The pandemic has changed how we do business and organize conferences. Most conferences were held online; but, as things return to normal, we see more and more events being organized in the old-fashioned way or in a hybrid manner.
One such conference is hosted by National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) and will be held later in September in Houston, Texas. Therefore, we invited three individuals on this episode of Let's Talk Higher Ed to discuss the conference before we go for it.
Cynthia Crum, Megan Mankerian-Stem, and Trevor H. Rusert joined our host Tim Munnerlyn to talk about how they prepare for the conference and what their expectations are this year.
The pandemic has changed how we do business and organize conferences. Most conferences were held online; but, as things return to normal, we see more and more events being organized in the old-fashioned way or in a hybrid manner.
One such conference is hosted by National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) and will be held later in September in Houston, Texas. Therefore, we invited three individuals on this episode of Let's Talk Higher Ed to discuss the conference before we go for it.
Cynthia Crum, Megan Mankerian-Stem, and Trevor H. Rusert joined our host Tim Munnerlyn to talk about how they prepare for the conference and what their expectations are this year.
[00:00:00] Cynthia Crum: This is what you're gonna do at NACAC, right? You're gonna go to some sessions, you're gonna go to some of the events at night, you're gonna do all the, try all the different things and figure out where you get your energy,
[00:00:11] Cynthia Crum: what works for you? But you need to try it all that first time to figure out what's gonna be the best use of my time and energized me to be my best person.
[00:00:19] Tim Munnerlyn: Welcome, everybody, to Let's Talk Higher Ed podcast. I'm your host, Tim Munnerlyn, Senior Director of Educational Partnerships at Cialfo. Cialfo supports counselors with our powerful and simple-to-use experience so counselors can save time to focus more on counseling with their students and make higher education accessible to them worldwide.
[00:01:08] We also support universities. Cialfo is your trusted partner to help you find right fit undergraduate students from the largest network of international students. And like many counselors that we have here and also admission reps, we're making plans to head down to the National Association of College Admission Counselors, otherwise known as NACAC, later on in September, down in Houston, Texas.
[00:01:33] And I'm really, really happy to be joined by our through guests who are joining us, and will be joining us also at NACAC a little bit later on this month. So, let's go ahead and introduce our guests. Our first guess is Director of College Counseling at Episcopal Academy in the city of brotherly love and her ninth year as Director of College Counseling at Episcopal Academy. Cindy Crum has developed a comprehensive program over these past years at Episcopal.
[00:01:59] And prior to being at Episcopal, she was Head of Admissions in College Counseling at Whitfield School in St. Louis, and also, and lucky for us, spent 12 years in undergraduate missions at Washington University. Cindy, thank you so much for joining the podcast. What, what have you been working on today?
[00:02:18] Cynthia Crum: Today was a conversation about digital testing for the PSAT, and what we're gonna do with our 10th graders and our 9th graders, meeting with you guys, and then we are actually moving offices on campus. We are really close to being finished, but I, literally, before I came in here, I had to run across a new space on campus 'cause they were putting up windows and drilling holes, and I'm like, "Oh, okay, guess I better move from this." So, getting ready for the new year.
[00:02:44] As with all great professionals in our field, you have to adjust on the fly. We're also being joined by Trevor Rusert. He's been Admissions Officer at Allegheny College and also at Carnegie Mellon University, and then skipped over, like Cindy, to the other side of the desk and has been Associate Director of College Counsel at Sewickley Academy. I think I've said that correctly.
[00:03:06] Trevor H. Rusert: Yes, you did. You did.
[00:03:09] Tim Munnerlyn: Yeah, just 10 years there, I decided to take, to go overseas to South Korea at Chadwick International School, is now joining us at the greatest international school in São Paulo, Brazil, and I have to ask you, Trevor, how's your transition going into your new school community?
[00:03:24] Trevor H. Rusert: Uh, it's been really amazing. I, I have to, you know, knock, knock on wood. It probably has gone as well as it possibly can. A, as folks who know me, my wife works in admissions, pre-K to 12 admissions. So, she brings them in, and then I help send kids out to university, but we are with two children who are currently this year starting grade nine and starting grade six.
[00:03:48] And so, I mean, the transition for them is more important than anything else. And I have to say that the students here in the community have been incredible, friendly, warm, welcoming, our kids have made friends before the first day of school even started. It's been huge, you know, once the kids are settled, then I feel like my wife, and I can actually focus on the task at hand.
[00:04:13] And so, it's, it's gone really well. My, my youngest, my son, he loves the food here, he was not a fan of the food in Korea. We loved Korea, by the way, he did not wanna leave Korea, but he never liked the food there. And the food in Brazil's entirely different, and our picky little eater has lots of options and, and has been really enjoying himself, so, all in all, it's been a great transition.
