My psychology degree taught me to see differences in personalities and to consider other perspectives than my own. It taught me to consider motives and explore decision making processes.  It also taught me to appreciate data and to value informed decisions over hunches. My MBA provided me with a strong business foundation that I use on a daily basis. Financial acumen and marketing, especially, have become vital as my responsibilities have increased. 

That job was probably the best thing I could have done after college. I worked in an inpatient drug abuse treatment facility for women and their children. I was the only one on staff who took the patients as a group off campus on different outings. I drove them in a shuttle bus. I was out of my comfort zone because the women I supervised were all older than me. I learned to be assertive and decisive and to act confident even when I wasn’t. At the time, I planned to go to graduate school to become a counselor, but I surprised myself by becoming more interested in the management of the organization than in a counseling role.

When I was in high school, I worked after school in the Student Affairs Office of the local community college.  It was such a dynamic atmosphere, and every day on campus was different. When I was researching MBA programs, I came across a job opening at OSU-Tulsa in the Prospective Student Services office. I thought back to my high school job and decided to give it a try. Later on, I moved to The University of Tulsa, because my husband was in law school here and I had grown up a Golden Hurricane fan. I didn’t necessarily plan on staying in higher education, but it is a high-energy, rewarding field and now I can’t imagine working anywhere else.

So much has changed since I started. After the recession in 2008, families started questioning  the value of a college education, so there is more pressure on me to articulate the value and explain the outcomes. Also, marketing platforms have expanded rapidly, so my office has to be prepared to interact with students across multiple social media platforms, as well as through the more traditional methods of direct mail and high school visits. The way college entrance tests are offered and evaluated is changing and accrediting groups and processes are facing new pressures. I am able to track student interest in new ways and now have more data to analyze, which means there is a higher level of scrutiny across all areas.

I worked my way up in the Admission Office from an entry-level admission counselor position. As Associate Dean, I supervise most of the admission counseling staff and assist with strategic direction and recruitment initiatives. When I take over as Dean in July, it will be my fifth promotion at TU. I have been fortunate to work under great leaders who have mentored me and encouraged my professional development from the beginning. In terms of advice, I would encourage entry level staff to speak up with ideas, make observations and ask questions.  Make yourself invaluable by developing a unique skill set or mastering a specific task. Also, remain positive. It is hard to be promoted into a leadership role if you are not seen as a motivational force on the team.

Chief enrollment officers need to be strong communicators, marketers and leaders. You need to be able to communicate effectively with campus constituents, high school guidance counselors, alumni and prospective families. Marketing is key, especially via social media. You have to be interested in data analytics and be able to use that data to plan and justify your recruitment strategy. You need experience in personnel management, especially millennial employees since most admission counselors are recent college graduates. Finally, you need experience managing budgets, both for your office and for scholarship purposes. These skills definitely carry over into other fields outside of admission. 

 Completing my MBA was pivotal because I proved to myself how badly I wanted to expand my knowledge and skill set. Working full-time while in graduate school was difficult, especially because I traveled frequently for TU and was pregnant (twice) during the course of my program. It took me several years to complete my degree, but I regularly use the skills I mastered. Something else that set me in line for promotion is my ability to problem solve. I don’t hesitate to address challenges, but I make sure I have a suggested solution before pointing out a problem. I have always fought to make the office environment a better place, even when I didn’t have the authority to implement change directly. Now that I do, increasing staff morale and improving performance and efficiency are still my top priorities. 

Thank you! I am very excited for my new role. Many of my responsibilities will carry over so I will need to delegate more of my everyday tasks so I can devote more energy to larger strategic objectives. I hope to further develop partnerships with campus faculty and other departments so we can work together to bring in next year’s class and serve the students when they are here. 

I am very comfortable delegating; I don’t feel the need to do every small thing myself or a certain way. At work, I am comfortable delegating tasks to my staff. I try to delegate tasks to employees who have shown particular interests in an area or who need to work on a skill in that area, so it benefits both sides. At home, I lean heavily on my husband and extended family. I ask for help when I need it and speak up when I am overwhelmed. I try to be realistic in  my planning for the week so I don’t underestimate how much time a project or chore will take.  I take vacation days to go on field trips with my son’s kindergarten class and read applications in the evenings after my children go to bed. Some days are harder than others, but both my children and my job bring me so much joy that I can’t imagine not having both. My magic formula consists mostly of a positive attitude and a little luck. 

Both of my sons have Childhood Apraxia of Speech, so CASANA is near and dear to my heart. When my oldest son was diagnosed with it, I was told he may never speak normally. I poured my heart into researching apraxia and became a lifelong advocate of CASANA and of early intervention. My children put in hundreds of hours of speech therapy practice before they were school age. If you met my boys today, you wouldn’t guess they had apraxia, but their struggles with speech shaped their personalities and impacted their confidence. Witnessing their progress fully convinced me that anything is possible. In college admission, you meet students every day who inspire you with their stories and astonish you with their strength. I hope to make an impact by increasing college access for underrepresented populations and first generation students.

College is a life-changing experience, so you need to look for the university that will help transform you into the adult you are supposed to be. Start thinking early on about what type of student you are, how you learn, and the type of peer group you want to surround yourself with. Don’t use your high school years to pad your resume for college; use them to explore your interests and to hone your leadership abilities. Admission committees want to get to know the real you, so you need to know that person first.

I look forward to seeing my babies every time I wake up. My children are so sweet in the mornings! But after I have cuddled them and gotten them ready for the day, I look forward to going to work and challenging myself. It is difficult to fully prepare for your day in admission; every day is different and there are always new questions and challenges. Each day, I take another step towards accomplishing the university’s strategic enrollment directives by recruiting students who are looking to change the world and are eager to get started. When I read about TU alumni who are making a difference in their industries and communities, I feel proud because they are positively impacting the world that my children are growing up in. What could be better?