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In This Issue...
- A Message from President Erin Regan
- Chris Fox - NEACAC Delegate at NACAC 2018
- Special Interest Groups (SIG) - Women In Admissions
- Rising Leaders Program - a look back and thinking ahead
- Students In Admissions Forum (SIAF) Recap
- Want to get involved? The Ad-Hoc
- IDEA Committee Essay Award Winners
- NEACAC Leadership
A Message from the NEACAC President
by Erin Regan
Happy Fall to all of our NEACAC members! I am thrilled to be writing to you all after returning from Salt Lake City, amazing host city for the NACAC National Conference. It was an honor and a privilege to represent New England ACAC as President and I am happy to have the opportunity to reflect on this great experience.
Over 6000 individuals and over 500 NEACAC members gathered for the 74th National Association for College Admission Counseling National Conference. Here are highlights…
Our Voices Matter: Proposed Membership Plan Withdrawn
The proposed membership plan that NACAC Board and Staff had developed over past 16 months was sent back to the drawing board after it faced considerable pressure at the General Membership meeting. The amendments to the NACAC bylaws, that would have set the plan in motion, even after adjustments to individual counselor & retiree categories in the days before and a delayed rollout to 2021, met numerous friendly amendments on the Membership floor. After nearly 90 minutes of debate, it became clear that there would be trouble with the numerous changes, and lengthy deliberation exposed the concerns many members felt about the process. Finally, a NACAC Board member made a motion to withdraw the entire amendment, and that motion was nearly unanimously passed on the floor.
New England: Making our voice heard on the Assembly Floor
Earlier on Saturday, your New England ACAC delegates were very active during the five-hour Assembly Meeting. "The NACAC Assembly functions as a governing body that initiates, advises and provides consent on association and professional issues. Assembly delegates are elected for three-year terms by the NACAC voting members in the Affiliates." It is during Assembly that the NACAC Board of Directors and President are elected, and changes to the SPGP: CEPP are debated and voted upon. This year, New England, under the leadership of Past-President and Chief Delegate Andrew Rosabianca, made a formal motion. Please refer to the synopsis of the morning in the article by NEACAC member and Delegate, Chris Fox.
Collective Power of NACAC
Overall this was one of the most powerful NACAC Conferences I have ever attended. Likely it had much to do with my position this time as President of an affiliate, but in addition, it was something else that I know many others felt. It was the inspiring opening speech by President David Burge and the high quality of sessions. It was the energy in our own membership meeting attended by well over 200, and above all it was the buzz throughout the week collectively knowing that we can make a difference, not only by having a voice in our own profession, but helping our students who will be the change for tomorrow.
Finally, I would be remiss if I did not comment once again how lucky I am, as a public school counselor, to be able to attend this conference. To have the support from my colleagues and school is invaluable, and I am constantly reminded of this as we look to find ways to bring other public school counselors into the important conversations that occur at every turn at a national conference. For those who are unable to attend due to cost, please be on the lookout for the public school counselor grant application due out later this fall. While we wish we could fund more, it is a great opportunity for those NEACAC members who are selected.
I'm deeply grateful for the chance to represent New England ACAC and am all the more committed in the continued work we will do together! Best wishes for a great fall season. I look forward to seeing many of you throughout the year.
Sincerely,
Erin Regan, NEACAC President
photo: NEACAC President Erin Regan and NEACAC Past-President Andrew Rosabianca at the NEACAC Affiliate Meeting in Salt Lake City
NACAC Assembly Delegate Reflections
by Chris Fox
Greetings fellow New Englanders!
I would like to share my own highlights & takeaways from my first time “out west”.
My first highlight from Wednesday morning is directed at those of us who only “travel” around our own six states; I want to share th e awe-inspiring glamor of the west. The Mississippi River served as my first point of interest as my inner toddler felt initially confused as to why we were over what appeared to be an ocean halfway through a westward flight from the East coast! The second point of interest came as we began our descent into the Great Salt Lake Desert. I have always loved images of fractal geometry, and the juniper-tinted vegetation that grows only at the banks of small streams and tributaries in this otherwise tan desert embodies those images in the real world. If you ever have the chance to travel outside New England, I strongly encourage you to go.
