Be There!

Sometime this year we will complete our 600th marketing campaign for college admissions teams. An interesting observation that I’ve made over time goes back to a speech that I once heard from David Beamer, father of 9/11 hero Todd “Let’s Roll” Beamer, whom I had the good fortune of meeting in 2004.

Mr. Beamer talked about how Todd’s heroics did not start on September 11th, but were a culmination of personal experiences and encounters throughout his life. There were people in Todd’s life who decided to do more than just show up and go through the motions. “They were there,” he said adamantly, with emphasis on the simplicity of the statement. Beamer told the audience again and again to “be there,” no matter what role we may be playing at the moment– teacher, coach, art director, receptionist, parent, child, you name it.

In my role as an enrollment communications strategist I have noticed that enrollment and campus leaders who are engaged with what is happening around them are more successful. Those that are less involved, are, well, less successful. It’s that simple.

You can’t delegate “being there.”

It doesn’t mean micro-management—far from it. “Being there” is a state of knowing enough about what’s going on so as to enable yourself to ask your team (including your enrollment partner) the right questions. It takes a little extra effort, but the results are well worth it. Simply ask the highly effective admissions teams who are our partners. They are there…and we’re glad to be there with them.