Bryan Admissions Counselor Nathan Bailey plans to attend the annual conference of the Tennessee Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers next week, with his registration fee and hotel bill paid by a scholarship from the association.
Admissions Director Aaron Porter encouraged members of his staff to attend, and pointed out the scholarship competition for first-time attendees such as Mr. Bailey. To receive the grant, he had to write an essay explaining why he chose his current position and how he thinks attending the conference will help his career.
Mr. Bailey said, “I told my story of how I came to be an admissions counselor. I went to school here and applied for the job in the spring semester of my senior year. But I didn’t get the job.”
He took job at a local retail store until something better would come along, and on his first day at that job received a call from Vice President of Enrollment Management Michael Sapianza offering him the job he really wanted.
In the essay, he said he explained how he believes his work in admissions will “prepare me for my future. I’m doing sales and customer service in a way. In the spring I want to start on a Master’s degree in education to prepare to be a school counselor. This job will give me an understanding of working with college admissions, scholarships, and things like that.
“The conference will be a good opportunity for me to learn, to see how other schools do recruiting and admissions, and to network with other professionals,” he said.
The conference will be held in Kingsport, Tn., Wednesday-Friday, Nov. 14-16.
Mr. Porter said, “A college admission counselor is a very dynamic position and professional development opportunities like this one can be valuable. Nathan is entering into his second recruitment cycle and has shown tremendous growth in becoming an advocate for each of the students that are in his territory. I’m excited he wanted to attend a professional development conference and proud that he won the scholarship.”