Confessions of an Active Admission Counselor

Contributed by Greg Moon, Longwood University

           Jobs that involve a lot of travel can take a tough toll on the body. In Admissions, there are days where you’re given an endless amount of food before a fair as well as opportunities in the late evening to “network” with colleagues.  In my third year as Admissions Counselor at Longwood University, one of the best parts of the job is driving hundreds of miles developing new relationships with Guidance Counselors and students. With the spring travel season getting closer, many of us have made New Year’s resolutions committing more time to fitness or living a healthier lifestyle. I want to tell you that despite the demanding and stressful work schedule our jobs can bring, it is possible to be healthy and get fit.

          The sad truth is that fitness takes a huge commitment. If you want to see your body change for the better, it takes continuous hard work. Talk to any personal trainer and you’ll learn that fitness is their lifestyle. Having a dedicated, healthy mindset is the first step before setting fitness goals. 

          When I travel, Longwood University is my first priority. I’m on their dime so they are top priority and I commit to completing every task they hand me. That being said, free time is incredibly important as well. Having a quick weightlifting session or a thirty minute treadmill run is a therapeutic way for me to clear my head. It helps me to reflect and think about how I can improve on the following day. When traveling, my head runs a million miles an hour but exercise is the one resource that gives me the meditative time I need to calm down and think about the ideas I can bring to the table. I truly believe that without my 30-60 minute workout five days a week, I would not be as motivated. If you can begin to see fitness as a means of therapy, your daily workout routine will become ten times easier.

          I certainly understand committing to a fitness routine is one of the toughest things to do so here are some tips to help you get started. Use these if you struggle to find motivation:

Take Advantage of Your On Campus Gym

Travel season is long and rigorous, but many colleges will offer discounted gym memberships to employees. When working on campus, try out the different types of group classes offered or do a personal training session for an hour. This lets you to learn new exercises and connect with the different trainers at your school. I love talking to fitness experts and many times on the road I’ll text or email them asking about a specific exercise they taught. Trainers are also incredible motivators, connecting with them gives you a personal trainer to communicate with on the road.

Have a Goal Body 

Despite what many of my guy friends think, I research and study many male celebrity’s workouts.  These guys use the most expensive trainers and are willing to do whatever it takes to have a certain body because they get paid millions to do it. Find a celebrity that has a similar body type to you and make it your Goal Body. After much deliberation, I’m not ashamed to say that Zac Efron is my goal body but Channing Tatum was a close second!

Learn to Drink Coffee Black and Eliminate Soda

During travel season, my best friend is coffee and that’s what I drink most on the road. Without it my brain won’t function -- I’m sure many counselors can relate to this! The number of cups in a day for a counselor can add up fast, which means if you prefer a lot of sugar in your coffee, that can add up fast as well. It was hard for me at first, but I began to develop a taste for black coffee. Try it out for a week and if it doesn't work out, try to cut down on the amount of sugar you consume with your coffee. Eliminating the unnecessary calories from sugars in coffee and soda allows you to have a higher caloric intake. After college, I eliminated soda from my diet and drank my coffee black. I ended up losing 10 lbs. in a month during my first travel season. If you’re looking for quicker results, cut out the amount of sugar in all of the drinks you consume.

Be as Flexible With Your Schedule as Possible

Our schedules change every day.  There have been times where I had an afternoon visit at a high school and was forced to run on their track afterwards so I could make a 5:30 p.m. fair that evening. Again, the school you work for comes first, but use a planner and see what 30-60 minute time frames you have available that day for a workout. Tentatively put that workout into your schedule and commit to working out at that time if nothing changes. Being available to do a workout at any given time is something I’ve grown accustomed to. For those of us who would rather exercise in their hotel room, here is an article on fitness activities you can do using only your body weight: http://www.buzzfeed.com/sallytamarkin/get-fit-bodyweight-exercises

Purchase an Activity Monitor

Many have already done, this but for those who are looking for a healthier lifestyle, I would urge you to consider buying an activity monitor. An activity monitor tracks the number of steps you take in a day and lets you see your progression over time. It really helps to motivate you when you can visually see the improvements you made throughout a week. A very popular activity monitor is the Fitbit but there are also options like the Nike FuelBand and Garmin’s Vivofit.

