THE TINY GOLD CABLE CAR THAT HANGS around ADELAIDE DAWES' neck was sent to her decades ago by her Aunt Molly -- aka MARY FARLEY -- who came here from England in the mid-1960s and worked for a faculty member. "Aunt Molly is a very English lady who insisted we should all live in America," said Dawes, who is building manager at Wallenberg Hall. "She wanted everyone to come and work at Stanford because she felt it was such a wonderful place." One by one, Farley sponsored her four sisters in immigrating to the States, and many of her relatives did end up working on campus. Dawes' retired mother, JEAN MURRAY, worked for the registrar's office and Human Resources; Dawes' brothers PAUL and AL MURRAY work for ITSS and HR, respectively; and an uncle, JOHN MCNALLY, retired as a full-time Housing and Dining Services maintenance employee but still works part time on campus. Another brother, an aunt and a cousin all formerly worked for Stanford, Dawes said. Dawes is the family's latecomer to the States -- she moved here in 1999 -- but began looking for jobs on the university website even before she left Manchester. This summer, Dawes became Wallenberg Hall's unofficial ambassador, giving public tours every Wednesday at noon. To demonstrate a cutting-edge whiteboard in a classroom, Dawes writes out the word she calls her favorite: "Welcome."

MANY CHILDREN CONTINUALLY WITNESS violence in the media coverage of war and terrorism in ways that bring uncertainty and fear right into our living rooms, said TERESA RASCO, director of the WorkLife Office. Rasco has invited KAREN FRIEDLAND-BROWN, parent education coordinator of Parents Place in Palo Alto, to come to campus to talk with parents about how to communicate with their children about world events in a way that's appropriate for their development in an open discussion titled "Growing Up in a Post 9/11 World." The forum will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 9, from noon to 1 p.m., in a location that has not yet been determined. If you'd like to attend, e-mail Rasco at trasco@stanford.edu or call the WorkLife Office at 723-2660.

STANFORD CAN BE MANY THINGS TO many different high school guidance counselors, as evidenced by its rankings in The Unofficial, Unbiased Guide to the 328 Most Interesting Colleges, 2004 Edition (Kaplan Publishing). A random sample of U.S. public and private high school counselors revealed that Stanford is highly ranked as "the most beautiful campus in an urban setting" as well as "most beautiful in a suburban or rural setting." It is a school that has "changed for the better" as well as one that "may be overrated." And while Stanford is "hot and trendy," it also comes to mind as a school "that could be the setting for a remake of Revenge of the Nerds."