[00:04:36] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, good. Well, we hope that continues, and, uh, thanks for joining us today. Our final guest is Director of International Enrollment at Creighton University. She's also worked in international education for the last, over the last 10 years and has traveled to 60 plus countries. She's joining us, as I said, from Creighton University, Megan Mankerian-Stem.
[00:04:56] Thanks so much, and I have one question for you is who's Wrigley, Phoebe and Oscar?
[00:05:01] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Those are my fur babies. I'm very thankful that my husband agreed to have three dogs. At first, when we first moved in together, it was "Okay, we could get one." I snuck the second one home while he was at work. And then the third one was our pandemic puppy. But they're great, and when I'm traveling, I FaceTime them twice a day because
[00:05:24] Tim Munnerlyn: Really?
[00:05:24] Megan Mankerian-Stem: I miss them when I'm, yes, they talk to me, they tell me about their day.
[00:05:32] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, you have to stay grounded in all the countries that you go to, and I know you have a busy schedule, you're off to Southeast Asia and then back to Latin America, and then, you know, maybe at some point you might read some files, or I guess you read files along, along the way?
[00:05:45] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Yeah, that's my evening activity. Uh, when we finally get back to the hotel is catching up on emails, reading files. I'm very thankful that we have systems in place where I can be anywhere in the world and read files and stay caught up.
[00:06:00] Cynthia Crum: This is how I date myself. The thought of coming back to my hotel room, continuing to work all night long. That didn't happen.
[00:06:08] Tim Munnerlyn: It, it's not going on any partying anymore. It, it it's get the job done.
[00:06:12] Cynthia Crum: Yeah.
[00:06:15] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, Cindy, let, let's talk about going to NACAC. You've, you've gone to many of these over, over your, your career here, and what's your approach to NACAC? What are some things that you're setting up for yourself that you're hoping to accomplish at a conference like this?
[00:06:28] Cynthia Crum: Well, the most important part is shoes for me. I pick poorly every time, and you're putting in seven miles a day walking from one of the convention, four to the other. So, that sounds really dumb. What could be cute? Okay, are you guys picking that up?
[00:06:45] Tim Munnerlyn: Yeah.
[00:06:45] Cynthia Crum: Okay. I'm gonna move again. I'll be back.
[00:06:49] Tim Munnerlyn: Oh, was that, was that,
[00:06:50] Trevor H. Rusert: The construction.
[00:06:50] Cynthia Crum: That's the drilling.
[00:06:51] Tim Munnerlyn: oh, okay.
[00:06:52] Cynthia Crum: That's the construction. I gotta go across campus. I'll be back.
[00:06:55] Tim Munnerlyn: Okay, no problem, no problem.
[00:06:56] Cynthia Crum: I'm coming back.
[00:06:57] Trevor H. Rusert: We can, we're adaptable. We can pivot and figure this out. In fact, that was one of the sessions I think I saw, I was like, all the places you'll go, they might have to bring in Cynthia as a special guest for, for that one.
[00:07:11] Tim Munnerlyn: We're gonna watch Cindy as she goes across campus,
[00:07:14] Megan Mankerian-Stem: This is amazing.
[00:07:15] Tim Munnerlyn: finds a place to do this. This is, this is great. I think this, I think we'll keep this, for sure. This is, this is how you do it. We, we get a, a tour of Episcopal.
[00:07:23] Trevor H. Rusert: I love it. I've never been to Episcopal, actually, before, so it gives me a little glimpse into
[00:07:28] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Yeah, this building looks beautiful.
[00:07:29] Trevor H. Rusert: the school.
[00:07:31] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Look at the big windows.
[00:07:33] Tim Munnerlyn: As luck would have it. I'm traveling to Philadelphia after NACAC. My daughter goes to school at Bryn Mawr, and I've never seen her play volleyball live in college.
[00:07:41] So,I'm gonna head over, and I actually booked a hotel in Newtown Square, which is very near Episcopal, and Cindy and the staff are gonna take care of me, and, uh, show me around, so I'm looking forward to it.
[00:07:55] Trevor H. Rusert: Awesome. Megan, are you gonna be in Brazil when you come to South America?
[00:08:00] Megan Mankerian-Stem: This fall? No, but I'm planning for March
[00:08:04] Trevor H. Rusert: Okay, awesome, well, keep us, yeah, please,
[00:08:07] Megan Mankerian-Stem: to be there, so I'll probably be in south policy, you'll probably see me in person then.
[00:08:10] Trevor H. Rusert: please keep us in the loop. But I don't know, Tim, I had, I had a few bullet points here and actually following, the first thing I wrote down was comfortable shoes, which is, you know, interesting. The next thing I wrote down was layers of clothes because, you know, we're gonna be in Houston.
