As I travel from the south shore of Connecticut to Boston on this beautiful fall day, my phone dings
to let me know that one more email has arrived. I take a quick peek
(fear not, I am on the train!) and see that the email from a colleague
who shares my fondness and admiration for AISAP champion Don Yaeger. The inspiration I take from Don’s “Daily Dose of Greatness” has become a mainstay for me. This
message in particular resonates as I make my way up the Northeast
Corridor for a meeting that will prove to benefit and enhance AISAP’s
continued commitment to YOU, the admission and enrollment professionals.
Yesterday I was surrounded by colleagues at our Roundtable Event in New
Jersey on developing a strategic enrollment management planning process.
As happens whenever admission professionals gather, the question of the
future was top of mind: “How can we predict?” “ How can we shape?” “How
can we know what to expect for next year and beyond?”
In this particular “Daily Dose of Greatness,” Don shared these famous
words, quoted by Nellie Wooden, wife of legendary former UCLA basketball
Coach John Wooden:
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
From
the seat I sit this sentiment connects everything that we know to be
true with the very things that we are oftentimes afraid to admit or
acknowledge. The future of enrollment at our schools may be impacted in
part by things completely out of our control, but will ultimately be
built on the foundation of admission systems and policies we create and
put into place today.
Our role as professionals in this industry and the very nature of our
leadership in independent schools are all about the creation and
implementation of strategies and how we manage our tasks, our roles and
responsibilities, and our influence. We map these out, creating,
shaping, planning, and—yes!—dreaming of what we hope will be
our future. The words so aptly quoted by Don Yeager remind us of our
power in a world where we frequently feel as though we are just reacting
to the words and deeds of others.
Over the next few days AISAP will be sharing with you more information
and details on the future that we are creating for you. Our job is
creating and developing resources on what you need to know. We can help
you predict the future by teaching, empowering, and advocating for
you—so you can have and do what is necessary in order for you and your
school to be successful. “Predicting the future by creating” it
celebrates you and your capabilities. Providing you with what you need
is the core mission of our Center for Admission and Enrollment Management Leadership.
The Center is being designed and created for you—and I predict it will
be just what you need to design and create you own future.
