Please give a brief background on yourself and your career.
Currently, I am the Assistant Director of Admissions for the MIT Executive MBA (MIT EMBA) at the MIT Sloan School of Management. I started at MIT Sloan just a few months after graduating in 2010 and joined the MIT EMBA at its inception. It was essentially a start-up with MIT as an angel investor.
I started off as a generalist, working on everything from admissions to customer services and student payment, to ordering coffee. Quickly we recognized where our holes were and I began to focus on the recruitment and admissions process, with a heavy hand in the marketing of the program.
After a little over five years, I now run the admissions and marketing funnels for the program. I oversee the entire admissions process, which means I strategize and execute marketing collateral, recruitment events, admitted student communication, and Orientation weekend. At the same time, I co-chair an admissions committee of 16 and make sure applicants for the MIT EMBA have their applications read and are brought in for interviews. Along with all of this, when our current 240 students are on campus every third Friday and Saturday, I’m on-site with them. I can’t say my social life is booming, but it hasn’t flat-lined yet.
In the little spare time I have, I’m finishing my Masters of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, with a concentration in Higher Education Administration, at Boston University and I am a marathoner. I don’t sleep much.
I’ve been asked “what’s next?” a lot recently. I guess 5 years is a long time to be at your first job. Looking into the future, I’d love to work at a company that focuses on healthy living. It’s something I’m passionate about, but sometimes have a hard time incorporating into my crazy, busy life. Until I figure out what I’d do at a non-educational institution, I’m happy where I am.
How has your career changed since you originally envisioned it at Wellesley? What other careers did you consider as a student?
During my time at Wellesley, I was the Director of On-Campus Affairs (DOOCA) and I loved the programing I was responsible for. With that said, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life post-Wellesley. As an Art History major, I imagined myself possibly working at a museum on event administration (a summer internship I had at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). I also imagined myself moving home and applying for jobs all day.
After some guidance from my mom, I decided to look inside higher education for event planning and/or student activity positions. As she said, higher education institutions in the Boston area (where I knew I wanted to be) weren’t going away and I’d have GREAT benefits. After that, while interning at the MFA, I applied to every job I saw with student activities in the description. After a few interviews, some waiting, and some rejections, I landed at MIT Sloan.
How has Wellesley contributed to your career?
There are two ways that Wellesley has directly affected my career:
- First, it landed me my job at MIT Sloan. After a few months at my job, having grown very comfortable with our Program Director, I asked why I had been chosen to be a member of the team. Up until that point, he had only hired people he had known or from inside of Sloan. He told me that I went to Wellesley, so he knew I could do more than read and write. I could do the job and would never settle. As much as I wish as he had told me I was witty and charming in my interview, I was glad to hear that my Wellesley education had gotten me a foot in the door and would help me move upward.
- Second, Wellesley taught me to work hard and be proud of my work. I realized I’m a process person: someone who likes to make sure that the work is getting done, and it’s getting done well. I want to make sure that the product I’m putting out is something I want my name on, without ever compromising a deadline. Part of that drive is just my personality, but a lot of that was developed while I was at Wellesley, even if I didn’t realize it then.
What is a typical work day or work week like for you?
My typical day involves lots of meetings, lots of emailing, and lots of question answering. I’m also usually checking on our application and admissions statistics. Working in higher education isn’t exactly what I’d call glamorous. Really, a lot of what my day looks like depends on the time of year.
What piece of advice would you offer students looking to get into your area of interest and expertise?
There isn’t anything specific for higher education or admissions that I can think of that would be of use. Like any industry, do not be afraid to use people you know. I find that people want to help. Informational interviews are a great networking tool. Companies like insiders and experience, so if you have someone who can vouch for you, that’s key. Also, do your research! Know the company or institution you are applying to. Understand the position. Be able to answer the basics yourself. We started interviewing candidates for our next class recently, and I expect that they’ve done their due diligence to prepare.
What do you wish you had known as a student?
Do the readings; it will help you participate. That was a lesson I learned a little too late. Also, focus on your school/social-life balance. I actually did the latter too well, but not enough students do. I wish more people had known about what events were offered around campus. Mental health is a real thing and I didn’t see enough people making it a priority by stepping away from school work.
If you could come back and take one class at Wellesley what would it be?
Does Wellesley have a class on personal finance? How about the basics of cooking? Those are two things I’m sure a class could have helped with!