![\"Lisa](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Anthony.jpg\")
Lisa Anthony<\/strong> spent a month in France when she was 13.<\/p>\n\u201cAfter that, I sought out any opportunity that would allow me to interact with people from other countries,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
After graduating from Webster Thomas High School in Rochester, she studied and worked in Belgium, France, Ecuador, Denmark, and Chile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transformative experiences created a passion for facilitating similar experiences for others who want to study in a foreign setting,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Now 29, the senior admissions counselor recruits primarily in Latin America and will visit six countries this semester: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy goal is to expand our international student population from Latin America and help provide these students with an incredible experience at Rochester,\u201d says Anthony, who graduated from Syracuse University in 2010 with a degree in international relations.<\/p>\n
In her spare time, Anthony enjoys dancing salsa, snowboarding, and singing songs from Broadway musicals. Tops on her phone\u2019s playlist? Seasons of Love<\/em> from Rent.<\/p>\n \u201cBut as funny as this may sound,\u201d the Queens, New York, native says, \u201cI never realized how passionate I was about education until I started working in Admissions.\u201d<\/p>\n Cristen applied a week before graduating last May \u201cwithout a clue of what I was getting myself into.\u201d The financial economics major was hired in June.<\/p>\n \u201cAdmissions opened my eyes to the kind of impact I can have on the world,\u201d says Cristen, who recruits mainly in Manhattan and Brooklyn. \u201cOn kids, counselors, and colleagues, in ways I never imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n Cristen says he has reached the trifecta of success: \u201cI love my profession, I love my office, \u00a0and I love the University of Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n And he gets to do it back in New York.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the cherry on top,\u201d he says. \u201cI love my city.\u201d<\/p>\n He also loves indie music, \u201cadventurous walks,\u201d eating, sightseeing, listening to podcasts (TED Talks are his favorite) and traveling. And he loves talking about Rochester with high school students.<\/p>\n \u201cThe beauty of being an admissions counselor for my alma mater is that I can share the lived experience of a college student, of a UR student,\u201d he says. \u201cMy goals are to expand accessibility to underrepresented populations and light a fire in these kids to help them realize that their dreams can come true.\u201d<\/p>\n Before he joined the University in July, the Bronx native worked for the Housing Council, a not-for-profit organization that finds housing for homeless people and connects them to essential resources.<\/p>\n Now, he\u2019s helping students find a home at the University.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a passion for helping students and youth gain access to higher education and awareness of higher education,\u201d the 2008 Syracuse University graduate says. \u201cWhat intrigues me is learning from and about the many passions prospective students can bring to Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n De Leon is responsible for recruiting throughout New Jersey. His goal is simple: \u201cTo help students from all walks of life learn the value of higher education, and gain access to it.<\/p>\n De Leon loves to learn and educates himself by reading books. One of his favorite is The Alchemist<\/em>, a 1988 novel by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. When he\u2019s not working, he enjoys following his favorite football team, the New York Giants, and listening to music ranging from salsa, merengue, and bachata, to hip hop, reggae, classical and rhythm and blues.<\/p>\n \u201cI was super involved as an undergraduate, and I\u2019m crazy about the school,\u201d she says. \u201cI want to help students find that special place for them, and I believe that place can be Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kingston, Jamaica, native graduated with a degree in environmental studies and was hired in July. She is responsible for the recruitment, application review, and counseling for students in the New England area (especially Connecticut and Vermont) and Albany.<\/p>\n \u201cI became an admissions counselor because my own admissions counselor was so important in my college process,\u201d she says. \u201cOur curriculum and research opportunities attract the kind of student that is passionate, driven, and downright awesome at times. I love meeting them.\u201d<\/p>\n Her hobbies include rugby (she played on the University\u2019s women\u2019s club team), reading, whitewater rafting, cliff jumping, and eating frozen yogurt. She hopes to be at her alma mater for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be involved in programming for the University, whether that means creating a new program from scratch that can help with recruitment or just being in a management role,\u201d she says. \u201cMy goal is to head for the top.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI still hate the snow,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I love Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n Gerin majored in art history but spent her first three years studying brain and cognitive science. She worked on campus at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and was a precollege advisor at Monroe Community College.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving that experience is really helpful now that I\u2019m on the other side of the process,\u201d says Gerin, who was hired in July.<\/p>\n The senior admissions counselor covers the state of Pennsylvania, plus the Catskills and Buffalo areas.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents have so many interests and passions in an infinite number of ways,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s great to see that moment when something clicks with a student and they realize, \u2018Yes, this is what I want to explore,\u2019 or \u2018Yes, this is the school for me.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Gerin loves to cook and has created many allergen-free recipes. Her favorite gadget is the Vitamix. She also enjoys drawing, painting, yoga, and hiking.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes coffee count as a hobby?\u201d she says. \u201cI am an avid coffee drinker.\u201d<\/p>\n Her number one goal is to find \u201cthe best possible school\u201d for students, and she feels the University has much to offer.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a multitude of opportunities that Rochester inherently provides for students,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon to see someone who is on their high school varsity football team but also an accomplished flutist,\u201d she says, \u201cor a student who is into robotics but also is part of slam poetry.\u201d<\/p>\n Willis grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, and majored in brain and cognitive sciences at Rochester. She started working in Admissions in August and enjoys hearing students\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal is to help them understand their capability to succeed here and envision themselves on the campus that changed the person I am,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Her mother was born in Ireland, her dad moved there as a child, and most of the family still lives in Ireland. Her brother, Conor Willis, is a 2011 Rochester graduate.<\/p>\n Willis is a competitive Irish dancer who enjoys CrossFit and collecting neon socks. She\u2019s learning how to compete in the winter sliding sport of skeleton, and she\u2019s a devoted fan of the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Browns, and Cleveland Cavaliers, who captured the city\u2019s first major-league title since 1964 by winning the National Basketball Association championship in June.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil this year, I didn\u2019t have much to celebrate until Kyrie Irving saved my life with a three-pointer in Game 7 of the finals, just before the buzzer,\u201d Willis says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The University\u2019s six new admissions counselors come from Rochester, Ohio, Florida, New York City\u2014and Jamaica. All six were hired this summer over hundreds who applied. Their task? To find the next group of exceptional University students.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":187762,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[21242,18612],"class_list":["post-187722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-admissions","tag-announcements"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Tarik](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Cristen.jpg\")
Tarik Cristen \u201916<\/strong> was a cofounder of the University\u2019s chapter of She\u2019s the First, a nonprofit national organization that raises money for girls from low-income nations who want an education.<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/DeLeon.jpg\")
Robert De Leon<\/strong> has always enjoyed helping others.<\/p>\n![\"Kayon](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Ellis.jpg\")
The easiest part of the job for Kayon Ellis \u201916<\/strong> is selling students on Rochester.<\/p>\n![\"Sarah](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Gerin.jpg\")
Many people ask Sarah Gerin \u201812<\/strong> why she traded in sand for snow when she left West Palm Beach, Florida, for Rochester nine years ago.<\/p>\n![\"Maeve](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Willis.jpg\")
Maeve Willis \u201914<\/strong> loves to meet what she calls \u201coxymoron\u201d high school students while traveling to cities such as Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Little Rock.<\/p>\n