Monday, September 1, 2008

In the beginning...

Today is the start of the 2008-09 academic year. Without question, it has been a year of transition, both for me as well as for the entire enrollment division at Grace College. Over the past five months, the College has hired five new people in admissions--the bulk of them are outstanding counselors. I am sure they'll do a great job of bringing in quality students to Grace.

Immediately following lunch, Matt Rupple, a junior from Defiance, Ohio and Lindsey Eilbacher, a sophomore from Centerburg, Ohio take a break to enjoy the day and each others' company by throwing the frisbee. Also attached is Jenn Gaylor, one of the newest admissions counselors talking with Sarah Humberd, a senior from York, PA about her plans after graduation. Take a look at these videos and see why I am so excited about the upcoming year in the Enrollment division. The staff and student staff members are great people--they just like learning, growing and working together.

After lunch today, I met with the student ambassadors, our group of students who interact with prospective students when they come on campus--or on the telephone. What an impressive group of young leaders!

In our post-lunch meeting, we talked about transitional items for the department and touched on some very aggressive, or stretch goals for our area. They all seemed excited about our future and playing a role in reaching our goals. I am sure they will even exceed my expectations.

It is going to be a great year!




1 comment:

Gary Hoag said...

Mark, congrats on your appointment at Grace and the launching of this blog. In my experience, part of setting stretch goals is benchmarking what peer schools are doing, so that you can not only measure progress against stretch goals but as compared to peers. Often, ideas learned from peer studies can help provide the tips to both set and exceed stretch goals. I pray you are successful in doing both!