Juniata
Juniata parents Darlee and Amy Sill, both attorneys in Hollidaysburg, Pa., answer questions as mentors at Career Day. They are the parents of student David Sill ’12.
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Parent participation is not limited to college fairs. Elaine Swaintek, mother of Rebecca Swaintek ’13
of Alburtis, Pa., held an accepted student reception in her home, and Marcia Sloat, mother of Scott Sloat ’10, of Ridgefield, Conn., has done college fairs and helped recruit other parents for volunteer opportunities as well. If parents know of a college fair or college event in their area, Bartol encourages them to call the College to attend an event. Juniata will provide literature, indentification tags and other materials, the parents are just required to bring their knowledge and enthusiasm. If parents would like to volunteer, Bartol asks that they call their child’s admission counselor or Tara DelBaggio at (814) 641-3434 or e-mail delbagt@juniata.edu. In some cases, particularly in areas far removed from Pennsylvania, parents have teamed up with alumni to participate in recruiting events. Lou Browdy ’63, a computer support specialist in the University of California-Santa Barbara accounting office, recently spent a day at a college fair event with Diane Satterthwaite, mother of Erin Satterthwaite ’10, of Santa Barbara, Calif. Browdy had met Erin on campus at his class reunion and he cold-called Diane to see if she wanted to help him out at a local college night. “I was a little apprehensive at first, but once I got there and saw the people from other colleges answering questions, I started to get excited about it,” Diane recalls. “We did draw a lot of people away from the booths, I think because we looked very approachable.” The use of parents as surrogate marketers is not particularly new and Juniata only recently started its parents program. Katie Dickey ’97, assistant director of alumni relations and director of the parents program, says the College started the program in 2006 and named its first Parents Council in April 2009. “What’s unique about Juniata’s parents program is that we are working to engage parents with what’s happening on campus right now,” she says. “Last fall, we studied parents programs on a number of other campuses and found that most parent councils or
Photos (left) Timothy Carn ’12; (center) Andrew Meloney ’10
about every achievement. If a student is successful at Juniata, who is going to crow that from the rooftop? Not the kid, that’s for sure. “Their sons and daughters are current students so they’re well-versed on what’s happening on campus,” says Tara DelBaggio, associate director of admissions, who has participated in enrollment events with Carri Cohen, mother of Lauren Cohen ’12, of Short Hills, N.J. “Carri knew every third person at the event and she had recently gone through the process of enrollment, so she could give very specific answers to parents’ questions.” Mrs. Cohen represented Juniata at six college fairs and has made phone calls to prospective students. Juniata’s enrollment office started recruiting parents in the summer orientations in 2008 and has built up its list of volunteers slowly. Michelle Bartol ’84, dean of enrollment, says that students tend to react to parents or enrollment counselors similarly, whereas other parents find it easier to relate to other parents. It’s that camaraderie or instant connection that helps sell the College, but at the same time, the enrollment office wants their parental initiative to remain informal. “The Lehmanns do their events because it’s fun for them,” explains Ryan Hollister ’08, who works with the Lehmanns in his Long Island, N.Y. recruiting territory. “We don’t want to take that away by saying ‘You’re required to do (x amount) of events.’”
Bruce Moyer ’74, father of Juniata graduate Brittany Moyer ’09, participated in a Parent’s Panel focused on how to help students make the transition from home to college.