50 for 50: Christopher Wild

 

Chistropher Wild

Admissions Counselor, Goucher College (MD) 

 

 

Where did you attend college?

 

Mount St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, Maryland

 

How long have you been in your current position at Goucher?

 

 I have been at Goucher for almost 2 years.

 

How did you get started in college admissions?

 

I got my start in admissions after working as a tour guide in the admissions office at the Mount. After really enjoying giving tours and meeting prospective students and their families, I decided I wanted to take on more of a leadership role and applied to be a Mount Ambassador Coordinator. In this role, along with 3 other students, I led the tour guide program and took on a semi-professional role in the office. We were given the responsibility of running the Sunday Visit program. It was a completely student-led program; we coordinated the logistics of the day, the registration process, gave a full one-hour presentation and then coordinated student-led campus tours.  During the day of the program, this event repeats itself so we actually did double of everything, one session at 1pm and the next at 2:30pm. As graduation approached, I was hooked! I knew I wanted to go into college admissions. I even pursued an honor’s thesis on the evolving marketing techniques of college admissions, with a special emphasis on social media and the widely “popular” quick response codes. (Whatever happened to those?) After graduation, I sought positions at schools similar to my experience at the Mount and ultimately found Goucher College, where I have been ever since. 

 

What's your next step in admissions? Where do you see yourself going?

 

The future can be a scary thing, but there will be one constant for me going into it, and that is admissions. I ultimately see myself moving up the ladder so to speak to become an assistant director and maybe one day a director. I could also see myself moving out of the role of admissions counselor and moving more to an admissions communications/marketing role. I would one day love to return to my alma mater and work in admissions at the Mount.

 

What's your favorite admissions memory?

 

That’s a really tough question; there have been many memorable moments. I can narrow it down to two. My first is presenting at the Fall 2011 Maryland College Student Personnel Association (MCPA) conference with my mentor, Eddie Wright. It was my first time presenting at a conference and the topic, “Creating the Next Generation of Admissions Professionals”, was a cool way to reflect on the program that brought me to the admissions profession. My second would be creating and producing my first video chat. I came up with the idea in shower, developed it on my commute to work, pitched it to my VP, got it approved and then went about finalizing the details all in the same day. Billed as #GoucherAMA, a Reddit style video chat, it was my first attempt at bringing video into the fold as a marketing component for our office, something I had been trying to do since my arrival to Goucher. 

 

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

 

That’s another tough question. I really don’t know that I could see myself doing anything else. Working in admissions really doesn’t feel like work, it is just another part of who I am. I guess if I really had to have another job, it would be working in some capacity for the Baltimore Orioles. I have been a diehard fan since birth and plan on becoming an usher at the stadium once I retire.

 

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

 

I would say the one thing that most people don't know about me is that I am a HUGE fan of karaoke. It just takes the right amount of liquid courage to get me on stage. :)

 

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

 

An issue that I am really passionate about right now is gapping in financial aid packages. As college prices have continued to climb, more and more merit aid is being dished out to attract students with higher academic qualifications. I worry that students who may be great fits for certain colleges are having their choices limited by financial constraint. In an ideal world, I would love to see the discontinuation of “merit” scholarships for a system that awards aid based solely on need.

 

*** 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: Kelly Farmer

 

 

Kelly Farmer

Director of Admissions, Stevenson University (MD)

2014-2015 PCACAC President

 

How long have you been in your current position at Stevenson?

 

I’ve been in my current position for three years and am closing in on 12 years at Stevenson total.

 

 

How did you get started in college admissions?

I was the first person in my family to attend college and like many other people I’ve met in our profession, being a first-generation college student inspired me to want to help other students navigate this process. I distinctly remember walking the campus of Ohio University with my family just after a tour during my college search and having my mom turn to me and say something close to, “I could see you being a tour guide wherever you go to school. I think you’d be happy to go to college and never leave.” Whether she was prescient, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, I succumbed to the power of suggestion, or she just knew me too well, that’s exactly what happened. It’s a fairly traditional college admissions story, I suppose. I’m a proud alumna of the University of Maryland where I was honored to be selected for Maryland Images, the volunteer student ambassador organization, at the end of my freshman year. I loved talking with the students and families so much that I started asking the staff about other ways to get involved with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (OUA). They hired me as a student worker, but treated me like a colleague. They gave me great opportunities to learn and helped me realize that admissions was something I could do as a career and love. I’m so grateful to that Maryland OUA staff for the way they launched me into this profession and think about it all the time when working with my students now.

