Reena Lichtenfeld
Executive Director of Admissions Services
Walden University/Laureate
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Earned my master's degree right after undergraduate.
Took a job as a retail store manager (not quite what I wanted to do, but I didn't have experience).
Learned as much as I could about customer service, managing people, monitoring / managing sales...etc.
Earned an award in my region for being a top performer and got my own store. Got pregnant and moved.
Went back to work and committed to my goal - to work at a college.
Had a client in the store who was the Director of Admissions at a local college.
She told me about an admissions counselor position after providing her with great customer service.
After 6 months as a counselor I was promoted...19 years later I still work in and love admissions.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Manalapan High School
Manalapan High School
Career
Executive Director of Admissions Services
Oversee the operational support groups involved with admitting students into Walden University.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Business
Helping People
Day to Day
Most days are busy with meetings - collaborating with other leaders to promote the best student experience through the admissions process. In my job I am involved with all the operational and policy aspects of the admissions process, including: admissions, transcript evaluation for international candidates, transcript request and management, ensuring credit for prior course work through our Center for Degree Acceleration and oversight of all operational and continuous improvement efforts.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Don't be afraid to take on jobs that may not seem to quite correlate to what you want to do especially if you're not sure what it is that you want to do). After I earned my Master's degree, I worked as a retail store manager for three years before I could get my foot in the door in higher ed...until one day, the Director of Admissions from a local college came in looking for clothes for her daughter. We started to talk and low and behold there was a job opening as an admissions counselor.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"I have been fortunate to have supportive people in my life. I think the only person who ever doubted me was me - I was afraid I'd get stuck working in retail but I persisted."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
