Kim
MAJOR
FACE #24
Director of Admission,
George School
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What was your path/journey after you graduated from Cornell?
After graduating, I opted to take the more unusual path of performing a year of service. I worked with the AmeriCorps program and was based in New Hampshire. After that, I decided to forego my law school plans and focused on a career in education. Since then, I have been a non-profit coordinator focused on increasing youth [community] service. I then worked in student affairs for Plymouth State University before beginning a career in Advancement. I served as Director of Alumni Relations at Plymouth State University, Coordinator of the Student Calling Program at Carnegie Mellon University, then several years in the Advancement Office at St. Paul's School in New Hampshire. After spending a decade volunteering for Cornell's Alumni Admission Ambassador Network, I realized I loved admission, and shifted careers to be an admission officer at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. I finally returned to my boarding school roots in 2016, when I began my work in the Admission Office at George School (a boarding and day school for grades 9 - 12 in Bucks County, PA), where I now serve as the Director of Admission. I love the work and the opportunity to connect with students from all over the world (not to mention the travel - I am currently typing this from Hanoi, Vietnam).
I married my husband, Tim, in 2001 and we have two children. One is a sophomore in college, and the other is an eleventh grader at George School. I am preparing myself for the bittersweet reality of being an empty nester soon.
While the school year was a lot of fun - weekly coffee dates at Cafe Decadence, dancing at parties, and spending time with good friends - I have to say my happiest memories are the two summers I spent working for Summer College, where I was a hall director. Nothing beats Ithaca in the summer - the weather is perfect and you can enjoy all Ithaca has to offer without the stress of schoolwork. I also have to say the magic of bonding with my fellow U-Hall floormates was memorable....we had a lot of fun!
What is your favorite memory from your time at Cornell?
How did your Cornell experience most influence you post-graduation?
In senior year, I worked with a program in Human Ecology where we matched Cornell students with Cornell employees seeking to improve literacy. This service-learning experience motivated my choice of service programs and really cemented the first big chunk of my career. It was a meaningful experience at the time, but it really set me on my path to focus my career on education. And, volunteering for CAAAN made me realize I should be in the admission/enrollment field. I am 100% positive I would not be doing what I am now had it not been for those experiences.
I say this all the time to students at the high school where I work. Cornell was the only Ivy that was open to all races, genders, and classes from its founding. I love that I was at a school that was progressive. As I have grown, I have realized that this foundation was not something I sought but it has become important to me in retrospect.