2019 IACAC Spring Conference

I recently had the fantastic opportunity to present on the topic of the importance of professional mentorships at the annual Illinois Association of College Admissions Counseling Conference held in Normal, Illinois. Mentorship a topic in which I am passionate about. It is especially important for those who work remotely. I was able to collaborate and co-present with other members of the IACAC Mentorship Committee to provide insight on how to become a mentor or a mentee and why it is crucial to get involved with professional organizations. Specific examples of mentee experiences were discussed as well as how my mentor (Peter Pitts, Monmouth College) influenced and mentored me. Even though the IACAC Mentorship Program is a one year commitment, most mentee/mentor matches keep in touch and continue to grow their relationships in the years that follow. I often compare the Mentorship Program to a fraternal organization where professional college and admissions counselors get paired with a “Big” or a “Little”, depending on your experience. Also discussed, were the first steps to take when becoming a mentor and how to discover the needs of your mentee. I was able to share my experiences of the mentorships I have been involved with in the past six years. Furthermore, resources and examples of how to turn your job into a career path were provided and the match process was explained to our audience. In my opinion, mentorships are invaluable and can add greatly to your personal and professional growth.

In addition, the Mentorship Committee hosted a conference reception in which I helped to prepare. It was a great networking event which hopefully encouraged people to apply for the Mentorship Program and sign up to become an integral part of our committee this fall. I feel that it was a huge success!

On the final day of the conference, I was also privileged to moderate a presentation on how high school counselors can assist international students transition from their high school to a higher education institution in the United States. Since a large population of high school counselors seem to have little to no training when it comes to helping international students with their college search, this presentation focused on providing the fundamentals of the process. The audience members were able to take away a timeline, high school responsibilities and required documentation such as differentiating visas necessary to guide international students from high school graduation to HIE enrollment. Tatiana Fedeeva & Jodi Simek, of UW-Whitewater, did a fantastic job of presenting.

All in all, this year’s conference was exciting, fun and renewed my energy to continue to assist students along with their families in the college search. I attended sessions that have nudged me to dive a little further into populations that have less access and are often forgotten (for a lack of a better word) about in terms of recruitment. I have pledged to collaborate with schools in the south suburbs of Chicago as well as the Chicagoland LGBTQ community to find a better way of recruiting students who fit within that population. Action, advocacy, and excellence! IACAC’s conference made an “IMPACT” on me & I hope I will be “making a difference” in the days to come.