 On Wednesday afternoon, the Assembly Delegates previewed both the candidates for National Office, as well as some of the upcoming motions to be brought before NACAC’s governing body. I was excited to see a road friend, and professional colleague, on the ticket. I was even more excited when I was able to cast my vote for Sara Brookshire’s successful nomination to the Board of Directors. Her career in New England and her rise to senior leadership within both NEACAC and now NACAC is both well-deserved and professionally inspiring. Well done Sara!
Thursday and Friday presented opportunities to attend educational sessions. I chose those focused on  Transfer Students and NACAC governance. In the former, I learned the biggest challenge facing transfer students is the way that current institutional reporting policies count them. Transfers only count against retention at their first institution, and they do not count at all in persistence statistics for their final intuition. As such, I would encourage all of us to encourage institutional reporting policies to be more student-focused rather than institution-focused. In the latter sessions, I learned that NACAC is considering is moving some voting practices online. I shared a challenge our own affiliate faces with voter-turnout for online elections and encouraged the representatives from the Board to explore solutions for this issue and share their findings with each of the affiliates. I also spent time on Thursday and Friday continuing my NEACAC committee work: reaching out to the 200+ vendors and encouraging them to consider sponsoring NEACAC’s 2019 AMC at URI. I want to extend my greatest appreciation to six of our colleagues for their generous help with this project: Brian Michaud, Tina Berardi, Abby Meachem, Alyssa Choudhry, Dustin Hunter, and Emily Cox Parker. You six are rock stars!
Saturd ay was a full day of governance, with the morning Assembly and the Annual Meeting after lunch. You can learn all the outcomes of both meetings online, so here I will highlight that there was robust support of both NEACAC ’s own proposed motion and several other motions designed to bring certain practices in this field back into alignment with the student-centered practices in which we all believe. I will also share that I was excited to be able to participate in voting to make NACAC more inclusive of all our members. I voted to encourage the regular use of gender-neutral language, and to add a land acknowledgement to each future NACAC Conference to honor and respect the traditions of first-nation peoples around the US and North America.
Some of you may have seen my social media post jokingly lamenting being mistaken for a movie-theater staff-member for wearing my NEACAC AMC ’17 volunteer polo during my flight home on Sunday. While the American Multi-Cinema folks were probably rolling their eyes at me, the truth is I felt a sense of pride in my accomplishments of the week. I am honored to serve you all as Assembly Delegate and Sponsorship Committee Chair. I look forward to another successful year here in New England, and I look forward to reprising my Assembly Delegate role next fall in Kentucky.
With gratitude,
Chris Fox
photos: NEACAC delegate group photo; announcement of election results; motion presented by NEACAC's Andrew Rosabianca; NEACAC AMC shirt; NACAC 2019
NACAC Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
By Christina Berardi, Salve Regina University and Dr. Erin Earle, The University of Rhode Island
NACAC is a large organization overseeing the multi-layered work of school counseling and college admission. Different types of professionals, institutions and students each provide varied perspectives to the ongoing discussions and progress within the field. This is where NACAC’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) play an important role.
According to NACAC’s website SIGs “nurture the growing diversity in our association by providing "micro" communities within which members can network and add value to their NACAC membership experience. These smaller subsets of members are formed for the purpose of knowledge sharing and discussion among members with similar interests whether they are the specific subjects, issues or type of institution or students they serve”.
 This year we started the Women in Admission SIG. We wanted to enhance the great work of two powerful online platforms: Women Council for Admission Professionals (WCAP) and Wonder Women in Admissions. The SIG’s mission is to support anyone who identifies as a woman to achieve success in the admission profession. The purpose of the group is to assist women in navigating the complexities of our profession including topics such as, but not limited to, sexism, equal pay, and work-life balance. The group also supports the retention and advancement of women in the admission field.