[00:08:27] You're gonna walk from your hotel to the convention center. You're gonna break a sweat if you're wearing a long sleeve shirt or maybe even a golf shirt, and then you're gonna get into the exhibit hall, or you're gonna get into one of those session rooms, and it's gonna be like you've entered the Arctic Circle, suddenly, and you've gotta be ready with, with layers of clothes, for sure. So, that's always on my to-do list is find ways.
[00:08:51] Tim Munnerlyn: To me, it's, it's a little bit of sweat that you have going on, and then you, you get that on you. I maybe it's just me, being who I am, I, I'm, I run warm, and then it's sticky, and then it gets cold 'cause the AC hits the, the coldness of, of, of, of your skin.
[00:09:10] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, we'll have you definitely add that part, for sure. The FaceTiming of the dogs, Megan. You have to, you have to expand on that just little bit.
[00:09:19] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Yes. So, our dogs know the, like, the FaceTime tone, so when somebody is FaceTiming, they run to the phone, and they get ready to talk to who whoever's there. And our oldest dog, who is my baby, he loves to just talk. And so, he shares his day with me every time, and then our pandemic puppy, he is the biggest lover, and he just loves everybody, so he runs to the phone, he kisses the phone, trying to kiss me. Our middle child is, she is a princess and she's a diva, so she'll just, like, show up, say hi and leave.
[00:09:55] It is a truly, truly a family. Well, Cindy, you're quite the professional. You, you've pivoted quite well.
[00:10:01] Cynthia Crum: Here we are, hopefully, nothing, okay.
[00:10:06] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, you were telling us about shoes, and that, that's, this is how you get prepared for a conference.
[00:10:11] Cynthia Crum: Right, shoes. Trevor made a point about layers of clothing 'cause it's Houston, it's a convention center. This sounds stupid, bring yourself a charging block because the favorite space are the people clustered around the power outlets, and dumb thing, I am a, um, I love the vendor area I have, this is my x number of years
[00:10:34] since I've been on the high school side, I have never bought a pen or paper, and I've never bought a pen because I bring it all home from NACAC, 'cause I'm like, you know, happy I brought the product, so bring a big bag, although you may get one there, bring a big bag and carry it all with you. Sounds dumb, but those little details are important.
[00:10:55] Tim Munnerlyn: And, Trevor, you were talking about layering?
[00:10:57] Trevor H. Rusert: Yeah, absolutely. I, it's like going from, you know, Dante's Inferno outside to the Arctic Circle inside, and you've gotta be ready for everything in between. So, that's one of my biggest takeaways. I always bring a
[00:11:09] water bottle and a travel coffee mug. I've got one on each side of my backpack for any occasion, whatever you're in the, in the mood for. I would also say, uh, especially if you're new to your university or to your high school this year, go to your athletic director and get a shirt. This is a great excuse to get some gear from your, your, whether you're on the secondary side or the college side,
[00:11:36] go to the AD and say, "Hey, I, I'm going to this conference, the largest conference in the world, by the way, for the college admissions and, or secondary school counseling, I'd really love one of those nice coaching golf shirts that you have with the school logo on." It's a good excuse to get some free gear from your own school before you head out the door.
[00:11:57] That's some great feedback with that. Megan, as you're preparing for a conference like this, what, what are things you're trying to get done before you either land here or attend virtually? What, what are you trying to get accomplished?
[00:12:08] Megan Mankerian-Stem: So, I think some of the biggest things, of course, looking at the schedule and planning ahead and thinking through, you know, these are the sessions I really wanna go to, but also keeping in mind that you have to be flexible because things will come up, you'll get invited to things, uh, and have to miss sessions.
[00:12:24] And that's just how it goes. I'm one of the, kind of the nice things coming out of the pandemic with a lot of conferences like this, is now having a virtual option and everything being recorded. That if you miss a session, it's very easy to watch it later if you really want to, but really, it's that planning ahead piece.
[00:12:41] And then, also for the evening activities, there's so many parties and so many events to go to, and you don't wanna burn yourself out, it is a marathon, so you definitely have to think through, are some of these priorities that you need to get to? Are they vendors that you work with that you really wanna go support?
[00:12:58] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Or are you just going because you wanna go have a good time, which is also a great reason, but really thinking through, how do I keep my energy up for these very long days, and for multiple days in a row?
[00:13:11] Tim Munnerlyn: Right. Trevor, you're, you're a first time at your school, you're still getting to know your students quiet, as fast as you possibly can, how does a conference like this benefit you and, and how does it trickle down directly to your students and to your community?
[00:13:25] Trevor H. Rusert: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, a couple of things, A, you know, one of the sessions I identified, I can pull it up here, but it was, um, about counseling families in Latin America. So, this is my first time in Latin America, and I said, "Boy, you know, I've gotta go to that session, I've been here four weeks, and I'm sure there are some pieces of information and things that I can take back with me
[00:13:46] that'll help me as I interact with my own families, I mean, I'm gonna bring files with me, and I'm gonna, in airports or on my flights, I'm gonna try to write some rec letters. I just, I can't go, I have a week offline, I can't have a weekend offline where I'm not at least churning out some drafts of letters."