Create Two Separate Playlists

Honestly, how many people do you see in the gym without headphones? Nowadays, doing a workout with no music is like having a great conversation with a student at a college fair and not getting their inquiry card. A great strategy I’ve used is to create two playlists, one for travel and the other for a workout. Mix your favorite songs on both playlists and refuse to listen to the workout playlist unless you’re. This gives you the extra motivation you’ll need to get to the gym after sitting in a car for a few hours. Sometimes, I’m be so happy to finally have that one workout song that I’ll warm up by dancing in front of the mirror at the hotel gym. Having two separate playlists is a great way to stay motivated on the road and also to humor the hotel guests.

Use Social Media to your Advantage

On the road, much of our work is done through a computer. Try becoming a fan of a fitness page on Facebook or follow an exercise motivation Twitter page. One of my favorite Twitter pages is @Fitsperational. Sometimes these little reminders throughout the day can continue to keep us thinking about staying with our daily fitness routine.

Government Relations Committee Update

Last summer, Jayne Fonash, Past President of PCACAC, testified before the Senate Finance Committee about how counselors need better tools in order to talk to students about the tax credits available to them.

As a result of her testimony and the hearing in general, the US Departments of Treasury and Education put together documents for counselors, students and others. The Senate Finance Committee credits Jayne's testimony to getting this done!

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https://pcacac.memberclicks.net/…/p%205197_final2014_12%20e…
https://pcacac.memberclicks.net/…/p%205198_final2014_12%20e…

50 for 50: Lisa Davies

Lisa Davies

Senior Admission Counselor

University of Maryland (MD)

How long have you been in admissions/college counseling?

I’ve been an admission counselor for about 2.5 years.

How did you get started in college counseling/admissions?

Like many, I was a tour guide at my alma mater (the University of Maryland) and then interned in the Admissions office for one summer. I knew I loved recruiting students to my school, so being an Admission Counselor for Maryland was a perfect fit!

What's your favorite admissions/counseling memory?

This year we loaned out a huge Maryland bus and drove around personally delivering students’ acceptance letters. They were so surprised and excited to see us, and we loved being able to share the good news! (http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/25/just-look-at-their-faces-a-bus-full-of-admissions-staff-and-a-turtle-mascot-surprises-applicants-with-good-news/)

What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue membership in PCACAC and/or NACAC?

Definitely join—it makes a small world smaller and it’s great to see familiar faces out on the road!

If not working in admissions/college counseling, what else could you see yourself pursuing?

Speechwriting.

What's one thing that most people don't know about you?

I am still a huge American Idol fan.

What's a current trend or future issue you're passionate about right now? And why?

I’d love to see what the admissions world can do with technology—how we can better inform prospective students about the admissions process, how we can recruit them, and how we can make our schools more accessible.

*** 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.***

50 for 50: Jeffrey Smith

Jeffrey Smith

Associate Director of Admissions

 St.Mary's College of Maryland (MD)

How long have you been in admissions/college counseling?

28 years (ever since I graduated college in June 1986; got first job in August 1986).

How did you get started in college counseling/admissions?

Well, I majored in Business Administration-Marketing and answered a 'sales' job in the newspaper.  It was at Goldey-Beacom College, to be an Admissions Sales Representative. I figured that since I had just left the college environment it might be an interesting job. That and the parents getting on me to start paying off the school loans...

What's your favorite admissions/counseling memory?

My favorite day of the year is the date of graduation.  To see parents come up to you with tears in their eyes thankful that you took the time to work with their children (and them) through this process.  It's the culmination of a job well done.  I also was very honored to be a part of the opening ceremony when NACAC had its annual conference in Baltimore, MD.  To look out and see 5,000+ of your colleagues and friends and welcome them to your neck of the woods was pretty cool as well.

What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue leadership in PCACAC and/or NACAC?

I've had tremendous opportunities being involved with the leadership of PCACAC & NACAC.  You never think that you can do what the likes of Audrey Hill, Evelyn White, Joe Monte, etc., have done in and for this profession.  The best advice I can give for someone who wants to get involve is to track down the greats in this profession and talk to them.  Tell them, show them your interest, have them put you in touch with others and don't stop connecting with people.  This profession is all about the connections and relationships that we make with each other.  And remember it is all about that student and parent we work for; to figure out what is best for them and their future.

If not working in admissions/college counseling, what else could you see yourself pursuing?

Retail sales...(It's where I met my wife)...gotta like the holiday sales jobs!

What's one thing that most people don't know about you?

I'm 50 years old (just like PCACAC).

What's a current trend or future issue you're passionate about right now? And why?

