Professional Development

A few of us SACAC board members. Jessica from the
Lovett School in Atlanta and Anita from Elon University. 

To the untrained eye, the world of college admission may seem somewhat insular with all these isolated universities and colleges working independently of one another. That could not be further from the truth. I have spent the last few weeks experiencing a number of adventures that prove that believe to be quite untrue.

The field of college admission is in fact a rather close-knit family. For the high schooler, Vanderbilt may seem unconnected to Tulane which is competes for students with Miami. In reality, we have a number of professional organizations that unite us, and a wealth of personal experiences that make this profession truly start to feel like a family. The last three weekends in a row have given me three great examples of this. I'm excited to share them with you all!

1) Dry Run by SACAC- Most college admission counselors will have their first month on the job in July. As such, every summer the Southern Association of College Admission Counseling, a.k.a. SACAC (more on this later) puts on a really incredible training program called Dry Run. Essentially, Dry Run is summer camp for newbies, complete with a set of experienced camp counselors, a.k.a. faculty members including yours truly, who train and mentor these new additions to the field. This year, it was hosted on the gorgeous campus of the University of Miami. What an awesome experience this was training the new counselors. It's my third time serving on the faculty- the newbies learn everything form how to give a great presentation to how to use social media in their marketing efforts to what airlines offer the best frequent flier miles. Most importantly, its a chance for the new class to meet each other, network, bounce ideas and create friendships they will have when they hit the road. I met one of my best friends to this day 9 years ago when I was a new counselor at Dry Run. He's now the director at Milsaps College in Jackson, MS. Many from the outside may not realize that we are all very close in this profession. Those 29 other faculty members that worked with me are some of my good friends in addition to being colleagues, and the relationships that the new counselors developed will last far past their fall travel seasons.

Check out all these new admission counselors! 

2)  SACAC Summer Board Meeting- As it turns out, I just so happen to be a brand new member of the board of SACAC. What an incredible group this it. Representing colleges and high schools across the south, SACAC is one heck of a great organization with over 1,700 members. If you are applying to a school in the south, there's almost a guarantee that they are a member of SACAC. SACAC has a great annual meeting where we all network and share best practices with each other. There really is no competition between schools in this field despite the fact that we are all recruiting the same students. We share ideas, stories and do all we can to help our colleagues in the profession. The summer board meeting of SACAC is one of three times we meet as a smaller board each year (the other two being the SACAC annual conference and the National ACAC (NACAC) conference as well- this year being held in Toronto!). There are roughly 24 members on the board and we met to discuss scholarships, professional development, ethics, and of course the broader world of higher education. The meeting was held on the gorgeous campus of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. Check out SACAC on Facebook to see more of what we are all about!

3) Tulane Staff Retreat- This last professional development event was actually just our annual staff retreat. To the high school student and parent, you may not realize just how much planing goes on in the world of college admission. We've got an incredibly hardworking and dedicated staff here in my office, and this retreat is our chance to share everything we've worked on the past year and what plans we have for the future recruitment season. It's everything from planning our merit scholarship ranges to discussing new ideas for marketing, to thinking holistically about where Tulane is going in the coming years in this ever-changing landscape of America higher education.

Team Tulane!

I'm feeling incredible motivated and empowered after the last three big weeks of events. With summer drawing to a close and getting ready for fall travel (sneak peek), it's great to know I am a part of such a great profession with a much bigger picture than many may realize.

The Dry Run Faculty. Vandy, Miami, Elon, University of Florida, Davidson,
College of Charleston, Emory... the gangs all here!

Lastly, the awesome SACAC board during our summer board meeting.