Alumni and Prospective Students Invited to Mid-Missouri Recruiting Event

Alumni who recently have participated in Westminster’s Alumni Recruiting Events include the Koonce Family: Gracie ’19, Barry, Trish, and Lizzy — a WC Future Blue Jay, Class of 2024. The Koonces attended the Oklahoma City Southern Swing Alumni Recruiting Event on Jan. 8.

Central Missouri Alumni: Mark your calendars and plan to attend the Mid-Missouri Alumni Recruiting Event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, at the Country Club of Missouri in Columbia, MO. 

The event is one in a series of personalized recruiting events that will take place in the months to come. The initiative is a partnership with Alumni Relations, with guidance from Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Munns, .

Ted Kulawiak, Vice President of Enrollment Services, says the events are designed to give prospective students and their families a real, personalized Westminster experience. “These events are in a relaxed, social networking atmosphere,” he explains. “They show the real Westminster community, which includes alumni, faculty, current students, athletic coaches, and admissions staff.” 

Josh ‘06 KA and Jenna (Manning) Harlow ’06 are two members of the Westminster community who have chosen to give back to the College by helping host such an event. The Harlows opened their home in Oklahoma City, OK, on Jan. 8 to about 30 people, including Westminster students, prospective students, parents, and high school guidance counselors.  

“Jenna and I have a deep, personal commitment to Westminster College and in seeing it be the life-changing institution that we attended years ago,” Harlow says.  

The evening was part of a series of recruiting events that took place recently in smaller, intimate environments in the area of the United States known by Westminster as the Southern Swing: Little Rock, AR; Dallas, TX; Oklahoma City, OK; and Tulsa, OK. An area neglected in recent years, the Southern Swing events were reborn in January 2019 to excited and welcoming alumni. 

“The response we have received so far has been excellent, and the support from alumni has been outstanding,” Kulawiak says. 

Harlow adds that the evening was rewarding on a number of levels. He says a high school student attending the Oklahoma City event expressed an interest in pursuing a career in marketing/entrepreneurship, but he said he was unsure Westminster would be a good fit for his interests. The Senior Vice President and Communications Advisor for JonesPR in Oklahoma City had the perfect response. “I happen to be in that field,” Harlow says. “So I answered a lot of his questions about a liberal arts degree and how that translates into a career — not just a job.”  

In addition to alumni such as the Harlows and various representatives from the College like Kulawiak, the events include staff from Enrollment Services who now work out of cities designated as important by Westminster. One such counselor is Lane Hume ’10 KKG, who began working as a Southern Swing Regional Admissions Counselor in 2018. 

Josh Harlow ’06, Reginal Admissions Counselor Lane Hume ’10, and Jenna (Manning) Harlow ’06 recently attended the Southern Swing Alumni Recruitment Event in Oklahoma City, which they say was a tremendous success. 

“The counselor in attendance is based on the territory they manage,” Kulawiak explains.  

He adds that while hosting such an event could seem daunting to some, Enrollment Services provides alumni with recruitment kits, which include student-focused enrollment materials. The department also helps the hosts with a program for the evening. Alumni provide the venue and food. 

And home environments are not a requirement. A St. Louis-area personalized recruiting event took place last fall at the Dowd Bennett Law Firm. Similarly, as mentioned above, the upcoming Mid-Missouri Alumni Recruiting Event will be located at the Country Club of Missouri, with the hope that the facility will allow for a number of people to meet comfortably.  

Columbia resident Greg Steinhoff ’81 BΘΠ says he and a handful of other central Missouri alumni are actively speaking to parents and grandparents about the upcoming personalized event. The group hopes for a good turnout. “Westminster was a great experience for me, and a number of alums in the area felt that this is what we should do,” he explains. Steinhoff is Vice President of Industry and Regulatory Relations at Veterans United Home Loans in Columbia.  

Drs. Lana (Cross), ’95 KAΘ, and Jason, ’96 KA, Zerrer agree. The couple practice medicine in Columbia and are committed to giving back to the College that laid the foundation of their academic success in medical school. “Westminster meant so much to us, and we are really excited about this event,” Dr. Lana Zerrer says.  

For more information about the Mid-Missouri Alumni Recruiting Event or to host a similar event, please contact Sarah Munns at 573-592-6050 or Sarah.Munns@westminster-mo.edu.

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