A&M-Commerce Staff Member Receives Graduate Enrollment Management Certificate at National Professional Conference

Lydia Carrascosa, graduate admissions specialist for the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, received the Graduate Enrollment Management Certificate while attending the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals 2019 Annual Conference in Toronto. This year marked the association's first time awarding this certificate.

The GEM Certificate included training in diversity and inclusion, enrollment modeling and strategic planning, financial aid, student engagement, and working with international students. Carrascosa said that only about 116 conference attendees completed this certificate training.

Carrascosa found the session on “Strategic Enrollment Strategies” to be one of the most beneficial that she attended during the conference. “I think this session was the most interesting and applicable to my current position since it addressed how to set up a long-term enrollment and recruiting plan,” she said.

During the conference, Carrascosa also served as a recorder for the session titled “The Power of Authentic Mentoring in Higher Education.” The conference program stated, “Within this session, individuals will have an opportunity to reflect on their life stories and discover how their authentic selves can help others.” Her written summary of the session will be published in the association's professional journal, “Perspectives,” this summer.

One of the most important benefits from the conference, Carrascosa said, was learning from other people. “Learning from other graduate enrollment professionals on how they recruit and what best practices they use was one of the most beneficial parts of the conference for me,” she said.

Around 800 attendees from the U.S., Canada and Europe participated in this year's conference. This was the first year for the conference to be held outside the U.S.