[00:14:09] And so, you know, you're on the secondary school side, you're in that stage where you've gotta be prepping those letters and running those letters, but it's so important to go to a conference like NACAC, and, and participate, and on the flip side represent your school. And so, you know, going to the college fair, the counselor college fair, you know, networking is so important,
[00:14:30] you know, one of, I've got, like, five or six bullet points that I wrote down before this of advice, and one of the things was go to the, you know, counselor fair, but I'm gonna ask counselors out there, "Please, this is not a time for you to pitch your kid, your high school senior,
[00:14:48] Tim Munnerlyn: Okay.
[00:14:48] Trevor H. Rusert: and pull out the resume and go through, he's got this.
[00:14:52] Tim Munnerlyn: No. No.
[00:14:53] Trevor H. Rusert: This, this isn't it, this is not the time. There's a line of
[00:14:56] Cynthia Crum: This is old school. This is old school.
[00:14:59] Trevor H. Rusert: 20 people be, behind you. What you can say, though, is, "Hey, I've got a, a great ED kid, applying this year. I'd love to, let's circle back another time, and I'll send you an email, or.
[00:15:12] Tim Munnerlyn: Laying down the, the, the, the groundwork for that, Cindy, I'm sure you've seen it all. You've you've attended session upon session. Is there something that you're looking forward to, as far as a session is concerned, or is there something that you always do at a conference that, that has to get done to help you with your job?
[00:15:30] Cynthia Crum: Here's my dirty secret. I generally don't go to sessions. I don't.
[00:15:36] Tim Munnerlyn: Did, the, we, this is being recorded, Cynthia, so, you know what I'm
[00:15:38] Cynthia Crum: And I, I'm, I'm okay with this, right? So, let's come back to Trevor's point that this is about being able to connect with people. We're still coming outta this pandemic. And so, my day is filled with breakfast and lunches and dinners and drinks and catching up with people, some who are friends, right,
[00:15:54] professional friends, and some of whom we're partners with one another, we're school partners with one another, and I wanna be able to spend time with them, and that's part of our business is those, that networking. And so, that for me dries anything else, the session piece, I look, sometimes there are hot topics when the world went college test optional.
[00:16:12] Sure, we wanna go to that one. It may be that there's a speaker, and I'm more driven by who the presenters are than necessarily by the topic. Because I know that so-and-so is a really great presenter, I would love to see them, whatever the topic is. So, I look at that necessarily more than the content,
[00:16:28] but it is walking the floor, those shoes, again, you gotta walk those floors and make those connections.
[00:16:33] Tim Munnerlyn: From all of your perspective, obviously, from the college counseling side, all the way to the mission side, if I'm a newcomer and, and think about your first conferences going, is there a piece of advice o, other than shoes and the layering and writing some rec letters and thinking as a, as a marathon, and you're talking about networking being so important, is there something you would tell your former self about these conferences that you wish someone maybe would said to you.
[00:17:00] Megan Mankerian-Stem: I think for me, there's two things that immediately come to mind, one is don't be afraid to schedule some time for yourself as downtime, especially either around like the lunch hour or early afternoon, if it means skipping a session, so you go back to your hotel room just to have that mental break, do it because that time to recharge could really
[00:17:20] make or break a day. And then, I, I think, especially coming out of the pandemic and thinking of the conference that you and I were at earlier this year, Tim, with 7,000 people, and the first time many of us have been, really been around that many people at one time, and it is a little overwhelming to not have done that in three years and now doing it again. So, you know, it's okay to take a break. It's okay to have that time out.
[00:17:45] Tim Munnerlyn: Take a deep breath.
[00:17:46] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Yes. And now I don't even remember what that second thing was. It'll come back to me.
[00:17:50] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, you feel like you have to attend everything, and it's, it's, it's too difficult. Trevor, your thoughts on this?
[00:17:56] Trevor H. Rusert: Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna echo what my colleagues have said. I, my number one thing was networking, networking, networking, a, and, you know, which both of my colleagues have said and, and, you know, don't be afraid to be spontaneous and, and you see an old friend they haven't seen in a while and be like, "Wait. Let's stop,
[00:18:15] let's go grab a cup of coffee. Let's go catch up." Our, you know, that human interaction that we haven't had in person for, you know, many years or, or at least some of us haven't had, I, I think it's so important to just stop, be spontaneous, you know, you see that friend you haven't seen for a while, go grab a cup of coffee with them.
[00:18:35] Go grab lunch with them, and, you know, enjoy being together and, and making those human in person connections again. Absolutely, that's at the top of my list.
