DJ Menifee, Vice President for Enrollment at Susquehanna University and member of NACAC's board of directors, shares the stories about his rapid ascent to higher ed leadership ... and, perhaps just as important, deconstructs the construction of a perfect PBJ with Ken.

This quote from DJ (borrowed from Kobe Bryant):
"If you want to be the best, you've got to sacrifice something."

Shout-outs
Lori Greene (Butler U; mentor to DJ)
Bill Sliwa (who hired him into the profession at Lees-McRae)
Andy Borst (U of Illinois)
Paul Steenis (Knox)
Devone Eurales (Knox) Darryl Uy
Illinois ACAC
And, of course, DJs family.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song:  Standing Ovation by Young Jeezy (with "naughty words" warning by DJ 😉)
• Best recent read: Invisible Influence: The Hidden Forces that Shape Behavior  by Jonah Burger
• Eager to read next: A Promised Land by President Barack Obama
• Podcast: Tony Sarda's episode on the ALP
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: "I'm there for support."
• What he uses to take and keep notes: Padfolio.
• Memorable bit of advice: From his colleague and friend, Devone Eurales of Knox: "Someone is always watching."
• Bucket list: Supporting his wife in checking items off her bucket list3

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Adrienne Amador Oddi, Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, shares her story, which may overlap with many other ALP alumni, but is very much her own. Learn how a swimmer's mindset is perfectly adaptable to leadership in admissions & financial aid. Also math.

This quote from Adrienne Amador Oddi:
"We take the steps to build community. And when we get tired, the beauty of community is that somebody else can keep us going, and then, when our energy is restored, we can pick up the slack again."

Shout-outs
Jennifer Delahunty
Darryl Uy
Jonathan Burdick
Marie Bigham
Heath Einstein
Angel Perez

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song:  Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon (and fellow Kenyon '09 classmate Nick Petricca)
• Best recent read: I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown.
• Eager to read next: America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
• Podcast ... or audible book: Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: "Working on my brunch game."
• What she uses to take and keep notes: Moleskine cahier, extra large with a Vision Elite Uniball (micro point). Also Trello.
• Memorable bit of advice: From Jim Steen, winningest swim coach in NCAA history: "You can live your life in two ways: under a threat, or for a challenge."
• Bucket list: "Finding ways to help women find their voices and succeed in leadership positions. Working and brining all my interests together in coaching women to find and create their space."

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Eva Blanco Masias, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Santa Clara University, shares her story, including how a significant national crisis 19 years ago led her to leave a highly successful career to jump into the admissions and enrollment world.

Shout-outs
Rod Skinner (and his mother, Mrs. Skinner)
Mike Sexton
Sandra Hayes
Charlie Nolan
Patrick Lorenzo

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song:  Mi Gente by J Balvin, Willy William ft. Beyoncé
• Best recent read: How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (also The Magic Treehouse series, essential parent-child reading)
• Eager to read next: Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life by Troy R. Saxby
• Podcast: Latino USA, Maria Hinojosa; LatinxAmerica, Adriana Flores-Ragade
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: Her mother's puzzle recipe. 
• What she uses to take and keep notes: A computer.
• Memorable bit of advice: From Charlie Nolan (former Vice Provost for Enrollment Management at Santa Clara University): "Do the fundamentals fundamentally well."
• Bucket list: Traveling to Europe, to "venture and explore all of it ... multiple times."

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Ken shares four things to carry you into and through a Halloween/Nov. 1/pre-Election Day weekend. Full episode with new guests drops next week.

Peak 1: The Keep Going Song a joyful ear worm
Peak 2: "What's at Stake for College Admission in this Election?" by Angel Perez
Peak 3:  "Election Stress Getting to You? 4 Ways to Keep Calm"
Peak 4: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Jenny Rickard, President and CEO of CommonApp, climbs a veritable mountain range on this episode of the ALP.  Learn about a journey that's part dream, part serendipity and all dedication as you hear Jenny share what she's learned along the way, and what has driven her from the start.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song:  While You See a Chance by Steve Winwood
• Best recent read: Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom  
• Eager to read next: The College Conversation: A Practical Companion for Parents to Guide Their Children Along the Path to Higher Education by Eric Furda and Jacques Steinberg
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: Shrimp Fra Diavolo over linguine 
• What she uses to take and keep notes: Common App journal with a Frixion pen
• Memorable bit of advice: From the Headspace app: "You are not your thoughts."
• Bucket list: Inspired by a visit to the King Tut exhibit when she was in 7th grade, Jenny wants to visit the pyramids in Egypt.

