By NINA BUONAROTA
Staff Writer
A well known name on campus, Caitlin Stillwell has become familiar among students for her hard work.
Stillwell is an assistant director of undergraduate admissions, and she recruits students from New Jersey and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a new addition to her territory and her goal is to get three students a year to come to Saint Rose. Stillwell also co-coordinates with Matt Stabler on the “Be a Knight for a Day” program, which invites accepted students to spend the day here with a student who is reflective of their potential major or hometown.
Stillwell grew up in Pleasant Valley, NY, where she went to Arlington High School. She received her bachelor’s in special education and elementary education. She received her master’s degree from Saint Rose in professional teacher education as well.
Stillwell never thought she would be working in higher education, but her mother always knew that this was what Stillwell was destined for. Stillwell is happy to be working and interacting with students in general, even if it is in a different capacity than she anticipated.
After teaching for five years, she saw there was an opening at Saint Rose. Through social media, she reconnected with Jeremy Bogan, the associate vice president of enrollment management. Stillwell had no admissions background, but her education skills and radiant personality prevailed and she received the job.
“It was nice to be back and it is nice to be here and have all my professors still remember me,” said Stillwell.
Curently, traveling takes up a lot of Stillwell’s academic year.
“The best part of traveling is the people I travel with. Working in New Jersey is unlike any other territory in the office. We really came together as a family,” said Stillwell.
Stillwell travels from the middle of September to the middle of November.
“Living out of a suitcase can get old really quick,” she said. “Eventually you start to feel like Willy Loman from ‘Death of a Salesman;’ you do everything straight from your trunk.”
In the spring, she is away sporadically during February, March and April.
“I love cooking and I love to eat, so that is easily one thing that I miss the most while on the road. Although I try to take advantage of all the great places to eat in Jersey,” Stillwell said excitedly. There is not too much about her job that is unpredictable besides New Jersey traffic, but there is always a plan.
“I visit three to five schools in the day and a college fair each night,” Stillwell said. That is her typical day and is how she has become so well-known. She reaches out to students from all over the New Jersey area and creates relationships with each one.
Matt Stabler, a fellow assistant director of undergraduate admissions, speaks nothing but favorable words of Stillwell.
“Caitlin always takes on more work than maybe she should, but she does it all very well. Her desk is always covered in post-its. There is something wrong if there aren’t post-its everywhere.”
Stabler went on to say how much Stillwell really does for the office, “We are all expected to stay one night late after work to phone accepted students; Caitlin does two nights, that’s the kind of girl she is. She also has a crazy memory. She knows names and knows people that she met 10 years ago. She is a very valued colleague and runs the day visit program very well. The program wouldn’t be as awesome as it is without Caitlin.”
Emily Gydesen, assistant director in the administrations office, said, “Caitlin and I are the only two female assistant directors in the office, so we have a great connection. She has been here a lot longer than I have, so we are often going back and forth about things and she has always been such a good friend to me.”
When asked how it feels to send acceptance letters and rejection letters, Stillwell said, “Usually my routine is I am at a Panera or a Barnes & Noble, and hitting accept is always a really good feeling. We really look at the whole person and try to make things work as much as possible if there are issues. The essays are getting harder to read because students are coming in with more baggage than they used to. The essays are not as uplifting. I have sat in a Barnes & Noble once and caught myself crying from one or two before.”
Stillwell’s hospitality is endless and goes above and beyond what is asked of her.
“It’s those certain students that come up to me and say ‘You’re the reason why I am at Saint Rose’ that really make my job worthwhile,” she said.
Taylor Holliman, a Saint Rose student from New Jersey, enthusiastically said, “Caitlin is a great soul. She encouraged me to come to Saint Rose and not to worry about the finances; I am so happy I listened to her.”
Stillwell explained that she honestly feels more comfortable when students are a deer in headlights because as a teacher of five years, she has an advantage of understanding how the whole process makes some feel. She knows how to break it down and find out what is best for them.
“Sometimes the downfall to this job is that you meet an extraordinary student, yet for financial reasons it just does not work out,” Stillwell explained. She wouldn’t say her job is stressful, but sometimes the labor intensiveness of things such as the Be a Knight for a Day program, being organized and making labels and stuffing envelopes can be tedious. She loves being organized but when hosting a big event like that, it tends to take a lot of work, “but it’s not like I can’t do it,” Stillwell said.
Her favorite part of the job is interacting with students. She loves getting them excited about potentially coming here.
“It’s easy to talk about college, it’s one of your favorite times of your life,” Stillwell said with a smile on her face. “Saint Rose has a special kind of student that comes; we all have that similar quality.”
She said she was a shy and quiet person before she came to Saint Rose. She remembers the comedian that comes during the first week of school every year and how he preaches to “Rob the School.” Take advantage of everything and do everything possible was his motto. Stillwell tries to project that message to students whenever she speaks to them.
“Once you leave, you will not have the same opportunities, and his message really got in my head when I started at Saint Rose,” Stillwell said. Her freshman year, she volunteered to do everything she could. Stillwell explained, “No was not in my vocabulary when I was a freshman and that really helped me get out and meet a lot of students.”
