Admissions and Athletics Puts on Successful Appreciation Day for High School Counselors/ADs
St. Mary’s City, Md. – The annual Counselor Appreciation Day put on by the Office of Admissions at St. Mary’s College of Maryland had a different twist this year as high school athletic directors and coaches were invited to the Friday, June 24th gathering. Friday’s theme was to make the waters of the recruiting process less murky for those that are in close contact with high school students, specifically student-athletes, during their college search.
“Each year St. Mary’s College of Maryland hosts “Counselor Appreciation Day” to both thank high school counselors for their hard work and to provide an opportunity for further professional development. The College hopes to implement positive change by bringing counselors together to focus on a unique challenge in the field of college counseling,” stated Director of Admissions Rich Edgar. “This year’s session centered on the support systems of the high school student-athlete. Often, there is a disconnect between the student-athlete, the high school counselor, and the high school coach as the student attempts to find the right fit for their postsecondary plans.”
The event kicked off with refreshments and opening remarks by Edgar at 10:00 am on the front lawn of the Admissions House before the group of nearly 70 attendees walked across campus to Cole Cinema in the Campus Center for the professional development session titled, “From Interscholastic to Intercollegiate: Counseling College-bound Student-Athletes.”
T
he session included a panel featuring Edgar;
Scott Devine, Director of Athletics &
Recreation at St. Mary’s; Jason Simms,
Director of Academic Support for Athletics at The College of
William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.; Katie
Lange, head field hockey coach at St. Mary’s; and
Dan Engelstad, assistant men’s basketball
coach at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass while
Calvin Wise, an admissions counselor at St.
Mary’s, moderated the panel.
The panel sparked lively and informative dialogue as the counselors, coaches, and ADs looked to clarify their understanding of the college recruiting process in order to better guide their student-athletes. Edgar explained that, “After much healthy discussion, a task force was formed and charged with creating a manual, ‘The Academic Support Ladder for the High School Athlete.’ This manual will be used as a model for counselors to provide better support services and guidance to the unique needs of college bound high school athletes.”
The high school professionals were treated to a guest appearance via Skype™ by Leah Kareti, NCAA Director of Division III. Kareti summarized the nature of Division III, touching upon the division’s new identity initiative and the NCAA’s push to monitor graduation and academic success rates among student-athletes.
Devine commented, “For all of these different groups to get together and talk about how to best serve high school student-athletes and their parents, and to share ideas about how to navigate through the complexities of the athletic recruitment process was a win-win for all of us.”
Wise, a St. Mary’s men’s basketball player
from 2005 to 2009, echoed Devine’s comments
by saying, “Being a former student-athlete, I remember the
complexity and ambiguity of the process as a whole. It is
essential to have a strong support system to help you decide what
school is the best fit. Hopefully, the participants left here
with tools to take back and share within their
community.”
The day’s festivities ended with a picnic and crab feast on the front lawn of the Admissions House overlooking the St. Mary’s River.
