As the Admissions Office sees one of its busiest times of the year, new Admissions Counselors Meghan Caroll and Amanda Furtado are learning the ropes in their first years.
Caroll (‘22, G ‘23), said she has enjoyed the atmosphere the job brings and that her coworkers have helped her adjust to the position.
“In terms of other admissions counselors, they’ve been super helpful getting the hang on things,” Caroll said. “Just learning the ropes of admissions and kind of figuring out how to get that work-life balance, a lot of them have great advice and tips.”
Along with the start of the school year, Caroll said a lot of the job entails a heavy travel schedule. During the first eight weeks of the year, Caroll and Furtado have traveled throughout New England attending college fairs and recruiting students to attend the university.
Caroll is primarily responsible for Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts, while Furtado’s travel is centered around Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the South Shore area, and parts of New York.
“So far it’s been really great,” Furtado said. “I’m really enjoying it.”
The counselors are searching for students who are interested in a small school. Caroll said her first-hand experience as a Lasell student helps her connect with high schoolers.
“...I’m probably like the most recent perspective of student life at Lasell that these students are going to get…” Caroll said. “When it feels like a genuine conversation and I can talk about my experience, maybe we have similar interests, those are the students that I love talking to just because it feels more natural.”
Furtado also said her time at Lasell along with her own experience with the college search when she was in high school has helped her in her work.
Previously, Furtado had worked as a teacher for five years. After deciding to switch careers, Furtado wanted to continue to work in a student-advocacy field to help others.
“I was kind of just looking for something new, but I knew that I still wanted to work with students in some capacity,” Furtado said.
After struggling in her own college search, Furtado said she wanted to make a difference in the lives of students in similar situations.
“...I just had a really hard time when I was applying to colleges, I didn’t really do well in high school,” Furtado said. “So it was just a really challenging time and none of my family went to college either so it was all very new for all of us.”
Furtado said if she can “lessen that difficulty and frustration” for other students that were in her same situation, that would be her goal within her new role.
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