Andy Borst
Director of Admissions
Western Illinois University
Education:
IACAC Member: 5 years
IACAC Activities:
Annual Conference Attendee
NACAC Activities:
Considering the recently adopted strategic plan for IACAC, what do you hope to achieve within this role as it pertains to the objectives of new plan?
As the Post-Secondary Delegate Director, I hope to assist with IACAC’s first three goals of the strategic plan.
GOAL 1 – MEMBERSHIP
My primary goal for applying for the Post-Secondary Delegate Director position is to represent and advocate for the public colleges and universities in the state of Illinois. Our state faces unprecedented financial pressures, which have both direct impact (e.g. MAP grants) and indirect impact (e.g. state appropriations) on Illinois students going to college. I would contribute to the diversity of the IACAC membership by representing the voice of director-level members, downstate Illinois members, and members who work at public colleges and universities.
GOAL 2 – FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY
I would hope to aid IACAC in working with a consultant to evaluate the financial position and investments of the organization. I have prior experience working with investment advisors to assist a regional professional organization; managing investments to ensure viability of the annual conference, funding grants to encourage greater member participation, and soliciting additional sources of revenue for the organization and its members.
GOAL 3 – EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
During my tenure at Western Illinois University, our campus hosted several IACAC programs, including Bus O’Fun, Camp College, Summer Institute, and District Seminar. I encourage and support active participation in IACAC among WIU staff. In this position, I hope to encourage other campuses or high schools downstate that have not historically participated in IACAC to begin to engage with the organization by hosting an event at their institutions.
If elected, what experiences, skills, and qualities do you bring to this specific position?
My current position as the Director of Admissions at Western Illinois University gives me daily experiences that align closely with the requirements of this position, including budgeting, planning and strategy, and outreach to the diverse members of IACAC. I have experience managing multi-million dollar budgets, planning and implementing large-scale events, and collaborating with many different constituents, who often represent competing priorities. As a representative of a state university in Illinois, I have the opportunity to speak to hundreds of school counselors across the state at articulation conferences each year. I’ve given presentations at the state, regional, and national level about assessing and predicting future trends in higher education.
I am in a senior-level admissions position, but I didn’t come from the admissions world. I’ve never been a road warrior, so I had to listen to regional admissions counselors about what they needed to do their job more effectively. I was never school counselor, but faculty at the Academy of College Admissions Counseling trained me to view my job from both sides of the desk. Each year at the annual conference, this profession teaches me something new from the people I meet, the sessions I attend, and the sense of community I observe. I would like the opportunity to give back to a profession and a community that has invested so much in me.
Mike Ford
Manager of Illinois Recruitment
Michigan State University
Education:
IACAC Member: 5 years (2011–present)
IACAC Activities:
NACAC Activities:
Other Professional Activities:
Considering the recently adopted strategic plan for IACAC, what do you hope to achieve within this role as it pertains to the objectives of new plan?
It would be an honor to work with IACAC leadership and committee chairs to drive membership, assist with outreach, further develop the IACAC brand, and represent IACAC at the national level as a Post-Secondary Delegate Director.
One goal would be to continue helping establish processes and guidelines which will enable our committees to better serve IACAC members, parents, and students. As a tri-chair for the Media Communications committee, I have been working with the other chairs and Council Team Directors to develop a more efficient way to manage the workflow from committees to Betadac Media. Doing so will allow us to provide an additional level of customer service to our members as well as add a layer of support for the Finance Committee as they strive to maintain and improve fiscally responsible practices.
My second goal is to continue assisting with the development of the IACAC brand. I truly believe that we accomplish tremendous things as an organization, but we have the opportunity to do even more. Developing a plan to generate additional exposure for IACAC will provide more value to members as well as the populations we serve. Creating branding guidelines will help preserve the integrity of the organization and establish credibility as we are introduced to new audiences. With those two items in place, it will allow us to launch a Public Relations plan that will hopefully garner more attention from the media and government officials.
I’m excited about potentially being able to help IACAC become even more impactful.
If elected, what experiences, skills, and qualities do you bring to this specific position?
If elected, my experiences in a corporate setting will hopefully be valuable to the organization. I’ve seen the value of partnerships and teamwork and would continue to add to the collegial culture already established within IACAC and NACAC as a Post-Secondary Delegate Director.
My background in Marketing will allow me to continue to share some practices I’ve used in the past to the organization as we strive to accomplish what has been established within the strategic plan, specifically developing a brand and enhancing the way we communicate to various audiences. Working for the Detroit Pistons/Palace Sports & Entertainment, I was able to witness the value in community-based partnerships between corporations, sports teams, and educational organizations. While this is unexplored territory for IACAC, there might be some value in exploring ideas and creating new relationships as we look for ways to generate exposure and revenue.
If I had to choose one word to describe me, it would be amenable. I think this trait will be particularly helpful as part of the exec board and when working within a council team or with various committees.