[00:18:46] Tim Munnerlyn: Yep. Cindy, any other, uh?
[00:18:48] Cynthia Crum: Yeah, I do. So, I think this is like what we tell our kids when they start high school, it's the time to try everything and to figure out what you like, this is what you're gonna do at NACAC, right? You're gonna go to some sessions, you're gonna go to some of the events at night, you're gonna do all the, try, all the different things and figure out where you get your energy,
[00:19:07] and what's most productive for you. So, again, I'm a social creature, I like hanging out with my people, I have a colleague, her energy is she goes to every dang session she can, she double-books. That's her gig. Fine.
[00:19:20] What works for you? But you need to try it all that first time to figure out what's gonna be the best use of my time and energized me to be my best person.
[00:19:29] Tim Munnerlyn: Yep. This year's conference, the theme is resilience. How are you practicing resiliency this year, as we start another year, coming out of a global pandemic, you know, possible burnout, great resignation that has been upon us, how are you practicing resiliency in your work, Megan?
[00:19:49] Megan Mankerian-Stem: I think one thing for me is there are some things that I and the pandemic became very passionate about, one, for example, is house plants where I now have about 300 house plants. I know, I've been looking at what's behind you and trying to gauge how they're doing. But through that, I actually became part of a co, a local community, which has been a lot of really cool people to meet.
[00:20:12] So, one thing that I'm really trying to do going forward and really getting back into travel season and doing five overseas trips this fall is when I'm home remembering that I have these other communities outside of work, that I'm a part of, and making it a priority to continue to be part of those communities and stay involved because it is okay to have a life outside of what we do.
[00:20:35] Tim Munnerlyn: Yeah, absolutely. Cindy, uh, resiliency?
[00:20:38] Cynthia Crum: And I wanna come back to Megan's point 'cause I think that was one of the reasons that colleges for a lot of reasons went to community-based evaluation, was being able to help confine things more to the day, you still have to work on the weekends, and we know that, but just trying to help draw some boundaries for us to have those weekends and evenings.
[00:20:56] And so, I feel permission that, you know, if I'm gonna leave a little bit early 'cause I'm going to yoga, I'm going to yoga, because I worked last night until 9:30. It's okay if I leave today at 3:30, you just need that balance, and you take care of yourself, and when you're sick, stay home, like, I think we, this guilty thing that we all feel need to show up and tough it out. Yeah. After COVID, we've learned, no, just stay home. It's okay. Take care of yourself.
[00:21:21] Tim Munnerlyn: That balance, Trevor, for you, How do you do it? I mean, students are, are more educated, they can get a variety of information from the internet, or maybe they have their own private tutors. How do you do that? How do you stay? How do you keep that balance and, and feel like you're not doing everything you can for your students?
[00:21:41] Trevor H. Rusert: You know, part of it, if you're fortunate enough to work on a team, it's, you know, making sure you rely on your teammates, that you don't have to do everything, you don't have to be at every session you don't have, like, together, and if you're fortunate enough to be traveling to NACAC with a colleague, which I, I am, two of us are heading, you know, we're gonna divide and conquer at times.
[00:22:00] Sometimes we're gonna be together and, you know, knowing to let go at times, trust your colleagues, trust the folks you work with, knowing when you've gotta hunker down and, and get some things done, staying organized, you know, I, I feel like those are the things that help me kind of maintain that balance, but I also, you know, we've, we've done some new things in our college counseling office
[00:22:23] this year, so we have coffee, here we have two big crafts of coffee, and we've invited the grade twelves, "Come in and have a cup of coffee anytime you want." We've got a giant candy bowl that we continually refill, and we just purchased a popcorn maker. And so, each afternoon, midway through the afternoon,
[00:22:43] we're popping popcorn, and it's been so great to, like, see the kids come in and hang out and chill. And, and I think it's also knowing when to stop working. Don't look at your email, stop, turn, like, hop out in the hallway, say hello to the students, have a cup of coffee with them, have some popcorn,
[00:23:05] and know when to take your foot off the gas pedal to, to have some of those fun interactions. And, you know, I, it's, it's been so fun for me to come into it, a new place, a new culture, but also coming out of COVID, like a post-COVID scenario. And I, I think it's given me a chance to really reflect on, you know, what, what are the most important things? How can I manage both sides?
[00:23:31] Tim Munnerlyn: Yeah, there's a, one of the sessions I was looking at was managing the physical, mental challenge of admission. This is gonna happen on the Friday, ways to stay balanced in a demanding career, I think it's more on the admission side of it, but we've seen a lot more of these things start to pop up. Are there any sessions you, you all are, are looking forward to? I, we know Cindy doesn't go, but I'm sure she's aware that there's some really good sessions up there.
[00:23:55] Cynthia Crum: Billy Porter, who was gonna say that, right?
