This week I got to talk to one of my favorite people on campus, Maggie Calvetti, a 2008 graduate of Bentley and now a Senior Assistant Director in the Office of Undergraduate Admission. Check out our interview to learn more about Maggie and working in the Admissions Office!
HC: What brought you to Bentley as an undergrad, and what brought you back as an employee?
MC: When I was a senior in high school, I knew that I had an interest in math, people, and business, but couldn’t necessarily pinpoint what that really meant in terms of a specific career path. My high school advisor (Ms. Bentley, ironically enough) recommended that I drive from my hometown of Syracuse, NY to Boston and check out Bentley. At first, I figured she was making the place up given her last name, but after some research, I realized that the school was in fact real and that Bentley’s business focus, size, campus, and location all appealed to me.
The decision to pick Bentley came down to the campus visit – I stepped on campus and just knew. I often times call this the “wedding dress” effect – that “Say Yes to the Dress” moment when a girl tries on “the dress” and just knows that she found the one for her. I had visited many campuses, some of which I knew were not for me from the moment we parked the car. It was a different story at Bentley, though. To this day, I love driving up the main entrance of campus and seeing the library clock tower – it brings me back to every time we drove up that road for Accepted Student’s Day, Orientation, and move in each year.
Bentley’s growth over the past decade, my respect and appreciation for what this school does for its students, and the continued connection I have with many faculty and staff members here despite having graduated over 5 years ago is what pulled me back as an employee. Working in college admissions does require a little bit of selling, so having a “product” that you truly believe in makes this job an easy one!
HC: What did you major in, and how did your career goals change over your four years?
MC: I was a Marketing major here with a minor in International Studies. I entered Bentley thinking that I would probably work in a marketing position at a large company someday. As my experiences grew through various off-campus internships and on-campus involvements, I started to adjust my thinking. At first, it was hard to peel myself away from the original plan that I had envisioned as a high school senior, but I realized that my time in college was meant to shape and adjust my future based on my experiences.
I worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admission as an Ambassador all four years. One day, it dawned on me that the Admission Counselors in the office were something like grown-up tour guides and after doing some research, I embraced the world of admissions and higher ed as my new potential career path. Since then, I haven’t looked back! I graduated from Bentley, began a position as an Admission Counselor at Framingham State University, earned a Master’s degree there, and two years later, found myself presented with an offer to return home – to Bentley. I filled the role of Assistant Director of Admission and was able to come full circle and manage the tour guide program that I had once been a part of as a student. These days, I am a Senior Assistant Director and also manage our guidance counselor relationships and on-campus programs. I am staring on my fourth year at Bentley and my sixth year in admissions and still learn something new every day.
HC: What’s the best part of working in Undergraduate Admissions?
MC: I am able to meet so many different people! Working with high school juniors and seniors is the most common, but I am also in contact with parents, transfer students, guidance and college counselors, current Bentley students, and other faculty and staff members on campus. Working with our Ambassadors on campus is particularly rewarding because I love being able to watch students grow in their time here. The transformation of students’ confidence, leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills through the years is incredible. Working at a place let Bentley really allows me to have a front-row seat to this and often times, even a hand in helping this growth.
HC: Describe a typical day in the office.
MC: I think I would say, busy and always different! We work in a very cyclical environment because of the academic school-year calendar, but also because of the college admission process. For me, the fall involves welcoming back the Ambassadors from their summer break and getting them armed with everything they need to know to give great tours for the semester. Meanwhile, I am also finishing up my travel arrangements for our recruiting season. Usually by mid-September, seeing me in the office is a rarity as I am out and about across the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. as I visit high schools, attend college fairs, and interview students in their hometowns.
Although it can be grueling to spend almost two months in a hotel away from home, my husband, and two dogs, this is my favorite part of the year because I get to see the faces of the students who will later apply to the school. Once I return from my travels, about mid-November, our reading season begins. Instead of being out on the road and speaking with students every day, I am in our reading room with the other counselors and we focus on carefully reviewing applications. It is such a neat experience to read students’ applications as they are providing us with a peek into their worlds. It can be hard to turn away students from the school, but it is important to remember that we do so only to make sure we are selecting students who will flourish here academically, grow in our community, and find the right fit for their next four years.
Once the spring rolls around, we have notified all students of their admission decisions and it is time to help the accepted students to decide if Bentley will in fact be the right choice for them. This can involve something like taking another tour, having lunch with a current student, or asking a department chair some detailed questions. Come May 1st, the national deposit deadline, we have heard back from our students and know who will be joining the Bentley community in the fall. Typically, one huge, collective sigh of relief can be heard by admission counselors around the country. The summer months are our chance to reflect back on the past year, refresh and make improvement for the upcoming cycle, and maybe even take some vacation time!
HC: What advice would you give to someone who is interested in a career in Admissions or in higher ed?
MC: Stop by my office in LaCava! Really, contacting someone who works in the field is such a great idea because you can usually garner a few great nuggets of information about a job, school, industry, etc. just by listening (and who doesn’t love to talk about themselves? Example – me probably rambling a little too much in this article!). I am always excited to learn about others who want to work in this field and I know my colleagues here at Bentley and other schools feel the same way.