The Women in Admission SIG joins the 28 other NACAC SIGs. Groups include the following: Active Retired, African American, Alumni Representatives, Asian/Pacific Islander, Catholic Educators, Christian Fellowship, College Admission Counseling Graduate Coursework, Community Colleges/Transfer, Community-Based Organizations, Emerging Admission Professionals, French Baccalaureate, GLBTQ and Allies, Independent Educational Consultants, International Baccalaureate, Jewish Schools and Jewish Students, Latino/Hispanic, Learning Differences, Native Indigenous Peoples, Performing Arts, Private School Counselors, Prospective Student Athlete Advocacy, Public Charter Schools, Public School Counselor, Regional Admission Counselors, Universal College Application, Visual Arts, Women in Admission, Women’s Colleges, and Young Admission Directors and Deans. Complete descriptions and contact information for the SIG leaders can be found online.
You can get involved by attending the yearly meetings held at the NACAC conference, contacting the SIG leaders and expressing interest in their work or joining their online communities or listservs. This past national conference in Salt Lake City, the Women in Admission SIG held their first annual meeting, hosting nearly 200 professionals and featuring a keynote speaker. Ellen Heffernan, President of Spelman Johnson, a higher education search firm out of Massachusetts, spoke about advancement in the field offering practical tips to position yourself for success. For example, cultivate mentors, sponsors and coaches (each who play a different and critical role), understand your institution’s mission and be aware of your personal brand including making sure your resume and Linked-In profile matches.
In addition to the newly formed Women in Admission SIG, two other groups are also led by NEACAC members. Timothy Cushing of Brewster Academy is  a co-leader of the Emerging Admission Professionals SIG and Sara Brookshire of Brandeis University is a co-leader of the Young Admission Directors and Deans SIG.
Timothy Cushing expressed that they started their SIG in order to provide emerging professionals with the ability to connect and learn from like minded individuals from around the world and both sides of the desk. These perspectives provide them with the information they need to better serve students and themselves. At their meeting this year they discussed ways to promote yourself within your office and within professional organizations. Additionally, they talked about how to gain skills and showcase them to managers. They also discussed NACAC issues and assembly topics.
 The Young Admission Directors and Deans SIG met for a working lunch at an area restaurant. Over 25 professionals were in attendance, marking their third annual, formal meet-up. Sara Brookshire stated the intent of the SIG is to connect young enrollment management leaders with one another in an informal environment. Each attendee shared information about their ascent to leadership and one current challenge they’re facing in their role. The conversations historically keep going after the conference via a private Facebook group where information sharing, casual networking, and idea brainstorming takes place.
Is there a micro community you think is missing? You should consider starting one! Here are the instructions NACAC provides on how to create a new SIG, “a proposal must be submitted to the NACAC Member Relations Committee. The proposal needs to include a SIG Mission statement articulating how the group furthers and promotes NACAC's mission, identification of a committed leader and co-leader who are members of NACAC, and signatures of at least 15 NACAC members.”
The experience of starting a SIG has been valuable, allowing us to network across affiliates. If you are not a NACAC member, this is just one of the benefits, we hope you will consider joining. Membership information can be found on the NACAC website. We highly encourage you to get involved with these passionate communities.
Photo: top - Nikki Kahealan Chun, Caltech and Christina Berardi, Salve Regina attend the inaugural Women In Admissions SIG meeting; middle - Tim Cushing, Brewster Academy; bottom - Sara Brookshire, Brandies University
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NEACAC's Rising Leaders Program
member Christan Harris presented on how to select a project and asked the group to consider what talents and expertise they could offer to NEACAC and their colleagues. She also challenged the group to use what they had learned during the program to give back to the admissions profession. The leadership projects were completed over the course of the following year.
The Rising Leaders Program (RLP) is NEACAC's most recent Professional Development experience for both secondary school and college/university admission colleagues. The RLP is an opportunity to come together, develop new leadership and management skills, and gain new tools to become even more well-informed, independent and motivated professionals to enhance their skills and become more involved in the leadership and programming in the profession.
The RLP is an opportunity for you to continue your professional development with a specific focus on leadership and management skills, and the establishment of a professional 
mentor for the 2019-2020 academic year. Location for the the 2019 has not yet been determined but rest assured it will be in a great spot to allow for growth, personal, and professional development. As a participant, you will hear from NEACAC senior leadership, participate in professional development sessions to build necessary leadership skills, and develop your own leadership project to implement in your own work setting.
Students In Admissions Forum - 2018
