{"391421":{"#nid":"391421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Building Teams and Classes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EOffice of Undergraduate Admission employees live by the mantra: \u201cStories, not statistics. People, not programs.\u201d For the director of this unit, it\u2019s always been about the people.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ERick Clark, has been at Tech for almost 12 years and says when he first got involved in undergraduate enrollment here, it was all about helping the students get into college and sharing what makes Tech great. Today, though, Clark, who\u2019s also chair of the Staff Council, says his focus on the \u201cpeople\u201d portion now includes his staff, which has grown to more than 30 employees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003ERead on to learn more about the director of Undergraduate Admission, the man in charge of the unit that keeps Tech ticking with a steady influx of stellar undergraduates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat path brought you to Tech?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EI grew up in Georgia but went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study journalism. I was a tour guide there and helped out in Admissions where I realized there was a good confluence of those skills I was studying like: being able to write, public speak, and market.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EAfter working in Admissions at The McCallie School in Tennessee and Wake Forest University in North Carolina, I ultimately returned to Atlanta when my wife [then fianc\u00e9] began her physical therapy degree at Georgia State University. During that time, I worked at Georgia State, utilizing alumni to recruit. I then came to Tech to be in a more traditional setting [where the focus is on recruiting full-time degree-seeking undergraduates from high school].\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDescribe an average day on the job?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003EHere, it\u2019s not really what a day looks like but more about the year.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn the fall, we\u2019re very outward-facing. I travel to conferences and speak nationally about Tech and college admission in general. We also do a lot of presenting to visiting families.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EBut, we hibernate in winter. We\u2019re reading applications and working in committee to make admission decisions. It\u2019s very much a close-the-door-and-roll-up-your-sleeves-and-read situation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EIn the next three or four weeks, though, we\u2019ll host about 6,000 people. So, we go from being holed up in committee, consuming way too much Coke and pizza, to being flooded with visitors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThe other role I play is year-round: building relationships across campus. I attempt to build relationships with all the Colleges, the Alumni Association, and so on. I try to help them understand how our process works. Some will hear we\u2019ve admitted over 8,000 students and think: \u2018We can\u2019t have a class that big,\u2019 but we have to convey that we have to admit that many in order to yield a freshman class of 2,825. We also want them to know how they play a role in bringing in the best possible class \u2014 particularly by making themselves available to admitted students.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat\u2019s the most gratifying part of your job?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EMy staff. Lots of them are in their 20s, thinking about grad school and starting families while juggling work. I want to support them in all aspects of their lives.\u0026nbsp; So, I\u2019m really proud that, for the past two years, our office has been named one of the \u201c100 Best Places to Work in Atlanta\u201d by The \u003Cem\u003EAtlanta Business Chronicle\u003C\/em\u003E. It\u2019s gratifying to know we\u2019re being recognized for something I hold dear: a positive culture.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you want your employees have come to mind when they think of your leadership style?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EThat I\u2019m available to them. My job is to ensure they have the support to be successful. I work for them as much as they work for me.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy did you get involved in the Staff Council?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EUndergraduate Admission has always been a good place to work. But over the past few years, we\u2019ve really been able to create a fun and successful team. We even have staff encouraging friends to work here. Through Staff Council, I\u2019d like to share what has worked for us. I have a passion for helping people enjoy their work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6 class=\u0022p6\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EHow do you find work\/life balance?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EI love spending time with my family, I enjoy and value exercising, and work\u2019s obviously important to me, but I\u2019ve realized you can\u2019t always do all three perfectly every day. Last month, at the bitter end of making admission decisions, I hadn\u2019t even shaved!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p5\u0022\u003EI think balance is too much pressure if you try to measure it every day. Instead, determine whether you\u2019re finding balance in general.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"For Rick Clark, It\u0027s All about the People"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERick Clark, director of Undergraduate Admission, focuses on the people that make up his staff and incoming classes of Tech students.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rick Clark, director of Undergraduate Admission, focuses on the people that make up his staff and incoming classes of Tech students."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2015-03-30 09:22:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:03:05","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-03-30T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-03-30T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"391441":{"id":"391441","type":"image","title":"Rick Clark and Family","body":null,"created":"1449246312","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:25:12","changed":"1475894403","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:03","alt":"Rick Clark and Family","file":{"fid":"75555","name":"clarks.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/clarks.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/clarks.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":184316,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/clarks.jpg?itok=_KKOzoUD"}},"391431":{"id":"391431","type":"image","title":"Rick Clark and Staff","body":null,"created":"1449246312","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:25:12","changed":"1475894406","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:06","alt":"Rick Clark and Staff","file":{"fid":"75554","name":"3_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/3_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/3_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":593550,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/3_1.jpg?itok=7uffs45x"}}},"media_ids":["391441","391431"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/admission.gatech.edu\/","title":"Office of Undergraduate Admission"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"3918","name":"profile"},{"id":"27271","name":"Rick Clark"},{"id":"167018","name":"staff"},{"id":"167004","name":"staff council"},{"id":"10347","name":"undergraduate admission"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:brigitte.espinet@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EBrigitte Espinet\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}