Late June 2015, I drove thousands of miles to move from Connecticut to California. What propelled me to make this move? In part, the end of this Masters program. My time as a Kindergarten Teaching Assistant at Greens Farms Academy had also come to a close, so as I prepared for the end of the school year, I sought new opportunities. The opportunity I felt confident in accepting came from Scripps College, located in Claremont, California. I am an Admission Counselor, which is, fundamentally, worlds away from teaching kindergarten. That being said, although the focus of many graduate assignments was on early childhood education, I now seek knowledge regarding higher education.
In thinking about what three steps will facilitate my successful propulsion into enrollment management at a selective private liberal arts college for women, I consider multiple factors. First, I am interested in learning more about female-specific education. Second, I want to know more about enrollment management. Third, I want to learn more about the motivation behind visit programs.
As a former intern with the Georgia O’Keeffe Art & Leadership Program for Girls, I have some experience with female-specific education. Working at Scripps College, I now have the opportunity to grant women a four-year experience in female-only higher education. To learn more about this, I will begin by exploring the Women’s College Coalition’s website. I would also like to read about single-sex higher education. Formerly, I read Reviving Ophelia and Schoolgirls, which were both fascinating peeks into the social-emotional status of middle-school-aged girls. Yet, although that information inspires my continued interest in female-specific education, I do not know that the same insights apply to those experiencing higher education at a women’s college.
Enrollment management has always fascinated me. Before applying to any undergraduate institutions, I was baffled and amazed by the school visits, college fairs, publications, and communications of so many institutions. Although I took two years away from enrollment management (as I worked in the Beloit College Office of Admissions during undergrad), I am now back with full force and heightened intrigue. To learn more about enrollment management, I attended the 35th Annual Summer Institute on College Admission and School Relations, hosted at University of California, San Diego, from August 2-6. During this conference, I gained professional development while also having the opportunity to connect with new admission counselors from across the country. In addition, I intend on furthering my education beyond the end of this Masters program by potentially completing an additional Masters, or even pursuing a PhD, with a concentration in higher education.
In another vein... the joy of visit programs! Quite like my initial interest in enrollment management, my interest in tours and visit programs started around the same time as my college search began. Tours are my favorite. Tours were my go-to litmus test for whether or not I would want to attend a school. Once I became a tour guide, and later, the tour guide coordinator, the other side of the coin began to interest me. More specifically, as one who led prospective students through their on-campus visit experience, I became acutely aware of how large of an impact is made. Upon learning statistics that showed tours often lead to students applying and matriculating, I was stunned by my own experience being resonant with much of higher education: visits equal apps. Moving forward, I will observe the visit programs from a higher level of oversight. I will also observe Scripps’ signature programs, and make mental notes of what sticks out as being particularly special for prospective students. In addition, I will become well versed in the various programming that Scripps offers: from info sessions to group tours, from fall visit days to accepted students receptions. Although I have no links nor specific anecdotes for how I will gain knowledge about visit programs, I know the knowledge will come. It’s tricky, because visit programs are not widely published-upon, as the knowledge largely stays internal. That being said, in my next higher education program (whatever and whenever that may be), hopefully I will be able to take a course or two on visit programs and their efficacy.
This new position at Scripps College propels me forward, not only in my education but also in my career. It will propel me across the Southwest and Pacific Northwest, as I will embark on my first travel season. This new experience, in coordination with the completion of my Master of Arts in Education, will lead me on a new path towards a career in higher education and enrollment management. I foresee staying in this field for a long, long time, and look forward to seeing how it unfolds.