What is your official title at Drexel?

Director of Admissions and Student Affairs at the West Reading Campus

Have you ever wished you could make up a more accurate title for yourself? If so, what would it have been?

A more accurate title is “director of special projects.” Everything that comes through West Reading is a special project for us and I have a hand in all of it.

Explain what you do in under 50 words.

I am the operational lead for the West Reading Campus when it comes to the student life experience, and I support our recruitment efforts for each incoming class.

Who do you interact with most on a daily basis?

On a daily basis I interact the most with Ariel Basch, my counterpart in Student Affairs in Philadelphia, as well as Caroline Bush, who is assistant director of student affairs. We work as a team, overseeing the student experience for all MD students. I also work closely with our admissions team, Vanessa Pirrone, PhD, Cheryl Hanau, MD, Allie Bausinger, Stanley Kania, PhD, and Kelli Kennedy.

What is your typical day like?

If I’m not in meetings, a typical day for me is screening and reviewing applications for our incoming class and sitting in on meetings with our Admissions Committee. I’m also very involved in planning the details of our milestone events like Orientation, Match Day and Commencement.

How do you see your work fitting into the big picture of the missions of the College?

My role is to help our students thrive in everything non-academic. A lot of the work that comes with being a physician is to have that rapport with and be trusted by the community. We make sure students have opportunities to do that outside of the curriculum. I think our role is crucial in helping our students find a voice and passion outside of class.

What are your favorite and least favorite tasks?

My least favorite task is anything that has to do with nitty-gritty administrative work, like purchasing or contracts. I’m not a fan of those. My favorite is working on Orientation. It’s one of the few times that we get to work with current student leaders in planning a really fun week of events for the incoming students. I love seeing them being creative and really wanting to showcase Drexel in a good light, as well as giving back to the experience they had as first-year students.

What is your educational and previous work background? How did those prepare you for what you do now?

After I did my master’s at Penn, I started out in Housing and Residence Life at Drexel as a residence director, overseeing a building of freshman students. Then I went on to oversee Student Conduct for the University, so a lot of my background is in crisis management and personnel management. That has really helped me work with all of the nuances and issues that may come up with medical students. When working with students who are driven and have a purpose, it’s important to make sure that they are balanced in the way that they’re pursuing their degree. Having worked with Student Conduct, including having strategic oversight during the pandemic, has helped me navigate the newness of the West Reading Campus. The MD program’s move from Queen Lane to the Health Sciences Building and the integration of the College of Medicine into University City is something I’ve been able to help with, having relationships with Drexel colleagues that we could rely on to help us navigate the transition.

What’s one piece of Philly culture that you return to over and over again, and why?

I’m a big foodie. Food is my love language and my passion, and Philadelphia is a great city for that. The one place that I regularly return to is Reading Terminal Market. There are so many different things you can try. They’re doing a good job of bringing in new vendors, so you don’t see the same ones every single day, but it’s also good to see the staples there. I love cheesecake and tiramisu, so I go to Termini Brothers at least once a month.

 
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