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

What do a growling beagle, Andrew Cuomo, the Green Bay Packers, shoe leather and good ideas have in common? Find out in this fun and wide-ranging interview with David Hawkins, Executive Director for Educational Content and Policy at the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song: Total Football by Parquet Courts
• Best recent read: The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois 
• Eager to read next: Mostly Harmless (The 5th book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy) by Douglas Adams
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies, which his mother taught him to make when he was 4. 
• What she uses to take and keep notes: College notebooks and a utilitarian pen.
• Memorable bit of advice: "A man should love his life enough to call it his own in the end." from Orhan Pamuk's The White Castle.
• Bucket list: To see the Green Bay Packers play at Lambeau Field.

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Ken learns why dynamic kindness is more important than "success" in his chat with Corey Johnson, founder of Imagine Scholar, based in the Nkomazi region of Mpumalanga province, in South Africa. Imagine Scholar is "founded on the belief that there is an equal distribution of raw potential in every pocket of the world. Our mission is to equip young leaders with the integrity, skills, and mindsets they need to shape a world they can be proud of."

Many thanks to Laura Kaub (whose name somehow got garbled on the pod!) from Yale Young African Scholars, who introduced Ken to Corey via Kyra Kellawan's excellent ThePilotEd Podcast.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song: Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf
• Best recent read: The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt 
• Eager to read next: Hate, Inc.: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another by Matt Taibbi
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: Pizza using an obscure recipe from Richard the hippie, who read Lord of the Rings to Corey when he was ten. 
• What she uses to take and keep notes: Things (Mac app) and four colored Etsy notebooks, using a purple-inked Pilot G2 pen.
• Memorable bit of advice: Get honest feedback from people who care about you. We all have emotional blindspots that we think nobody sees. Unmask your insecurities. (Inspired by a roast of him by his best friends.)
• Bucket list: He really wants to go to space.

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Ken kicks off Season 3 with Rachelle Hernandez, Senior Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Student Success at the University of Texas at Austin. Learn why you may be able to go fast alone, but you'll always go far together—a theme of this podcast—and how doing right by students will always mean doing right by your institution. Ken also learns that the last thing you need is a pen exploding on you.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song: Hall of Fame by The Script (feat. will.i.am)
• Best recent read: The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking by Michael Starbird and Edward Burger 
• Eager to read next: Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with 4x the recommended amount of vanilla 
• What she uses to take and keep notes: Notebooks (currently a burnt orange/cactus themed, very Texas) and hotel pens.
• Memorable bit of advice: Listen more.
• Bucket list: Take a month-long road trip with her family around the U.S.

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Ken chats with Maria Furtado, Executive Director of Colleges That Change Lives, which is dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process. Maria shares the origin story of Admissions Aerobics (it's real and it's magic), as well as lessons she's learned along the way as a former director of admission herself.

Special shout-out to Marty O'Connell and Virginia Buege two of the big brains behind the birth of Colleges That Change Lives.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song: Flowers are Red by Harry Chapin
• Best recent read: The Unwind Dystology Series by Tom Rachman 
• Eager to read next: Half Broke: A Memoir by Ginger Gaffney
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: "Drinks."
• What he uses to take and keep notes: Paper and pen, especially one with a nice wide tip; not one of those sharp pointy ones.
• Memorable bit of advice: "Make a decision. It may be good; it may be bad. But make a decision. The best one you can at the time."
• Bucket list: Go to Fiji.

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment

Ken chats with Darryl Uy, director of admission at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. \In the episode Darryl illustrates the joys and advantages of being the director instead of the VP or dean, and how majoring in theater is the perfect prep for being an admission director.

Rapid Descent

• Walkout song: Don't Give Up on Me by Andy Grammer and Broken & Beautiful by Kelly Clarkson
• Best recent read: The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman 
• Eager to read next: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
• Favorite thing to make in the kitchen: Making room for his husband to make the best chicken and eggplant parmigiana in the world.
• What he uses to take and keep notes: If I'm out and about, Notes app on my phone, otherwise Google Docs. And there's a fountain pen he got from his parents for graduation that needs an ink refill.
• Memorable bit of advice: "Be proud of who you are. Be proud of where you came from. And always give people the respect they deserve by learning how to pronounce their name correctly."
• Bucket list: See every movie that has been nominated or has won the Oscar for Best Picture. He's done everything from the present back to 1989.
• Bonus rapid descent items (movie recommendations): Saving Face and The Half of It by Alice Wu

The ALP is supported by RHB, a division of SIG. Music arranged by Ryan Anselment