 

What's your favorite admissions memory?

 

There are lots of things about admissions that sustain me on a day-to-day basis, but all my favorite memories revolve around our professional community. The people who choose to do this work are energetic, bright, fascinating, and talented ‘people people’ and I love spending time with you. So – my two favorite admissions memories are being part of the Local Arrangements Committee for the 2009 NACAC Conference in Baltimore with those infamous crab hats (so fun to host NACAC in my own city!) and the four years I spent as a co-host on the Maryland Crab Crawl counselor tour. Hosting 50+ college counselors on a 5-day bus tour of 11 colleges is exhausting, but so much fun.    

 

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

 

Dive right in and don’t be shy about your interest! Pursue the work and leadership will follow. Volunteer for a committee (conference planning was how I first got involved) and learn more about the work we do. Take on a project and show you’re committed to it. Do some grunt work and do it well and it won’t take long for people to ask what else you might like to do.

 

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

 

I majored in journalism and public relations as an undergrad and thought about going into PR for a non-profit organization after college if I didn’t go into admissions. I have a number of friends with very successful careers in corporate communications. Mainly, though, I love learning and I think no matter what my work would be connected to education somehow. When I was a kid I wanted to go to law school and that’s still something I think about doing one day – higher ed law was one of my favorite classes in grad school. My master’s thesis was on perceptions of cost in higher education and I could see myself getting a PhD. in economics because I’d love to dig into the finance of higher education from a purely econometric perspective. Taking either of those backgrounds into a career with a higher education policy group or into higher ed consulting is something that could possibly appeal to me. If I had any talent whatsoever, though, I’d parlay those 12 years of tap and jazz lessons I took as a kid into a career as a Broadway performer.    

 

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

 

The worst kept secret about me is that I have a black belt in Tang Soo Do, a Korean martial art. I took a beginning martial arts class my senior year of college and earned my first-degree black belt when I was 24. I’m not training toward a second degree, but I keep my skills up enough to allow me to teach four classes one night a week at my studio.

 

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

 

There’s nothing more pressing on my mind than affordability and financial access to a college education. Tuition prices are rising far faster than inflation or family incomes, the Pell Grant program has lost almost all of the purchasing power it once had, and sticker prices are so out of sync with actual costs that it is nearly impossible for families to understand which schools will be a financial reality once they get to the end of the process. If students don’t have access to a knowledgeable school counselor with time to help them, they are lost. A handful of our most elite universities have an endowment and student base that allows them to be both need-blind and meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. The rest don’t have this luxury. This isn’t just an issue in private higher education, either. States all across the nation are essentially divesting their interest in public higher education. It worries me that higher education is coming to be seen as a private good where the benefits accrue to the individual rather than a public good where benefits accrue to society. As a private good, higher education doesn’t deserve to be funded. As a public good, it does.

*** 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.***

 

GOing2COLLEGEisEZ Hosts Chartered Bus Trip To The 2014 DC/Maryland Black College Expo

Contributed by Willie Lee, III

 

 

L-R: Willie Lee, Lesha Anthony-Harold, Dontae Evans, Joshlyn Gravely, Cynthia Watson

On Saturday, March 8, GOing2COLLEGEisEZ (EZ) left Booker T. Washington High School (Norfolk, VA) at 5:30 AM boarded with a bus load of approximately 40 high school students, from various schools across the Hampton Roads region, headed to Bowie State University (Bowie, MD) for one of the largest and most successfully run college expos held on the east coast, the 15^th Annual Black College Expo. The Expo features over 50 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and educational organizations and programs with annual tours to Oakland, Atlanta, Los Angeles, DC/Maryland, and Houston. Its mission is to curtail the high school dropout rate and increase degree and/or certificate enrollment among underserved and underrepresented youth by: connecting students directly to HBCUs; exposing students to a sundry list of available scholarships;  assisting students with college preparation and readiness; offering college acceptances and scholarships on the Spot; connecting students to career, internship, and vocational opportunities; and featuring  “life changing” seminars and workshops.

