KN: Describe your daily routine.
Mr. Wescott: Depends on the time of year as to what’s going on. But I probably have a meeting at 8:30am. It could be with seniors, like yourselves, talking about upcoming release dates. It could be planning a strategy on what’s going on. It could be a meeting with other colleagues and adults, like class deans and the counseling staff. And then I have a series of meetings in the afternoon.
KN: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
BW: I have some interesting hobbies. I often think about distinctive hobbies because I often try to get you guys to talk about distinctive hobbies as well. I love tracking planes.
KN: Tracking planes?
KN: My dad does that.
BW: I love tracking air travel in general. Like, flight paths, what airlines fly, what routes with what equipment. I love it. I’m not a big reader, except for in the summertime. I read the beach book type of stuff. I love cold weather things. Anything cold weather, I love that. If it’s 15 degrees, I want to go on a walk with my daughter.
KN: Snowball fight?
BW: Oh yeah, any snow-related activity. I like shoveling snow. I like spending time with my dog. I like watching sporting events. I’m really into male acapella music, like “Pitch Perfect.”
KN: Do you have any favorite groups?
BW: It’s more collegiate groups, so I’m kind of into that. I spend time with my family. I’ve got an incredible wife, and we spend a lot of time together with her family in Texas. I love going out to breakfast.
KN: What’s your favorite breakfast spot?
BW: Anybody who can get us out quickly with a young child.
KN: If you could have dinner with one person, historical or fictitious, real or animated, who would it be and why?
BW: Ellen. James Corden. Late night show people because they would be fun to have dinner with. They’re fun for a living. It would be a fun dinner.
KN: Favorite lunch?
BW: I don’t like breakfast for lunch. I love burger day…hotdogs. Tacos are a winner for me. I love Philly cheesesteaks. I would rather eat less than eat poorly.
KN: What do you love about college counseling?
BW: My favorite part of my work is strategy. Planning out a sequence of pivots… I love that.
KN: Favorite way to procrastinate at work?
BW: Go hang out with students in the Commons.
KN: Favorite music / Spotify Wrapped?
BW: I don’t own Spotify. I am a Pandora man. I listen to a lot of Jason Isbell. I’m big into John Legend. I love Leslie Odom Jr., the California Honey Drops and classical choral music. Another person people don’t know I’m into: John Splithoff. St. Paul and the Broken Bones, you guys know them.
KN: Nope.
KN: I don’t.
BW: Okay…
KN: Who is your lunchroom pal?
BW: Some of it just syncs up with whenever you eat lunch. I have lunch frequently with Mrs. Tam Neiley, Dr. Jason Brooks and Mrs. Caitlin Terry.
KN: Do you have a hot take?
BW: I think it’s lunacy how narrow the parking spots are here.
KN: Most embarrassing story or moment?
BW: I’m not a very embarrassed person. My threshold for embarrassment is pretty high.
KN: Favorite TV show and why?
BW: I’m really, really into “Shantaram” on AppleTV+. It’s underrated. I’m all caught up, and I hope they do another season.
KN: Thank you for your time Mr. Wescott. Have a great day!
BW: Thank you guys.
MRS. RUFF:
KN: Describe your daily routine.
AR: So the interesting thing about the college counseling office is that we go cyclically. We are an office that functions like the school day, but we don’t function on the class schedule. We meet with parents, families, and college reps. But there’s no typical day. We have to adapt on the fly all the time. We also love food in this office, so lunch is always a conversation. And if it’s breakfast for lunch? We’re finding other things.
KN: What do you love about college counseling?
AR: I love meeting with students and I love the essay stuff. I also love researching colleges. We all have our strengths, like Mr. Wescott is really good at strategy, you know. We work as a team and then we also work very individually.
KN: Got it. What is your routine after you leave Pace?
AR: I mean, I’m a mom when I’m not here. Also, when I’m not here, I’m always thinking about food. Making dinner. Walking my dog. It’s a very mundane life. I have a cat named Oreo, but our neighbors have an Oreo too, but he’s an outdoor cat. My child has no discerning ability to know which Oreo is which, and we don’t want ours to get outside.
KN: Is one bigger than the other?
AR: Mine is bigger.
KN: Call yours double stuff.
KN: Least favorite part of your day?
AR: I’m not a morning person. I wish I could be that person that gets up early and starts my day quietly with my coffee. When I finally get Charlie ready and get out the door, I get stuck in traffic on West Paces and then it’s a litany of swears and then I put on my Meghan Markle podcast.
KN: What’s your favorite thing to do in your free time?
AR: I love podcasts.
KN: You got a top three favorite podcasts?
AR: Top 45. They rotate. Oh wow. Every day I listen to “The Daily” in the car. My Spotify is like a multiple hour part of my life every day. It’s like a place of refuge for me. I listen to “Normal Gossip.” Have you listened to it? I also listened to “Archetypes” with Meghan Markle. It has great information about the etymology of words, and especially how they impact women. I used to listen to “Armchair Expert” all the time, to the point where it took up all of my time.
KN: Okay, if you could have dinner with one person, historical or fictitious, alive or dead, real or animated, who would it be?
AR: I’ve got so many. Obviously Meghan Markle, but I wish it was before all of this contention about her. I would rather listen to what she was passionate about before she got drug through the media. She was so committed to global topics and female initiatives, even at such a young age. I’d also like to have dinner with David Chang. He’s a chef, but he’s much more than that. The way he thinks about food is really interesting. He thinks about the global impact of he’s eating and if something healthy for you can impact the world in a negative way, like overfishing salmon.
KN: Sweet. That’s an excuse for me to not eat salmon now. Anyway, what is your favorite way to procrastinate at work?
AR: At work, my favorite way to procrastinate is honestly researching colleges.
KN: That is not procrastinating.
AR: During the fall when I’m working with you guys and we’re not necessarily in research mode, part of my procrastination is doing deep dives into really particular programs. And when reps come in, a 20 minute conversation can turn into an hour. It’s just not the most effective use of time all the time.
KN: Okay, fair. What is your favorite music/Spotify wrapped?
AR: I love country music.
KN: That’s really surprising.
AR: What would you think I would like? Pop? Because I’m mainstream and basic?
KN: No! You’re twisting my words.
AR: I love Adele. And Ed Sheeran is huge in my house. Charlie’s favorite song is “Bad Habits.” We listen to it three times a day. He also loves seventies rock.
KN: Sounds like we should just interview Charlie.
AR: Probably. I also love “Levitating” by Dua Lipa.
KN: I love that song! You can’t go wrong with that one. Okay, do you have a hot take for us?
AR: I hate breakfast for lunch. That’s kind of a hot take here at Pace.
KN: Non food-related hot take?
AR: Oh, I don’t have any of those. My world doesn’t revolve around anything but college counseling and food.
KN: In honor of Valentine’s Day, who is your celebrity crush?
AR: Hmm. Miles Teller. Pre “Top Gun: though. Now he’s mainstream and it’s kind of annoying.
KN: Good choice, but include “Top Gun” too.