In January I compiled a list of lessons learned since the start of the pandemic for SCENES. Lessons such as buying TP and Clorox wipes anytime you had the chance, and the most flattering angle for video calls. At the time, I think we all were hoping we were wrapping up the pandemic.

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting this summer as I prepare to leave my current position as an Admission Counselor at the University of Iowa. A little background: as an undergraduate, I worked in the Office of Admissions in two student positions and absolutely adored it. So much so that I began considering a year or two in admissions post-graduation. Driven by my desire to return to admissions and a feeling of uncertainty as I navigated student teaching, I accepted a temporary counselor position following graduation and a full-time position six months later. I knew my time as a counselor would either be short-term and followed by a return to teaching, or I’d decide to stay in higher education for a good portion of my career. A little over two and half years later, and I’ve made the difficult decision to return to the classroom.

Our director always jokes that if you stay in admissions for long enough, it’s inevitable that at some point you’ll wind up in charge of training new team members. While some folks might not necessarily enjoy the training process, it has long been one of my favorite things about my job.

This year, we were so excited to host Admissions Counselor University (ACU) in person after a long year of virtual events. Last year, we had about 50 new admissions professionals join us virtually, but it just wasn’t the same. The best thing about ACU is the connection you make with other new professionals who are experiencing this newness at the same time. It is about the familiar faces that you will see during travel which makes walking into a college fair a little more fun. It is about team building activities. We were so excited to bring all of that back this year, and it was very apparent that everyone was excited!

Take a moment to meet our newest Board members and learn how being a part of Iowa ACAC has fulfilled their lives professionally and personally!

This year’s LEAP Conference went virtual, but stayed true to its mission and purpose of empowering BIPOC, first-generation, and other historically marginalized high school students in the state of Iowa.

I’m sure we can all agree it’s been a weird year. Many of our offices have had to make adjustments that we never thought would be necessary, and we’ve all attended an excess of virtual events. But everything changed for people outside of the office as well.

Believe it or not, I got to hit the road about a month ago and visit some high schools in Northwest Iowa. I always love going to that area of the state; it’s close to home (I grew up in Southwest Minnesota) and it reminds me to slow down. I felt a little rusty actually going into high schools and really talking to people (weird, I know) but it was so fun.

525,600 minutes. That’s how you measure a year. In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. If you are familiar with the musical Rent, sorry, that song will be stuck in your head for the rest of the day now. But maybe that’s OK…shouldn’t we all think about how every minute in our life counts for something, especially in this last year?

Leadership. A word and a concept that we have all known and worked with, but what makes a person a leader? Is it a title? A position? Experience? It could be any of these, or it could be none of these. 

I had a professor in grad school who often reminded us that as school counselors, we need to “bend and flex.” The Government Relations Committee bent and flexed its way right into 2021, creating what has been touted--mostly by members of the committee--as the best Virtual Visit the Hill ever. We hope it is also the only Virtual Visit the Hill ever, but we’ve certainly exercised our creative thinking skills to learn what we can do when our usual practices are disrupted. In a year when it would have been easy to say, “Nah, maybe not this year,” Iowa ACAC and ISCA’s Visit the Hill delivered on its promise of learning and advocacy.

Our relationship with our supervisors is one of the most important relationships that we have in our career, but it times it can also feel the most complicated. As three admissions professionals who have been in the field for a while, here are some things that we have learned over the years that can help you establish a great relationship with your supervisor.

In the last two years, I’ve had the honor of experiencing two incredibly transformative responsibilities:  being a first-time father and leading the implementation of Technolutions Slate CRM. While there is no “one right way” to be a parent or to build out a new database and information system, I was fortunate to have these roles at the same time. That overlap allowed the children’s book collection “What You Do Matters” by Kobi Yamada to serve as inspiration and fuel throughout the implementation process.

“Go to the FAFSA website and create your FSA ID. You will need to use your parent's 2019 tax returns which you can link to your FAFSA using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool.  Once we receive your FAFSA, we can tell you how many loans and grants you qualify for based on your EFC. You might get selected for verification. You will be notified if you are selected, and additional documentation will need to be completed. Login to TritonPass and accept your financial aid package under the ‘Academic Profile’ tab. You will then be prompted to complete Entrance Counseling. We recommended only borrowing what you need, and suggest avoiding the unsubsidized loan if possible because that accrues interest while you are attending college. Do you have any questions? Great! Call us if you need help with anything.”

“Can everyone hear me?” “Nope, go ahead!” “You’re muted!” are just a few statements that have been uttered in the countless Zoom meetings we’ve all endured for almost a year.

Now that 2020 is squarely in the rear-view mirror, what can we look forward to in the new year? A new FAFSA perhaps? No, not exactly, but we can expect major improvements in the not-too-distant future.

If you are anything like me, you likely left work on Friday, March 13, 2020, expecting to return on Monday. When you ultimately did return to your office, perhaps you found a time-capsule of life “pre-pandemic” – calendar still on March, piles of papers on your desk, mystery food in your work fridge, etc.

As 2021 begins to unfold, the lessons of 2020 are still fresh in our minds. We know it’s important to be connected, not to take anything for granted, and to have flexibility. However, one reminder helps me find daily perspective about how to handle each situation that gets thrown our way.

Mount Mercy University is thrilled to welcome Todd Coleman as their new Assistant Vice-President for Enrollment & Marketing and Sabrina Tapps-Fee as the Director of Undergraduate Admissions!