As applications for the Class of 2004 begin to filter into the admissions office, three members of the Class of 1999 -- in keeping with a long history of alumni serving as admissions officers -- will play a role in selecting Dartmouth's newest students.
Out of the 13 alumni officers based in McNutt Hall, nine -- including new additions Stacey Morris '99, Landis Fryer '99 and Shauna Brown '99 -- are graduates of the College.
According to the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg, the majority of admissions officers have always been Dartmouth graduates.
In fact, four current officers began their careers as senior interviewers, a program Furstenberg established that enables Dartmouth seniors to interview and assess prospective students on campus.
Though senior interviewers often have an edge in the application process to become an officer, it is not the only factor, Director of Admissions Maria Laskaris '84 said.
When vacancies open up, the admissions office sends a notification to all graduating seniors.
Fryer, who served as a senior interviewer last year, said he was excited when he received the notification.
"I thought 'I know a lot about this, I could do a good job,'" he said.
Laskaris also noted that precedence is not given to Dartmouth alumni in general.
"In order for us to do a good job we need an admissions staff that represents a good deal of diversity," she said.
However, most applications do come from Dartmouth alumni, Laskaris said. In order to recruit other applicants, the admissions office sends job notices to other comparable universities and are posted in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
The admissions office staff is one that is ethnically diverse, which according to Laskaris, is one of its main strengths.
"We're proud of our diversity," she said. "We don't go out of our way to attain diversity. We're looking to find people who best represent the College."
The diversity of the admissions officers reflects the College's interest in securing a diverse student body, and with that in mind, Laskaris said that many of the minority staff members have additional duties such as minority recruitment.
Morris said she had no intention of being an admissions officer while she worked as a tour guide during her last three years at Dartmouth.
But it was the tour guide position that gave her exposure to the job of senior interviewer.
"I saw the senior interviewer program working and thought that it was something that would appeal to me too," she said.
According to Furstenberg, recent graduates of the College often make the best officers. Currently, there are seven officers who graduated in the '90s.
"The only trend is to hire some recent graduates so that we have an infusion of youthful ideas and current experience," he said.
Morris is supportive of Furstenberg's hiring plan.
"It makes a lot of sense, especially for those of us who've recently graduated. It helps to know the institution intimately," she said.
At a time when it seems that many graduating seniors would be excited about leaving the surroundings of Hanover to build their futures, the hiring of recent alumni as admissions officers raises another question. Where do the officers go from here?
"I had mixed feelings about leaving Hanover, I was definitely looking for a change of pace," Fryer said. But after working as a senior interviewer -- a job he described as "full-time" --Fryer said he got used to Hanover outside of the classroom.
"I became much more appreciative of the area and decided it would be a pretty nice place to live," he said.
Fryer and the other officers are committed to staying in Hanover for two years under their contact agreement. As for his plans after that, he said he has no idea.
Morris is also unsure but said she's considering graduate school.
In fact, Furstenberg said many officers do go on to graduate school after the job finishes -- most notably to the Harvard School of Education.
And like Laskaris, recent graduates may also end up back in Hanover.
"I was in the right place at the right time, at the end of a long string of coincidences," she explained.
