November 14, 2012 The Signal page 13
Features
Donohue / First month continued from page 1
“The institution deserves to be better known across the nation and even around the world,” Donohue said. “It’s an outstanding institution with a great reputation.” But with every new job comes new obstacles. After Donohue’s first week at the College, Hurricane Sandy hit. However, this gave him a chance to reflect on his first week as the vice president of college advancement and to begin thinking and planning about how he wants to proceed with the oversight and management of his department. It also gave him the time to get to know the campus better. In fact, during the week that students had off because of the storm, Donohue ate his meals in Eickoff and sat with various students in order to get to know them. “I wanted to hear their story, where they come from,” he said. “By nature, I’m a story-teller. I like to create narratives that really kind of paint a picture for folks because that’s what helps people reach a decision that they want to support an institution. They have to hear a story that compels them.” In the near future, Donohue plans to reach out to alumni through events and wants to create chapters around the country where College alumni can come together more frequently. He also plans to utilize
social media to reach out to younger alumni in particular. Currently, Donohue is taking the time to meet with each and every member of his staff to get to know them and understand what their skills and inspirations are in order to utilize them to reach the goals of the College. “I’ve always been a believer that, as a head of a department, my responsibility is to help my staff,” Donohue said. Donohue believes that alumni can play a crucial role in recruiting prospective students and wants to set up mentoring programs between alumni and current students. For December, Donohue’s goal is to get in touch with as many alumni as possible and renew their gifts and contributions. His plan is to focus heavily on alumni engagement through major gifts and to work with alumni who have significant means to do impactful things at the College,
such as supporting scholarship foundations and supporting faculty in research. As for now, Donohue is looking forward to the day when he can say that the College has one of the finest advancement programs. He’s also looking forward to the days when the College can announce major gifts and scholarship programs on a daily basis. “One of my tasks, one of my aspirations is to help build the national image for The College of New Jersey,” Donohue said. He explained that he’s had a wonderful career thus far, and is excited to start a new chapter of his life here at the College. “I’m just really pleased to be here,” Donohue said. “And this institution, from what I can see so far, just has fabulous students, a really talented, accomplished faculty and a great future. I can’t think of any place I’d rather be.”
Campus Style By Victoria Moorhouse Columnist Antoine Lopez, junior international business major and international student from France Antoine is wearing a navy blue and white-striped v-neck sweater with grey skinny jeans, a camel peacoat with toggle buttons and converses. All of his clothes, except his shoes, are made by French brands. How do you figure out what you are going to wear? It’s the first day I’m wearing my winter coat because of the snow. I thought that it was going to be cold today, so I should wear my coat today. How would you describe your style? Between casual and classy. Somewhere in the middle. Not sportswear because that’s not me — definitely. Not too casual. Is there anyone in the media that you really admire for the way that they dress? That’s an interesting question. No, I like fashion in general. I don’t have a person or a celebrity that I follow.
Photo courtesy of John Donohue
Currently, John Donohue is taking the time to get to know his staff and the campus.
What’s one trend that you despise? I am not a big fan of rain boots. I
Victoria Moorhouse / Columnist
Leather boots and a pair of jeans is a great classic look.
know that it’s very popular here. I understand why they are popular — with the weather. I am not a big fan at all. What is a trend that you really like? For winter? Boots. It’s between leather boots or the classic Timberlands. If you could give advice to the guys around campus, what would you tell them? Go for the leather boots and a pair of jeans. It works.
Comida deliciosa at Mexican Mariachi Grill By Amy Reynolds Features Editor
It’s easy to find a great nearby pizza place in order to satisfy those late-night cravings. Finding good Mexican food, on the other hand, is a tad more difficult. Mexican Mariachi Grill, located just minutes from the College in Ewing, offers a great variety of fantastic, authentic Mexican food. And although Mexican isn’t my favorite type of cuisine, I’d say it was pretty darn good. In order to sample as much food as possible, I ordered the Mariachi Plate, which includes a medium-sized pork burrito, a chicken tostada, two flauto tacos, a small quesadilla, rice and refried beans. Basically, A LOT of great food. My friends ordered a large amount of food as well. Between the four of us, we had the Mariachi Plate, a pork burrito, a surf and turf burrito, a chicken torta and a chicken tostada. And all of it was really good. When I first got my plate, I didn’t even know where to begin — there was so much food. I eventually decided that the cheese quesadilla was a good starting point. I wouldn’t say that it was anything special, but it’s hard to go wrong
with a quesadilla. Next, I decided to devour the pork burrito. Although it was good, there were a lot of beans in it, which I wasn’t expecting. It did, however, beat any burrito that you could find on campus. The chicken tostada was a little difficult to eat, but it was definitely worth the mess that it created. The chicken to lettuce to bean to cheese to sour cream ratio was perfect. In addition to the great entrees, Mexican Mariachi Grill offers free chips and salsa with every meal. The chips are unlimited, but you’re only allotted two small cups of salsa per meal. However, since the portions here are so large, all those extra chips aren’t necessary. Mexican Mariachi Grill also has a very authentic atmosphere, and the workers are very friendly. As soon as we walked in we felt very welcomed. It was also fairly inexpensive, especially for the amount of food that we got. My meal, which could have easily fed two people, was only $10. Even though I’m only up for Mexican food every once in a while, I’m pretty sure my friends are planning to make a trip to Mexican Mariachi Grill a weekly tradition.
Amy Reynolds / Features Editor
With large portions, a welcoming atmosphere and delicious food, Mexican Mariachi Grill is great when you’re craving Mexican food. Mexican Mariachi Grill Where: 1505 Parkway Ave. Ewing, N.J. 08628 Number: (609) 882-0119 Find them on mexicanmariachigrill.com (Pick-up or eat-in) Hours: Mon - Fri: 10 a.m - 9 p.m. Sat: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sun: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Overall Rating (4 out of 5):