Another one of my passions is efficiency. I believe we can always be better at whatever it is we do as a person, family member, artist, runner, colleague, leader, etc. We can continue to drive the organization with effective and efficient processes such as web-based forms, or branding guidelines, and best practices that will leave us in a sound position for years to come.
Erin Hoover
Assistant Director of Admission–Chicago Region
Augustana College
Education:
IACAC Member: 10 years
IACAC Activities:
NACAC Activities:
Other Professional Activities:
Considering the recently adopted strategic plan for IACAC, what do you hope to achieve within this role as it pertains to the objectives of new plan?
Having served on the board during the creation of the current Strategic Plan, I’m very familiar with its objectives and that first-hand knowledge will be extremely beneficial in my role as a Delegate Director. The Strategic Plan serves as a rubric for every board member and committee chair to measure their work’s progress, ensuring that progress is moving towards a common IACAC mission. As a Delegate Director, part of the work I would do as a co-chair of one of the council teams would be to help those committee chairs keep the Strategic Plan a central part of their initiatives.
If elected, what experiences, skills, and qualities do you bring to this specific position?
As the IACAC Secretary the past two years, I have spent a lot of time reviewing the history of our organization, and detailing and recording the current state of it; I would now love the opportunity to use that historical knowledge to impact where the organization goes next. Illinois is a well-respected voice in the national landscape of school counseling and college admissions issues and as I sat in the spectator’s section of the NACAC Assembly meeting in San Diego, I felt energized by the work the delegates came together to do. (I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time—Carin Smith can attest to that!) That experience helped me realize the impact we can have in the ever-changing landscape of our profession. As a voice and a vote at the national level, we can help keep our profession on the right path for our colleagues and for the students and families with whom we work. I would be honored to be one of those voices and one of your votes in the NACAC Assembly.
Eric Ruiz
Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions/Coordinator of Multi-Cultural Initiatives
University of St. Francis
Education:
IACAC Member: 8 years
IACAC Activities:
NACAC Activities:
Other Professional Activities:
Considering the recently adopted strategic plan for IACAC, what do you hope to achieve within this role as it pertains to the objectives of new plan?
I believe that I can achieve many things that the strategic plan offers. Ever since I was a new admissions representative, I have always been a fan of meeting new people. Everywhere I go, I try my best to meet at least someone new, whether new to the profession or someone that has been in the profession for a while, and I just hadn’t had the pleasure to meet yet. I will always try to introduce myself and ask them a very specific question, “So, what was your original plan?” It’s so interesting to hear how others got into the profession of higher education, school counseling, etc. as the majority of us were not growing up thinking “I’m going to become an Admissions Counselor.” I am always interested in where they come from. It’s funny sometimes when the person I am speaking to isn’t really sure why I am asking that question, usually a very new rep. I try to explain it to them very simply, “If you look at many of us in the profession, we all had an original plan, for me, it was to become an accountant. But the cool thing is that we all came from different backgrounds, different education and a different plan. And now we are all here working together to help our future youth. Sure, many of us are trying to get our master’s degree to move on, but many, like I did, will fall in love with this profession because we realize what we do. We don’t just work for our institutions and recruit students, we change lives, and hopefully for the better.” After having that conversation, my hopes is that the person I am speaking to doesn’t just see this as a J-O-B, but a potential future career. On top of working to give access to students like undocumented students through programs like the Sharing the Dream Conference, I know that I wouldn’t be able to do it alone, we would need the membership to continue to help. And interestingly enough, my vision just so happens to be on the same path as the strategic plan.
If elected, what experiences, skills, and qualities do you bring to this specific position?
I think I can bring a great deal of experiences, skills and qualities to the table for the Delegate position. One that I am most proud of is my loyalty to the committee I am on, the project I’m working on or the organization that I am a part of. I believe I am someone that does not back down when I do not know or understand something. If anything I am the complete opposite, I am the one that asks the follow up questions or asks for clarity to make sure everyone is on the same page. My understanding of the role of a Delegate is that you have to keep the student in mind, which is my favorite component of the position. When I work with our students, when I’m working to make a change at University of St. Francis, I am not looking to better myself, I am not looking for that promotion, raise or even a pat on the back. I’m looking for that slight smile from the student. That awe moment for them to possibly realize that they can do it, they can make it, they can finish. If it’s for the good of the student, I will be determined enough to do everything I can to make it right. And I know sometimes it cannot happen right away, but I am also a very patient and persistent person. You can tell when I work with undocumented students, a group that many people there may not be any hope for them. Well I don’t believe that, there is hope, there is a way, and I’m going to do everything I can to help them find that way. That is why every day when I walk in my office I tell myself, “Si se puede” (It can happen) because with loyalty, curiosity, determination, patience, persistence and with the student in mind, it can happen.
