Olander Fleming
Assistant Director of
Admissions for
Emerging Populations
Longwood University (VA)
How long have you been
in admissions/college counseling?
I’m in my 5th year
working in admissions.
How did you get
started in college counseling/admissions?
Being an admissions
counselor wasn't even on my radar as a potential job after I
graduated. A friend from college called me a few weeks after
graduation and said his father (then Dean of Admissions at Longwood) was
looking for a bi-lingual recruiter who didn't mind traveling
out-of-state. I graduated with a degree in Spanish from
Hampden-Sydney College and knew I wanted to use the language in my
profession, as long as it wasn't teaching, so I applied. A few
weeks later I started as the Out-of-State counselor, covering Maryland to
Connecticut.
What's your favorite
admissions/counseling memory?
Favorite memory has to
be during an Accepted Student Open House a few years ago. Rewind a couple
months before the program to around mid-January when we do the “fun”
phone-a-thons encouraging students to apply. I called an individual who
had a profile which was clearly admissible to Longwood to encourage her to
apply as it was the last document we needed to make a decision. Fast
forward back to the Open House, her mother approached me to thank me for the
call to her daughter. The student was suffering from a variety of health
issues her senior year and with each set-back, saw her dream of attending
college slowly fade away. My phone call encouraging her to apply
brightened her day and gave her a new hope for her future. I was glad she
approached me as it helped show me there are some things in admissions we
sometimes don’t care to do and aren't as motivated to complete but if
we give it a 100%, it could mean the world to a student.
What advice would you
give to someone looking to pursue leadership in PCACAC and/or NACAC?
If you have a passion
or consider yourself an “expert” or “the best” on that subject, seek ways you
can participate in regional or national leadership to offer your
expertise. If you aren't sure where to begin, approach someone
who holds a leadership position and ask them about their journey to where
they are at now. Networking is key if you would like to advance yourself.
If not working in
admissions/college counseling, what else could you see yourself pursuing?
One of my minors was
in International Affairs and as a final project I researched and presented on
the disappearance of the Afro-Argentine in Argentina.
If you've ever been to the country, you’ll notice
it isn't a very diverse country when it comes to skin color.
What I found that while the color of their skin was more European, some
people had physical features more similar to those of African descent.
There isn't much published information available on the subject
so if not working in admissions, I could see myself in Argentina conducting
more research on the Afro-Argentine.
What's one thing that
most people don't know about you?
I love to collect
baseballs from stadiums, museums, theme parks and cities I visit as I travel.
I've been doing so since high school and have them displayed in my
house.
What's a current trend
or future issue you're passionate about right now? And why?
I’m very
interested in providing information in Spanish to Hispanic families who need
it. The parents are a very tricky group to present to as some speak
Spanish, others don’t. Some never attended college, others did but in another
country. A small percentage is undocumented or under DACA status. No
matter what their background is, the Hispanic population is growing and
consists of a large number of individuals who don’t know much about the higher
education system here. There aren't many resources available in
Spanish that cover the college search process and financial aid. I’m
fortunate to work for a university which supports my passion and allows me to
provide information through presentations in Spanish in the Virginia/DC/MD
area.
*** To Celebrate Potomac Chesapeake's 50th Conference
Anniversary, we're highlighting some of our current members. Each week until
the conference at The Homestead in Spring 2015, a new member will be posted.
Interested in participating? Email Aundra Weissert at aweissert2@washcoll.edu to
get started.***
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