[00:23:58] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Yes. Yeah. This is crazy, I like the meeting sessions, right? Because that's where the work of NACAC happens, I like to see my colleagues being recognized, and with the open mic, you just never know what's gonna pop up and where we're gonna land, and I like being part of it, and I like hearing what's happening, what people are thinking because we all live in very narrow worlds. And so, it's nice to hear different people's hot topics.
[00:24:25] Tim Munnerlyn: Absolutely. Any other sessions that you guys have picked up?
[00:24:28] Megan Mankerian-Stem: I think for me, there's one that's shaping global citizens, the role of international ed in a changing world. For those of us who work it's, uh, strictly in the international space, it has been a very turbulent last two and a half years, and we're not really sure where we're going to land, and at many universities, we're not necessarily seen as a priority in admissions.
[00:24:51] And so, I think one challenge that I'm hearing from a lot of colleagues is how do we make sure that institutions understand the importance and value of what we do, and how do we manage up with that and get higher-ups to also understand this. So, a session like this, I'm really hoping to, to talk through some of these things and get some ideas from peers, you know, what, how do we navigate these next few years?
[00:25:13] Tim Munnerlyn: Absolutely. I have to give a couple of shameless plugs for a couple things that Cialfo has been helping behind the scenes that put together, we, we've got the global balance, understanding the rebound and international student recruitment, so, Megan, that might be a go and that's also happening,
[00:25:26] that's happening on Thursday, September 22nd at 12:45. At the same exact time, another one, depending on what you're recruiting is China, India, and elsewhere, projecting how international student mobility will evolve. Those are obviously big high-button topics for those of you, you in admissions. I'm assuming that's also happening the same time on Thursday,
[00:25:45] I'm assuming, from a domestic side, Cindy, again, test-optional, you know, emission rates continue to plummet and, and go down, how do you deal with that? How do you give the best advice? Any hot, other hot-button topics that you're seeing starting to percolate, at least from the people you're talking with?
[00:26:02] Cynthia Crum: I, I think the issue of resilience just continues to crop up for our students, as well as it does for us. And, you know, shifting their per, family's perspectives beyond a very narrow list of schools that are good to a broader array of schools, and that would relieve some of the pressure, but that's a challenge, but listening to those conversations, it's a hard thing for our kids,
[00:26:24] it's really, really tough for them. And so, to be able to have those shared ideas, those nuggets that you can come up with, like, "I'm gonna do that, that sounds really kind of cool."
[00:26:32] Tim Munnerlyn: Yeah, Trevor, you, you've counseled in the US, Asia, now South America, same thing with kids looking at the spectrum of, of schools out there, or, and I'm sure Cindy the same way, trying to broaden anyway?
[00:26:47] It's an ongoing process, you've gotta continually educate your families. And the challenge is you get a new crop of families that kind of come through, even if you're doing a four-year, you know, roadmap or planning, you have a new group of ninth graders, you have students, families transferring into 10 or 11.
[00:27:06] Trevor H. Rusert: It's a continual education process about the, the fact that the United States, there are over 4,000 colleges and universities, I mean, amazing, absolutely amazing array of schools from all shapes and sizes, and, you know, going out and trying to use some data and some of the, the books that are out there, like, you know, where you go is not who you'll be,
[00:27:28] and, you know, I, I love like quoting, like, okay, you know, I have a Cahoot that I created, uh, for the incoming grade nines, which is, you know, one of the questions is like, "Okay, the CEOs, the top 10 CEOs of the 10 largest corporations in the, in the United States, you know, how many of them graduated from Harvard, Princeton, Yale, or Stanford?" And you give, you know, like four options out there,
[00:27:54] and, of course, the answer is zero, and, and then using that as a talking point, well, what does that mean? Well, what are, what are some of those schools, and at least at that time, you know, Montana Tech, how many of you are familiar with Montana Tech, or, you know, South Dakota State University, or just having this discussion about, it really matters like, once you, what you do once you get there, what you do after graduation,
[00:28:21] I, I think almost every study that I've seen, very little impact for almost all populations of students, in terms of the name of the college, where you go undergrad. And that's just a reality. I think, you know, a lot of it's, you know, students, underrepresented students who grow up, you know, living at the poverty line or below the poverty line are the ones who see the, the greatest return on, on the name of the institution. All other categories of, of students, there's minimal, if any, benefit to that. And so, that whole idea of a fit, but that's something you just have to continually educate your parents on, and continually battle and make sure that, you know, if a kid wants to go to a, a highly selective institution, you've gotta make sure that they have a smart list of schools, and that's what I always tell my schools. You can really kind of control three things. You can control, you know, your essay, you can control your application, and you can control your list of schools. You can't control any of the other things. And, and if you're gonna apply to eight Ivy League schools, you know, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and, uh, Northwestern, you'd better be ready for a train wreck because that's not a strategy, that's not a smart process, and no counselor would ever recommend that,
[00:29:45] maybe a couple of schools like that, great, but then let's have a conversation about schools where your odds of getting in are not 3% and, and how you get a great education and go on to be successful in your desired long-term goal.