This opportunity was made a success partly by the collaborative effort from start to finish by a community of organizations and individuals including: GOing2COLLEGEisEZ (EZ), Bank of Hampton Roads, Goucher College, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church (Norfolk), New Life Virginia Beach, New Light Baptist Church (Virginia Beach), Randolph Macon College, University of Richmond, The BTW Foundation, The Potomac & Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling (PCACAC), The Boys and Girls Club, Booker T. Washington High School, and Never Become Bigger Than The Cause Network were  some of the groups in addition to individuals who supported the effort.

 “The PCACAC organization was a vital community partner and played a very major role in helping us pull the trip off. Not only did they engage their other member colleges and universities, who provided items that were used as bag stuffers, but they also encouraged us to apply for their Student Support Grant” said Willie Lee, Founder of EZ. The PCACAC Student Support Grant (SSG) Program provides financial support to its members for student projects that directly benefit students in the college transition process. “Many of the students we work with have the desire but not the necessary means to go on trips like this and with the funds provided by the SSG, we were able to offset some of our expenses and offer more students the opportunity to attend. EZ is eternally indebted to PCACAC, Mrs. Arlene Ingram, and Mrs. Lucy Neale Duke (SSG Program Committee Chair) for their generous support and assistance making a difference in the lives of students.”

Two students from Booker T. Washington High School (Norfolk, VA) actually received acceptances on the spot from several colleges and universities. Dontae Evans (Senior), was accepted into Bowie State, Norfolk State, Virginia State, and Morgan State and Joshlyn Gravley (Senior) was accepted into Virginia State, Morgan State, and Bowie State.  Another BTW student, Kena Armfield- Rogers (Senior), was accepted into Virginia State pending results of her May SAT scores. 

It was a very long and exhaustive day that culminated with a rewarding stop, on the return home, for dining and shopping at The Potomac Mills. “It was a very long and tiring day but just the excitement from the students gave me the energy I needed to refuel. It was an experience that I wouldn’t want to trade for anything. If only one student had gone on this trip and received one scholarship or got accepted into one school then I would’ve considered this trip a huge success”, said Lee. “The students have all expressed the value to them of experiencing an event like this again and we are making plans now to take two, three, even four busloads next year.”

 

                           "Another project driven by community asset collaboration."

Government Relations Committee Advocacy Day in Annapolis, MD

Contributed by Samual T. Shoge, Admissions Counselor for Washington College and Appointed Committee Chair for the Government Relations Committee

 

Apparently, Maryland lawmakers and their staffers really enjoy fried chicken. Or maybe it was because they were so curious to know more about who we are as an organization and what we were advocating for. Regardless, during PCACAC’s Government Relations Committee’s advocacy day in Annapolis, MD on February 20th, committee members met with well over one-hundred legislators and their staffers introducing ourselves and the message of PCACAC and providing a complimentary lunch. 

The lawmakers were extremely receptive of our message and praised our organization for the work that we did. When advocating for a reduced student-to-counselor ratio in the public schools, I often asked the younger staffers to think of their college counseling experience to add a different perspective to the conversation. I received very mixed responses ranging from excellent to non-existent. The ones who mentioned that they didn’t have a good experience were quick to mention their counselors were simply over-extended, supporting PCACAC’s initiative of a reduced student-to-counselor ratio.

In the weeks leading up to the event, the NACAC team uncovered Delegate Kaiser’s (D-District 14) legislation that would require schools to have a 1:250 counselor-to-student ratio in the Maryland Public Schools and spend at least 80% of their time providing direct services to students. Titled H.B 571, the proposal was absolute gold as that is the balance NACAC is trying to achieve nationwide based on recommendations from the American School Counselors Association. We used our advocacy day to throw our support behind H.B. 571 and encouraged lawmakers to do the same. We submitted a written testimony to Delegate Kaiser’s office after the event as the bill was scheduled for a committee hearing the very next day.

