume with Round 3 on the following Friday night and Saturday, with Prefs on Sunday and bid day on Monday. There are 14 chapters in Round 1, with a max of 11 invites back for Round 2, a max of 7 invites back to Round 3, and a max of 3 invites for Pref.

OK – now to the good stuff! My daughter texted me a photo of herself in our her outfit ready for Round 1. Yay – she really is going to share! So far, so good.

At the end of the evening, she called to tell me about her night. She visited 5 houses and they were:

June Cleaver – she said she LOVED this chapter (kind of didn’t want her to start LOVING any chapter so quickly, but it’s HER experience, right?). She said the girls were very nice and were coordinated in their outfits – this impressed her J They also had a house that, as she put it, “looked like a fairy tale house.” She had 2 recs for this house. She obviously wants to be invited back.
Laura Petrie – she liked this house too. She talked with a girl who worked for the same store that my daughter did that summer (different cities), and felt a connection there. She definitely would like to go back to this chapter. No rec letter for this one
Edith Bunker – didn’t connect here at all. This chapter doesn’t have a house, and I’m afraid it puts them at a disadvantage. No recs here either.
Carol Brady – she also LOVED (I put this in caps, as before, because that’s how she texted it to me) this house. She said the girls were great and she also liked their physical structure. She has a rec here, and would love to return.
Lucy Ricardo – she said this was the most beautiful physical structure so far. It’s a newer house and is quite wonderful. She liked the girls and would like to get to know them better as well. She has 2 recs here.

Tomorrow’s episode – Young and beautiful PNM visits the other chapters to conclude Round 1. Will she fall in love again? How will she rank her visits? Stay tuned!