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!
The Iowa ACAC Executive Board is excited to welcome a new member! Yuri Tilapi is the new co-chair for Inclusion, Access, and Success. We 
asked Yuri to share a little bit more about her background so that we can get to know our new exec board member.
Last month, Tom Paulsen asked our members to share what they are thankful for this year. We know it’s been a tough year, but there is still a lot to be thankful for. Here are some things that our members are thankful for this year!
In light of everything happening in our society today, you might think that professional development has been put on the backburner, but it is 
actually quite the opposite. Each type of company, association, and higher education news website is trying so hard to provide guidance and assistance to all of us in higher education as we navigate these unprecedented times. While we have continued to stay busy, it is a different type of busy that might offer more flexibility in our daily schedules, allowing us to catch some of these webinars and professional development experiences.
If your office is working similarly to ours, you don't see all of your co-workers face to face each day or week. Maybe you're on an in-office rotation, maybe you're strictly working from home. If that's the case, you're probably struggling to continue that team bonding and cohesiveness you once had pre-Covid. Perhaps you're wanting some new ideas to connect - or maybe you have some to share!
Eight months ago, the Coronavirus struck hard and quickly changed our personal and work lives in unimaginable ways. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken over 200,000 American lives and over 1 million people globally. It has negatively affected people’s mental health and wellbeing due to worry and stress, social isolation, loneliness, and job loss. Add the political divide and numerous crises, 2020 has left many mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.
This time last year, those who regularly travel to recruitment territories were likely out on the road, hopping from hotel to hotel, catching up on 
emails in coffee shops, and constructing the perfect college fair table layout. This year, most are likely not experiencing the same type of fall travel season. Personally, I love that my role as an admission counselor allows me to travel, and attend large recruitment events on campus. Adjusting to a recruitment cycle with a lack of those activities has certainly been a change. However, there are pros and cons to the new, virtual recruitment cycle we are all likely experiencing this fall.
It’s early October (in 2019). You’re packing up your life, heading to Starbucks or Dunkin’ to get your 29th Pumpkin spiced something while listening to (insert podcast name here). It’s travel season.
What transfer planning resources are available to your students?
As we begin another academic year, college campuses across the state are busy with transition programs for new students. From welcome week activities to first-year seminars to peer mentoring programs for incoming freshmen, the opportunities for first-year students to get help mastering their transition to college are abundant. However, it is important to recognize the great work that many colleges and universities are doing to help a different group with their college transition: transfer students. Three campuses, Iowa State University, Central College, and the University of Iowa, shared their initiatives to help transfer students make a successful transition to their new university.
The phone call we all dread came - “Mom, I tested positive for COVID.” My college sophomore was on his way home from college after just one week. In spite of six months of planning, strategizing, and thinking through every scenario on the campuses I worked – I didn’t expect my own child to be one of the first to come home from his college experience. His next words were “Should I just take the semester off?” (Um… NO!!!)
Admission Counselor University (ACU) is an annual event put on by the Iowa ACAC Professional Development Committee that exposes new admission professionals, whether day one on the job or nearly through their first year, to the valuable information they will need to succeed in the profession, and the advice of more experienced professionals in the field. ACU, typically held in-person over two days, was held virtually this year on July 21, 2020. Each session was hosted by members of the Committee, and attendees were sent a digital itinerary with each session’s title, time, and respective link. This year, 54 admission professionals statewide attended the virtual event.
As school districts across the country prepare for the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year, we felt that it was important to hear from teachers about their thoughts and fears about their districts’ return to learn plans. This is a stressful time for everyone, as we learn to navigate the changes that COVID-19 has brought. Hearing teachers’ perspectives is helpful for us as admission professionals as we reflect on the ways in which our own work will change this upcoming fall.
The Iowa ACAC Executive Board met Monday, July 27, via Zoom, to plan ahead for the upcoming year. While we know that this year is going to look different than normal, we are excited to continue working to serve members, school counselors, and students across the state of Iowa. Below 
are a few updates from the exec board meeting:
This past year I had the opportunity to co-advise the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Student Admissions Ambassadors (SAA), an all volunteer 
group that gives campus tours, assists with student panels and much more. I will say it is a bit different to be on the "other side," as I was a member of this exact group during my time as an undergrad at UNI.
Dr. Bill Withers, faculty emeritus at Wartburg College, got our first ever virtual Iowa ACAC conference off to a great start! He discussed that in 
recent years many areas have been going through disruptions (or accelerated changes), and these have only been hastened by COVID-19 – media, health care, and K-16 education.
Black Lives Matter. Racial justice and social justice must be prioritized in our work and on our campuses. It is our responsibility and obligation to
educate ourselves. There is no excuse for not putting in the work and engaging in these conversations. Wherever you are in the process of educating yourself about social justice, here are some recommendations and resources that you can engage in.
