Recent graduates Teniola Bakare ‘23 and Kay Rodriguez ‘23 are not done with Lafayette just yet. They have moved on from being students to working as counselors for the college’s admissions office.
According to Bakare and Rodriguez, working in admissions post-grad has so far been a meaningful experience in a comfortable and familiar work environment.
“I took this job because I knew I would be in a workplace with people that made me feel comfortable,” Bakare said.
“I worked here for four years as a student,” Rodriguez said. “Even when I was virtual, I was doing virtual events and stuff like that. I also knew a lot of the [directors] and counselors, so I think that just made it a lot better for me.”
Bakare feels that as young alumni, she and Rodriguez have a unique perspective on admissions and can speak to prospective students on a more personal level due to their recent experiences.
”I feel like [Rodriguez] and I, and maybe just some of the younger people in this office, we can very much notice when students are trying their best,” Bakare said. “I have a good gauge of what it’s like to be a student in the twenty-first century … so I understand when I’m looking at something and I know that a student is exerting themselves to the best of their ability.”
“It doesn’t matter how many activities you’re doing that you put on your CommonApp because I can tell that you trying your best in a couple of activities is your way of being like, ‘Oh, I’m a go-getter. I’m ambitious,’” Bakare continued.
Rodriguez appreciates that the position allows for connections with applicants on a personal level. “You can see the weight come off [the prospective student’s] shoulders,” Rodriguez said. “Because it’s like, ‘Okay, I can relate to you about something’ … I think that not only helps the students remember Lafayette as a college … but also just feel more comfortable with Lafayette.”
Bakare believes that being a recent graduate of the college has allowed her to form her own perspective on what to look for in a prospective student: someone who cultivates the Lafayette ideal.
“I have an idea now of students that I want to be here,” Bakare said. “I have an idea of what Lafayette should strive for, and I view that as a plus because I will bring in students that I know when I was a student I would have liked to have been classmates with [and] surrounded myself with.”
Rodriguez also feels that having the experience of being a Lafayette student and interacting with fellow Lafayette students has given her a strong idea of what she admires in prospective students.
“I definitely have been getting a lot of kids lately who are unafraid to do what interests them or to pursue what interests them,” Rodriguez said. “And that’s something that I definitely value, especially at a place like Lafayette where you [have] that freedom to explore multiple areas of interests, whether it be academic or personal.”
