When deciding whom to interview for this paper I first thought about what area of higher education I wanted to learn more about. After thinking of a few different individuals I decided to interview Sabrina Tapps-Fee, a Senior Admission Counselor and Coordinator of the Tour Guide program for the University of Iowa. I decided to interview Sabrina, because admissions is an area of higher education that really interests me. I knew Sabrina had a long history working in admissions and I was interested in learning more about her experiences. To begin Sabrina provided me with background information on what led her to being an admission counselor. Similar to myself, she never really thought about a career in higher education. Sabrina explained to me that as a Student at Buena Vista University she was always focused on health sciences. In 2000 Sabrina graduated from Buena Vista University with a BA in exercise science, sports marketing and coaching. When she told me this I actually was not surprised. Even though her degree is not directly related to her profession now, there are definitely elements that overlap. For example, having a background in sports marketing and coaching relates not only to working with student employees but also counseling prospective students and their families. Her first job in higher education was as an Admission Counselor for Buena Vista University. Working here helped her learn how to communicate with and recruit prospective students. Before beginning this job, she told me that she only planned on staying for one year with intentions of moving into a career related to health sciences. This one-year ended up turning into a 15 year profession, which she said looking back now does not really surprise because of her families background in education. After Buena Vista University she became an Admission Representative for Dunwoody College of Technology. It was interesting to hear about her time at Dunwoody College of Technology because it is very different than the University of Iowa. Similar to what we learned in class, there are many different types of Universities to work at and they all have something different to offer. This class and interview made me begin to think about the different types of schools I would want to work at or attend graduate school at. While I would love to work at a large research facility similar to the University of Iowa, I believe it is important to be exposed and learn about how programs operate at different types of institutions. As an admission counselor, I think it is important to understand and have background knowledge in all of the different options out there to provide prospective students with the correct knowledge. After working at Dunwoody College of Technology, Sabrina began working as a Senior Admission Counselor for the University of Iowa. I asked if she could describe a typical workday at the University of Iowa. She said, “A typical day is anything but typical.” I was actually really happy about this answer. One reason I find higher education interesting is you are constantly being forced to learn and think of new programs while working with many different types of people. She went on to tell me that no two days are ever the same because no two families will be exactly the same. Having a job where you are constantly working with
…show more content…
So I asked Sabrina what she has learned about herself along the way. She explained, that over the past fifteen years she has learned that she really enjoys helping people and that there are many different ways one person can help multiple people. She never expected to be a mentor, but she really enjoys knowing something she has said or completed goes onto impacting someone’s decision on where to attend college. She later went on to to say how the families and students she works with ultimately impact her as well. I relate to this statement because I think having a job where everything comes full circle is important. When I first became a tour guide I wanted to show students why the University of Iowa is an incredible place to attend college. After working as a tour guide for almost a year, I can confidently say that working with these families and answering their questions has reminded me why I decided to attend
So I asked Sabrina what she has learned about herself along the way. She explained, that over the past fifteen years she has learned that she really enjoys helping people and that there are many different ways one person can help multiple people. She never expected to be a mentor, but she really enjoys knowing something she has said or completed goes onto impacting someone’s decision on where to attend college. She later went on to to say how the families and students she works with ultimately impact her as well. I relate to this statement because I think having a job where everything comes full circle is important. When I first became a tour guide I wanted to show students why the University of Iowa is an incredible place to attend college. After working as a tour guide for almost a year, I can confidently say that working with these families and answering their questions has reminded me why I decided to attend