[00:29:59] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, speaking of great options, let, let's turn our attention to Omaha, Nebraska. And let's talk about Creighton university. There, there are a couple of famous people, at least one famous people that people know that live there, and, and home to a lot of great companies and, and opportunities. Megan, it's an opportunity for you to talk about different options out there.
[00:30:17] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Yeah. So, I'll be completely honest, I moved to Omaha six years ago, living in Chicago, and I was a little worried about coming to a smaller city, was there gonna be some stuff to do? We're in the middle of the country? How diverse is Omaha? And I have been pleasantly surprised. So, a couple of fun facts about Omaha.
[00:30:36] We are the top city of the world for Fortune 500 companies. We are the number one city for paid internships in the US, the number one city for both new grads and millennials to get jobs, but by all-time favorite fact about Omaha, we are the number two city in the US for foodies. So, any type of food you want in the world, you could get here, which is great in the pandemic because, of course, I couldn't travel, but at least I could have good food from around the world.
[00:31:00] But it truly is a great place for students to be. We have about 150 different undergraduate programs, but we're known for two categories of programs. One is science, is especially related to healthcare. We are actually the largest Catholic healthcare education provider in the country. The only university with two medical schools, we have one at our home campus at Omaha and one in Phoenix, Arizona, now.
[00:31:22] Megan Mankerian-Stem: So, we're very, very well known for the health sciences, and then also for our college of business. Many of those majors are in the top 30 in the US, and it's a big part because of these Fortune 500 companies. We work very closely with them so they can help advise us on our programs to make sure that students are getting the skills they need to get a job when they graduate.
[00:31:42] And we're the only university with a student-run Apple store on our campus. So, our business students could run their own Apple store before they graduate, which is a pretty cool thing to have on their resume.
[00:31:51] Hopefully, the benefits of discounts, as well.
[00:31:53] Megan Mankerian-Stem: So, we all actually get the student discount, so whatever I need, like, I just bought air tags to put in all of my luggage for my trips, and it's right next to my office, very convenient. Ran over, grabbed some air tags, so already discounts or specials going on. Yeah, it's a...
[00:32:11] Tim Munnerlyn: We alluded to this little, little earlier about the socialization. There's always a couple of big events, I, I've only been to one other NACAC, and I heard these are the certain things you have to do if you can get an invite. I think Cindy knows all these connections, so if you wanna know where to go, you just ask her.
[00:32:30] But, Cindy, what are some things socially that you go out and you try to attend? It's okay to throw these organizations under the bus so we can get more passes, but what do you look forward to? What are some musts if you, if you can be a part of it?
[00:32:43] Cynthia Crum: So, everybody's really different, and I'm at a different point in my career, and the young ones are trying to stretch their budgets. So, they're trying to get free food and free beverages. So, there are lots of options, particularly on Friday night, first of all, get there early, don't, like it says seven to nine,
[00:32:58] don't be going at 8:30. Here's your left with crumbs on the tray and maybe a little leftover lime on the counter, there's nothing, people line up for the Catholic schools' program, that's great, there are lots of them. And so, when you get the invites, share them and get and register, don't forget to register 'cause that's the other piece is that like, I get into one program and one of my colleagues got shut out,
[00:33:22] I'm like, well, maybe I'll write a wait-list letter and tell them how great you are, and maybe I can get you in, but I may not be going with her. That's okay. But there are tons, people have feelings about the social, they usually do a great job, it was a blast last year, there were so many different things to do,
[00:33:39] and again, it's that great chance for those for staying Saturday night, that last chance to catch up with people, you know, you see the same people, it's kind of crazy, you see the same people over and over again, and the other people I'm like, "How can I never have seen you the whole time we were here?" And then, there are places you walk through, I'm like, "I've been in this job since 1983. Where are you people from, like, I've never seen you before?
[00:34:02] Where do you work?" It's crazy how you just see some people over and over, and you never see other people, so that's social, it's really a great way to close things out and a really fun evening for everybody.
[00:34:13] Tim Munnerlyn: And, and don't be afraid to be forward, and, and say, "Hey, I'm looking for an invite, I want to meet people," and, listen, this is definitely an industry where you say, "Hey, I'll, I'll get you a cup of coffee, can I pick your brain," or your favorite other beverage, or whatever it might be. Trevor, any, any highlights for you from the social side?
[00:34:28] Trevor H. Rusert: Yeah, I mean, following Cynthia's advice, I basically sign up for everything. And in fact, I, I will say, as I'm in a new school, I'm not on the mailing list for a lot of folks, even though I've registered. So, to my college pees out there, if I'm not on your invite list, send, send me an invite. But I
[00:34:46] Tim Munnerlyn: Shameless plugs.
