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Roots and Wings Experience |
| Maud C. Chang, Director of Admissions, Punahou School, 1981-1998 | 04.15.2006 | Any/All Industries | Networking Skills |
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 My mentor was my boss. My position was Associate Director of Admission; it was to be a part-time position alternating with classroom teaching for the first semester and Admission work the second semester. The leadership of the school created the position as the Director’s work load had increased (the applicant pool had expanded to a 4 to one ratio) and there was also a need for succession planning.
As Admission 101 didn’t exist, it was reasonable to set-up the Associate’s position. When the job was announced, I recognized the opportunity to have “on-the job” training.
My predecessor was “self-taught”; she didn’t have the luxury of a mentor. I was fortunate to have the gift of her fifteen plus years of experience as Director of Admission of the largest Independent School in America.
The uniqueness of the Hawaii Independent School was its size; 3500 students K-12. Other Independent Schools have considerably smaller enrollments. In addition, the school (established in 1841) was definitely the “first choice” school in the State. There are no easy answers as to how to say “sorry” to VIP’S whose children are not admitted. Nor are there easy answers to not admitting highly qualified students, children of legacy Alumni, faculty off-spring, or non-qualified athletes.
My mentor offered me the comfort of sharing and feedback; confidentiality and sensitivity are critical components of success in this field. I did not have to suffer the angst alone. She was there.
In addition, she was able to offer a historical context of procedures and practices; what works, what doesn’t, and why. This saved me an immense amount of time; not to re-invent the wheel is a principal value of mentorship.
She was also able to share information about the organizational climate and politics of the school. Through her, I met other admission professionals who also added to my development and later success when I was appointed Director upon her retirement.
Without her mentorship, the transition from the classroom to Administrator would have been slower and perhaps more stressful. She didn’t expect me to be a carbon copy of who she was; perhaps our relationship was one of “roots and wings”. I felt fully grounded yet free to try new ways to manage, develop, and expand the operations of the Admission office. I will forever cherish the memory of these experiences and am proud to have been her protégé.
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