Access to education is really important to me.  Probably has been for a while.  I got involved through the Human Relations Committee through PCACAC, and then moved to the NACAC Inclusion Access and Success national committee and opportunities to speak specifically about not forgetting opportunities for ALL students to achieve their higher education goals.

*** 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.***

50 for 50: Dal Holmes

Dal Holmes

Retired

Formerly Washington College

How long were you in your most recent admissions position at WAC? How long have you been in admissions/college counseling?

Before retiring in 2001, I worked as Associate Director of Admissions under Kevin Coveney’s direction at Washington College for eighteen    years.  In all, I served five institutions for a total of thirty-six years in the profession, all at the college/university level.

How did you get started in college counseling/admissions?

For me it started with projects as a volunteer alumni representative in the Washington, DC area, on behalf of my alma mater, Haverford College. My early mentors were Dean Archibald MacIntosh, a key member of   the small group which was instrumental in the early years of Educational Testing Service; his Associate at Haverford, Bill Ambler; and George Washington U. Admissions Director Joe Ruth, who provided my first full-time employment in the field.

What's your favorite admissions/counseling memory?

We all enjoy talking about others we have mentored, who in turn established their own careers in college admissions, and I could   name several. However, there are at least three other memorable experiences I could share.

There was my 1965 road-running rookie first school visit (for GWU) at newly opened Sandia H.S. on the east side of Albuquerque, NM.The first question asked by their new guidance staff was about GW’s marching band, about which I also knew next to nothing. I did the best I could until I realized that I had not taken another breath for    close to a minute.  That moment erased forever any fear that I might have had about speaking to a group of either colleagues or strangers.

I also remember vividly an NACAC annual conference in Chicago during the civil rights struggles of the 1960‘s.  Local guidance counselor Silas Purnell and others forced issues of access to higher education for under-represented student populations into the forefront of NACAC’s agenda and collective thinking.  It was a disruptive, tumultuous and ultimately productive few days, with demonstrations by many groups directed toward other sources of political influence throughout the Windy City.

But my favorite experience was working in 1990 to enroll Washington College’s first student from Romania, a gifted young man who became active in campus life, went on to graduate study in Geneva, employment in London, and who has since traveled throughout much of five continents.  More important, he has become like an additional member of my family -- a nephew or cousin, if you will.

What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue leadership in PCACAC and/or NACAC?

Build professional relationships and friendships with colleagues on both sides of the admissions desk, who work with students on the school-to-college transition. Include those focused on transfer students, international candidates and financial assistance. Don’t avoid opportunities to involve yourself in special projects or to serve on professional committees whenever they present themselves, even when dealing with a first-timers travel schedule and the long winter nights reading applications. Learning what’s happening on a macro level is an important part of career-building.

Bill Ambler’s invaluable advice to me along the way included this. Every few years step back, take some time to yourself and evaluate whether you are pleased with the balance between your employment obligations on the one hand, and your responsibility to keep students’best interests at the center of what you are doing.

If not working in admissions/college counseling, what else could you see yourself pursuing?

Working as a sports broadcaster has always been near the top of my list.  Ice hockey, basketball and professional futbol (soccer for those who still don’t know) are my favorites.  As a young college grad I worked for two years as General Editor in the NCAA’s New York publications office, followed the New York Rangers, attended many events at the old Madison Square Garden, and watched international futbol at the Polo Grounds after the baseball Giants moved to California.  I love listening to the Brits who broadcast the English Premier League matches.

What's one thing that most people don't know about you?

Music has always been important in my life: at seventy-eight I am still singing second tenor in two choruses. Rock and opera are not my thing, but most other genres including classical orchestral, jazz and sacred music are among my interests. And I still think from time to time that I would like to learn to play classical pipe organ, as one of my cousins did.

What's a current trend or future issue you're passionate about right now? And why?

In our fast-paced environment it can be very easy to lose sight of the C-word in our organization’s name: i.e., individual counseling. My hope is that, when it comes to forming a professional staff on the Admissions side of the desk, organizational leaders will continue to make every effort to achieve a proper balance. We must always place the best interests of students at the center of what we do (the     counseling function), while employing the best models for putting forward our institutions’ missions (marketing). And we must guard against allowing the mass communication (technology of the information age) to break down the personal dimension of our interactions with the individual students we hope to serve. We must provide continuing cross-training in each of these -- counseling, marketing and information technology.

*** 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.***