Engaging Educators
New Admission Project Connects Alumni Teachers

Since its founding, Wittenberg has been a leader in teacher preparation with more than 10 percent of its alumni working in schools and classrooms across the country. This summer, the Office of Admission will be working with many of them as part of a new program called the Wittenberg Educator Recruitment Team.

“We want Wittenberg to have a presence in schools nationwide,” said Abby Nave ’04, admission counselor and the program’s coordinator. “Educators interact with thousands of young people ever y day, and this program will allow our alumni in the field of education to connect many of these you ng people d irect ly with their alma mater.”

For mer Wittenberg admission counselor Jen Fike Beckley ’98, an English teacher at Hilliard- Darby High School in Hilliard, Ohio, for the last six years, has already signed up to participate in the unique volunteer opportunity. In agreeing to participate, Beckley will receive a packet of materials from the admission office to display in the school or distribute to her students. Items include a Wittenberg pennant, campus visit day brochures, an overview of the university and its mission, a s well a s an introduction to campus.

“I think we [as teachers] have great potential to i n f luenc e st udent s to make good college choices, and if it ends up being Wittenberg, that’s great,” Beckley said. She also stressed the importance of developing strong relationships with school guidance counselors, noting that the materials being provided by Wittenberg can be a resource for such conversations between them and students.

At the same time, additional volunteer programs are also being coordinated by the admission office, which complement the new educator-targeted one. They include the creation of a High School Visit Team in which alumni “adopt” a high school in t heir respective geographic locations. Participants in this program also receive a packet of information, which they can then share with a guidance counselor or teacher in the school(s).

“We want our alumni to develop strong ties with the schools they’ve adopted, especially with guidance counselors and teachers in the hopes that Wittenberg’s name becomes an even more familiar one in their respective schools,” Nave said.

A lumni a re a lso encouraged to participate on the College Fair team.

“By attending one of the many college fairs with members of Wittenberg’s own admission team, participants quickly become the face of the university,” Nave said, “and that is by far the best advertisement for Wittenberg.”

For more information on any or all of these programs, contact Nave at (877) 206-0332 ext. 6317.