For years, we have been talking about all the reasons to leave the profession - and many have. This week, we flip the script, and ask some of our rising stars (and ourselves) to reflect on what keeps them in the profession.

As always, we've got two outstanding guests.

Joining us as our Practitioner Guest is Debbie Lysicatos, Admissions Counselor at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi.

Our Influencer Guest is Jenni Kimball, College & Career Counselor at Timberline High School in Boise, Idaho.

If you're reading this far, please know how much we appreciate you being a listener of the Lunchcast as we wrap up season 11!

The word "advocacy" can mean many different things to many different people. In the world of admissions, we often have a challenge of determining who to advocate for in a given situation.

We are all mission-driven folks, who like to think of ourselves as advocating for students, but what do those moments and decisions look like on the ground, day to day?

To help sort through that, we have two rising star guests joining us.

Our first Practitioner Guest is Cherese Jackson, Director of Admission, Enrollment, and Diversity at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey.

Our second Practitioner Guest is Sebastian Brown, Regional Admission Counselor at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.

Ahh, yes - the old debate about how leadership and a title can be disconnected. We couldn't think of a better group of people to talk to about this than some rising stars in the profession. We sought out people who are recognized leaders in their NACAC affiliates or on their campus to talk through the challenges, opportunities, and pathways to leadership - without the title.

Joining us as our first Practitioner Guest is Gabby McCoy, Admission Representative at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Our second Practitioner Guest is Ryan Brinkman, Assistant Director and Regional Recruitment Coordinator at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, California.

Will admissions ever be able to stop talking about burnout? We are used to discussing this topic from the perspective of those of us who have been around a long time, thinking about how things used to be.

For this week's episode, we take a twist - zeroing in on burnout prevention from the perspective of rising stars in the college admissions profession.

Joining us as our first Practitioner Guest is Emily Hannon, Director of First Year Admissions at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa.

Our second Practitioner Guest is Chris Hoffman, Assistant Director of National Recruitment at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Salary, benefits, mission, and how that all changes as we get settled into our role. As you know, this is a topic your hosts can talk about at length with the drop of a hat - so we are thrilled to be joined by two folks who had insights and perspectives that made both Nathan and Teege stop and think.

Or, as some people would say, stop, reflect, and relearn.

Cathryn Loy, Assistant Director of Admissions at Bradley University

Kevin Buckley, Assistant Director at University of Louisville

In the heat of the pandemic, we were all working from home. There was no "hybrid" element to worry about - just a whole new way of working. Since then, every aspect of our job can be measured against the question, "Do I need to be in the office to do this?"

But with the flexibility comes challenges that didn't exist before.

Given our longer runs in the profession, we thought this would be a great topic for folks who see this current approach as more normal and mainstream than those of us who've been around for a minute.

Lexi Aguayo, Senior Associate Director at Pepperdine University

Ebony Sistrunk, Associate Director of College Counseling at The Whitefield School

Well, if there ever were a topic for your hosts to step aside, this is it. In admissions, we are used to a thousand thought pieces about "this generation" being different than "that one" or "the one before that" or even "the first half of this generation."

Often, it's unique, valuable insights. Often, it's universal truths masquerading as generational research.

To dig in deeper, we have two great guests who are both gen z and rising stars in their affiliates:

Savvi Leach, Admissions Counselor at Bellin College

Logan Blunt, Regional Admissions Representative at Wichita State University

Is there a disconnect between the job we signed up for and the job we have?

To the extent that there is, why does that disconnect exist, and what impact does it have on us? On students? On our institutions?

Joining us to tackle those questions are:

Lai Ara Powell, Associate Director of Recruitment at Temple University School of Pharmacy

Eric Grego, Director of Undergraduate Recruitment at King's College

After a long break, we are thrilled to be back with another compelling season of The Admissions Directors Lunchcast.

This season, we're switching things up. After ten seasons of bringing you some of the leading voices in college admissions, for season eleven, we're bringing you some of the people who are becoming leading voices.

Season eleven is all about the rising stars of our profession, shining a spotlight on folks earlier in their career than you might be used to.

Here's to the next ten seasons being as great as the first ten!

Rural recruitment requires more than a map and a mileage log, it demands real understanding. In this bonus episode, we dig into the misconceptions about rural students, the values that shape their college choices, and how colleges can build genuine connections beyond the big cities.

Our guest this week brings deep on-the-ground insight:

• Conner Ellinghuysen, Director of Admissions and Head Archery Coach at Buena Vista University (IA) and President-Elect of Iowa ACAC

From small-town visits to community trust, Conner shares what makes rural outreach unique, and what colleges can do better.