It is always a pleasure serving in a capacity like this for PCACAC. As the newly appointed chair of the government relations committee, I can say that we will continue to advocate on PCACAC behalf to lawmakers in not only Maryland but Virginia, Delaware, and West Virginia as well. Volunteers are always needed! If you would like to join the GRC and get involved with exciting public policy advocacy, email me at sshoge3@washcoll.edu.

The Senior Questionnaire at Norfolk Academy

Contributed by

Katherine Hobbs, Associate Director of College Counseling for Norfolk Academy

 

As we all know, writing a letter for seniors whom we do not know well can be a challenge, so at Norfolk Academy, we require that our rising seniors answer a series of questions that will help us to write more detailed counselors’ letters.  We are happy to share some of these questions with you, and we would love to hear about some of yours as well!

1. Describe your relationship(s) with your parents or legal guardians.

 

2. Tell us about defining moments in your background, and how these experiences have influenced you.

 

3.  Tell us about an incident in which you felt that you accomplished something good.

 

4.  As an individual, what unique contribution can you make through your background, interests, beliefs, faith orientation, or world view that would enrich a college community?

 

5.   If you have any grade(s) that you consider less than satisfactory, please explain.

 

6.  Tell us about your organizational skills and work habits. Do you meet deadlines easily? How much time do you put into your work?

 

7.     What motivates you? What is your passion?

 

8.    Describe your reading habits. Do you read for pleasure? What sorts of things do you like to read? Has any book made a significant impact on you? In what way?

 

9.   Describe an accomplishment in any area that you achieved through grit - sheer determination, hard work, and perseverance.

 

10. Describe some specific academic experiences that you have found stimulating, challenging, or rewarding. Which subjects do you enjoy the most? Why?

 

11. Name some teachers whom you admire or who have made a difference to you, and explain their influence.

 

12.  Tell us about a time you failed. How did you respond to it, and what did you learn from it?

 

13. What three adjectives best describe you? Tell us a story about a time you exhibited each adjective.

 

14. How do you spend your free time?

 

15. What are your aspirations in the college process? At this point in the process, what kind of college are you seeking?

 

16. What majors or course of study are you considering? Are there certain careers that you are considering?

 

17.   What are you hoping to do in college?

 

18.   Describe your involvement in sports. What do sports mean to you?

 

19.   Describe your involvement in the arts. What do the arts mean to you?

 

20.   What did you do last summer? What are you doing or did you do this summer? Describe the value of your summer activities.

 

A Norfolk Academy Tradition: The College Poster

Contributed by

Katherine Hobbs, Associate Director of College Counseling for Norfolk Academy

 

As our seniors make their final decisions in the spring, they fill out spaces on a poster indicating their destinations.  Some of these entries are artistic, humorous, and clever.

 

 

Looking Back

Contributed by Joan W. Mudge, Senior College Counselor for Garrison Forest School

 

 

By the time of this year’s conference in Richmond, I will formally be retired from college counseling at Garrison Forest School.  It is with very mixed emotions that I realize I am ending a wonderful relationship of over three decades with PCACAC.  My first conference was in Ocean City in the early 80’s (for those of you around who still remember, it’s the one where the major meeting room was over the ice rink and we all froze).  I sat at a table at one of the meals with Terry Scarborough and Leigh Sherrill who convinced me to put my name on a list of people interested in serving. Before that spring was over, I had a role and from then on, I was actively involved in PCACAC.  I can’t begin to name all the wonderful people I have met or the invaluable skills I have gained through this remarkable association. It was PCACAC members and leaders who convinced me to run for office in NACAC leading to an incredible three years on the Board and the opportunity to get to know professionals from all over the country and the world.  PCACAC has been an incredible family for me and even though I may be moving on to other adventures, I know that I will keep in touch and will always be appreciative of all that this wonderful organization has given me.

 

This is not good-bye but a heart-felt THANK YOU!