[00:34:47] Trevor H. Rusert: do think it's easy, it's easy for secondary school counselors because a lot of those receptions, the big 12, the pack, a lot of these things are open to anyone with a, a lanyard from the secondary school side. And so, you can reception hop and go meeting to meeting. I would advise eat some food right away, don't, it's very easy to get pulled in and, you know, have a beverage here or there,
[00:35:17] and you, suddenly, you haven't had any substance in your stomachs. And so, grab food, eat food, even if it, it's, you know, actually stopping, and going and grabbing dinner at a restaurant with a friend, and then doing the reception hopping. I think it's really important in order to have that stamina to keep on going throughout the night, go through the exhibit halls because a lot of the vendors will have receptions and events, and you'll get invitations to some of those vendors.
[00:35:44] So, you know, for the college folks, the vendors, a lot of those vendors are hosting, they want your business, and, and some of them, even the, the secondary school folks, so, you know.
[00:35:54] Tim Munnerlyn: Well, again, speaking of shameless plugs, uh, if you don't have any invites, Friday, September 23rd, Cialfo's gonna be celebrating its 5th anniversary, and we'll be hosting a party. So, we'll drop those invites and information in our program notes below. But yeah, this is gonna be great, and some of us are joining virtually.
[00:36:15] You're gonna, you're gonna take part in that, you're gonna, you know, join in whenever you can, but for those of us going in person, it's gonna be about pacing ourselves, layering, good shoes, and go for it. This is an opportunity for you to learn a lot, there's always something that we can be getting better at.
[00:36:31] Any final things we need to cover? Anything you wanna share?
[00:36:34] Cynthia Crum: Housekeeping, yesterday we got our email reminder about posting your vax cards or your testing results. So, please get that done before you get to Houston so that you can get checked in and enjoy yourself as rapidly as possible. Yeah.
[00:36:49] Tim Munnerlyn: That's a great reminder. Thank you, Cindy. Absolutely. And I did also get a, a reminder that the NACAC membership meeting happening on Saturday morning, that if you wanna pose some questions to Angel Pérez, due date on that is September 9th, so, be sure to get those in, as well. Megan, Trevor, anything else?
[00:37:09] Megan Mankerian-Stem: Don't be shy about meeting new people. Our industry is small, and you never know where people are going to move and who could be your next boss. So, don't be scared to introduce yourself and talk about yourself. I think a lot of us get so used to talking about our schools that we can do it in our sleep, but really think about who you are and what you want in your future, as well. And don't be afraid to sell yourself in many ways.
[00:37:34] Tim Munnerlyn: Awesome. Trevor?
[00:37:35] Trevor H. Rusert: Yeah. And I, I would say, you know, a couple things, I, most people are going in a day or two early, like get over to the convention hall right away, get your lanyard, get your stuff Wednesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, even if you're not attending sessions 'cause it'll make it a lot easier, there's always a huge backlog Thursday morning there,
[00:37:53] so try to, to plan ahead and, and get that in. And then, I would say, you know, definitely find mentors. So, there are folks who've been in this profession, you know, 20, 30, 40, 50 years that are gonna be at this conference. And for younger folks, don't be shy, go up and introduce yourself to someone who's maybe older than your parent, and you know what, that's okay, like, learn from people, I, I know that
[00:38:17] Tim Munnerlyn: It's perfectly fine. It's perfectly fine.
[00:38:20] Trevor H. Rusert: I've learned from so many folks who are actually still in the profession and, or retired, but they're still gonna be coming to NACAC. And I know that, well, I stand on the shoulders of, of those people because they helped me when I was in my twenties and thirties and, and forties, and continue to help me today. I continue to reach out and ask advice of those folks, so.
[00:38:40] Tim Munnerlyn: Yeah, that's a great point. I, I, I challenge each of us to grab somebody's new, bring 'em under our wing, give 'em whatever support, and I know NACAC does a great first-time recession, and you typically go with someone that you may know, but it, it, help 'em along, it pays off dividends, and challenge yourself that way to get to know somebody new and, and bring 'em into this wonderful family of professionals.
[00:39:03] So, well, I wanna say thank you guys for taking, again, a busy time of your day, Cindy, you, you've been shuffling all around campus, trying to make this work. Trevor, you're trying to sell your family into a new country, and, and Megan, you're on, like, country 85 of your trip, but it's not even, uh, officially September,
[00:39:20] so, but, you know, on behalf of Cialfo, thank you so much. And for those of you that are listening, uh, we hope you see you at NACAC, or whatever next, uh, event that we happen to see you at, but, uh, all the best you guys this year.
[00:39:31] Trevor H. Rusert: Thank you so much. See you all, either in person or virtually, soon.