canyon IN OUR
ADMISSION:
Welcoming Families
“FALL IS
Back row: Gregg Murray, Rhody Davis, Bindu Kaur. Front: Brooke Smith, Rebecca Heller
COLLEGE COUNSELING: finding the right fit
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IRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING Rhody Davis emphasizes that her office is called College “Counseling” and not College “Placement.” Viewpoint’s staff includes College Counselors Rebecca Heller, Gregg Murray, and Brooke Smith, as well as Bindu Kaur, Registrar and Administrative Assistant.
TOURING SEASON FOR THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR, winter is testing season, and spring is accepting season, which is always exciting,” explained Laurel Baker Tew ’78, Viewpoint’s Chief Enrollment Officer, about the Admission Office’s annual calendar. Last year, Laurel and the Admission team, made up of Chris Adamson, September Bongiorno, Katelyn Forero, Ming Hodgson, Travis Kikugawa, Pat LaBo, Marcella Ruiz, and Brooke Vimtrup, worked with more than 1,000 families to fill the 150 openings in the School for the 2015-16 school year.
LAUREL, WHO ATTENDED VIEWPOINT FROM 1965-75 (through Ninth Grade, the School’s final year at that time), returned to work at the School in 2003 after 19 years working in the Office of Admission at USC, the last four as the Director of Admission. Her relationship with USC is ongoing, and this fall she taught a course in USC’s School of Education in Enrollment Management. “The difference between working here and at USC is that we are not admitting just the student, as in college, but the family into our community for potentially 13 years, or more if they have more than one child. In a K-12 school, trust is the most important thing. Parents look to the school to take care of their children, and we want to know them as a family.”
When Rhody or a members of her team sits down with the students, the process is one of reflection and discovery, and a fair amount of counseling through this exciting, but often stressful time of life. Their goal is not simply to get students into college, but to help them through the exploratory process of finding the right fit for them. This idea of “fit” is key to the philosophy of the College Counseling Office, and one that they believe is essential to making successful choices in the future.
Brooke Vimtrup, Pat LaBo, Laurel Baker Tew ’78, Katelyn Forero, Ming Hodgson, Chris Adamson, September Bongiorno, Travis Kikugawa and Marcela Ruiz (not pictured)
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