ALP: The Admissions Leadership Podcast

Chris George—Associate Vice President for Enrollment at St. Olaf College—brings joy, grit, and a runner’s curiosity to this conversation that has less to do with enrollment leadership than it does with living life fully. We trace his path from student life to directing financial aid on day one; how the Lawlor Summer Seminar jump-started a lifelong habit of building a board of experts; and why he asks his team to buy two coffees a y...

Even though we've only known each other for less than two years, this episode feels like one between two old friends. The newly-minted Dr. Jen Gagne, Executive Director of Admissions at Colorado School of Mines, brings warmth and wit while digging into important stuff: pathways to thriving for queer-spectrum students, how she navigated being an internal candidate, why grad schools are structurally “separate and replicated,” an...

Brian Troyer, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Marquette University, joins the ALP for a conversation that explores the deep roots of Jesuit leadership and the lighthearted joys of life in Milwaukee, including:

• Marquette’s Gift of Time and why institutional rest matters.
• How the university discerned its move to test-optional admissions, grounded in archival research and mission alignment.
• The legacies of leaders like Ra...

Candace Boeninger, Vice President for Enrollment Management at Ohio University, joins the ALP to share lessons from her journey into senior leadership, reflecting on her experience working with an executive coach and how it helped her navigate the transition to cabinet-level leadership, as well as her evolving understanding of power—and the responsibility that comes with it.

Candace also shares her approach to “being a student of th...

Rakin “Rock” Hall, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Ithaca College, brings a unique mix of reflection, humor, and leadership to The Admissions Leadership Podcast.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Rock shares his take on the promise and perils of AI in higher education, why he's been creating short-form video reflections on leadership and life, and how his first-generation journey shaped the way ...

Phil Moreno—Associate Director of College Counseling at the Nueva School and Board Chair for the National Association for College Admission Counseling—joins this episode of The ALP to talk about what it means to lead leaders in challenging times, why gratitude and handwritten notes matter, and how he’s learned to “stay on the bike” while also carving out intentional moments of stillness and renewal. He shares the practices—from sol...

From a childhood “baseball club” in Boston to becoming a Dean of Admission at just 27, Thyra Briggs, Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid at Harvey Mudd College, has built a career defined by curiosity, courage, and care.

In this episode, Thyra reflects on the role of baseball in her story—including a thoughtful gift from Ray Brown and why she’s known as “Aunt Bob”—and the way cover letters have become her personal test fo...

Jeremy Lowe, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Admission at American University, has built his leadership style on lessons from three seemingly different places: the punk rock stage, long walks through D.C., and intentional pauses in the face of challenges. In this conversation, Jeremy shares how getting heckled and booed by 1,500 fans taught him resilience, how a 10-mile-a-day walking habit (unbroken since 2020) fuels his p...

In this episode of The Admissions Leadership Podcast, Justin Rummel, Vice President for Enrollment at Susquehanna University, shares how his journey to the VP seat followed anything but the traditional path.

With no background in admissions, Justin’s career has spanned state politics, federal financial aid policy, compliance and internal audit in both for-profit and non-profit institutions, and leadership in student financial servic...

Lisa Keegan returns to the mic just as she prepares to step into her new role as the inaugural Vice Provost for Enrollment Strategy at William & Mary. With signature candor, humor, and heart, Lisa reflects on her five-year tenure at Bucknell University, where she helped build and elevate a leadership bench that is now stepping into her shoes. We explore the “liminal moment” of transition, how to onboard with humility, and what ...

Have you ever caught yourself making an assumption about someone's capacity for success based on where they come from or the challenges they've faced? At this time of year, when many admissions offices are deep in application review, it seems fitting to pause and reflect on how assumptions can shape decisions.

In this Peak Perspective, we hear a vignette from Laura Kaub, director of the Duolingo Partnership with ...

Have you ever paused to consider the path you were on? Maybe that reflection led to affirmation, a definitive “Yes, this is the right direction.” Then again, maybe you sensed a quiet voice asking the question, “Are you sure this is the right direction?”

In this Peak Perspective, we hear a story from Thom Golden, founder and CEO of Golden Educational Consulting, who found himself on the traditional admissions leadership tra...

Have you ever faced an opportunity that made you question your readiness, your abilities—even your worth?

In this Peak Perspective, I share a story from Marie Bigham, founder of ACCEPT and IQID, who wrestled with self-doubt when she was invited to make a leap. What gave her the confidence to jump? (Original audio clip from Season 1, Episode 4 of the ALP)

It's from Chapter 8, "Living with the Imposter,&qu...

Have you ever made a decision so unexpected that it completely changed the course of your life?

Welcome to Peak Perspectives, a short-form spinoff of the ALP, where I share insights and stories from my new book, Climbing the Admissions Leadership Peak. Chapter 10, "Embrace the Unexpected," shares the stories of six admissions leaders who did just that. Here I read the intro of that chapter where I describe my own...

Nathan Ament and Teege Mettille are the creators and co-hosts of the hit podcast, The Admissions Directors Lunchcast. They share different versions of their podcast's origin while somehow enticing Ken to share how the ALP came to be. Also, there's a teaser hidden in the Rapid Descent that you might catch if you listen carefully.

Special shout-out to a slew of Nathan's and Teege's former Lawrence colleag...

(No, the other one.)

What happens when two avowed GenXers record a podcast episode? From the host you get a bad reference to C+C Music Factory; from the guest you get helpful lessons on "how to vice president." Michael Keaton, VP for Enrollment Management at Ursinus College, sets the record straight on who was Michael Keaton first, how to leave things better than you found them, and why all colleges are not in th...

Carin Smith, domestic recruitment manager and Chicago regional representative for Beloit College (and a former member of Ken's team at Lawrence who helped him learn how to be an admissions director through a creative partnership she arranged), talks about how to lead without title, and the four reasons why this has been a deliberate choice she has made over her four decades in college admissions. She'll also share three e...

From the time he was a little boy, Jeff Blahnik always wanted to be "an attorney," but a moment of crisis halfway through law school changed his path. He's now the Vice President of Enrollment Management at the University of Oklahoma, and shares the secret of winning the job interview at OU, how "inspired hospitality" makes a flagship feel intimate, and how to establish yourself as a new leader at a new ins...