MEMP Recruiters Hit the Road

November 13, 2008

The Fall of 2008 presented a busy recruiting schedule for MEM administrators and students. This year, not only did MEM focus on graduate school fairs, we also held informal Information Sessions throughout the country to attract students to our program. A highlight of these trips was the dedicated recruitment effort by many of our current students.

September kicked off the fall recruiting schedule with a trip to Cornell and Syracuse by Student Services Officer Bridget Fletcher while Brad Fox, Executive Director, visited Purdue and Rose-Hulman. These trips were primarily centered on Graduate School Fairs and attracted interested students from across the campuses.

Alum Evan Kereiakes hosted a MEM table at the University of Chicago Graduate School Fair in October while Kirsten Nicolas, Director of Career Services, presented at Georgia Tech University and Brad Fox visited the University of Maryland and the University of Virginia. Jeff Glass ventured to Virginia Tech where he had great student response.

Student Lauren Knish established excellent contacts at her alma mater, Vanderbilt, and she and Bridget Fletcher enjoyed high turnouts of students who were very interested in MEM. Vanderbilt has an undergraduate Management of Technology major which probably precipitated some of this interest. Bridget and Lauren combined business with a chance to enjoy Nashville. They each stayed in town over the weekend to catch up with old friends and to take in the charms of the city.

Bridget continued her globe trotting with a trip the next week to the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Kettering University. Student Kasey Coates accompanied Bridget to add support and to enhance interactions with her alma mater, Michigan. Although the cold air was a bit of an adjustment from the mild North Carolina temperatures, the warm welcome was just like our own southern hospitality. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the fall recruiting season was the superior level of interest and engagement from the students at Kettering. Approximately 35 or more students attended the information session and more were interested who could not attend. This is a school that MEM will definitely focus on in the future.

To round out the Fall, David Siet arranged a trip to Tulane in November. David went above and beyond the call of duty by posting himself at a table in the lobby of the Engineering Building for most of the day Thursday and Friday, in addition to the Information Session he arranged. His efforts garnered heavy interest, both from students attending the Information Session as well as walk by traffic. Thanks David.

Fredrick Porter also established contacts at his alma mater, MIT, to arrange a visit in mid-November. Fredrick will be presenting to the general body meeting for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Luckily, MIT’s NSBE and Harvard’s NSBE are taking this opportunity to hold a joint meeting, so Fredrick will have two captive audiences.

In addition to the fall recruiting trips, MEM has begun to focus on identifying respected faculty who are natural student advisors. Through dialogue and building relationships, we expect to develop another avenue of continuous promotion by people who are working most closely with students. Brad Fox has talked with Dr. Marc Eiteman at the University of Georgia and is planning a visit with Dr. David Parrish of NCSU.

The MEM Fall Open House was held on November 6 and attracted both students new to the MEM concept, as well as two students who have been admitted to the program for Spring 2009. Administrators welcomed the attendance of MEM students Lauren Knish, Kasey Coates, Noel Schexnayder, Shannon Connelly, and Anirudh Venugopal. These MEMers provided prospective students with a student viewpoint and established wonderful rapport with the attendees. Thank you all!