By Rider Farris | Reporter
Most students seen walking across Baylor’s campus were once hopeful high school seniors, waiting for their acceptance letter to whisk them away to Waco. But, not every student knows exactly how the admissions process works at Baylor.
This past fall marked the beginning of Flower Mound senior Andrew Kuykendall’s first year as an admissions data processor in Undergraduate Admissions. In this role, Kuykendall works to help make those Baylor dreams a reality for those hopeful high school seniors.
“We get tons and tons of applications every year and they obviously need someone to work and process those applications,” Kuykendall said. “If we didn’t work in the admissions office and do the work we do every week, then there would be a lot of backlog and a lot of problems that would happen on freshmen coming in and transcripts coming in and us working them.”
The job search for Kuykendall began back in June 2017, when he found the job application on the Baylor student employment website. He replied to the job listing and received an email from his future boss, Erin Poteet, soon after. He was then called in for an interview with Poteet and a student supervisor, then was hired by the end of the week.
“I was wanting a student employment job,” Kuykendall said. “I was eligible for work-study, so I went on the Baylor website and was looking for different jobs and I saw the admissions one. They were the first one to reach out to me.”
Kuykendall worked two student jobs at his previous school, Babson College in Massachusetts, before transferring to Baylor. He said he took an interest in admissions due to the nature of the work. He said it closely aligns with his Management Information Systems major, due to the heavy emphasis on data entry, and that he enjoys the job because of the work environment.
“I love it — very relaxed environment,” Kuykendall said. “Everyone’s friendly with each other. It’s quiet when you want it to be and it can be loud and fun when you want it to be fun. It just depends on the day and what your mood is. But I personally love it.”
As a student worker in Undergraduate Admissions, Kuykendall is tasked with inputting prospective student’s information into a Baylor database. He puts GPA, class rank and size, test scores and other information into a program for each student, and sometimes must count letter grades to better see the student’s academic performance. Admissions workers are also tasked with the input of potential prospective student information gathered at college fairs and other recruiting events.
At times, student workers are given other odd jobs to handle, including writing postcards and rolling t-shirts for rallies. Houston junior Lauren Kirsch, a second-year student worker in Undergraduate Admissions, said she really enjoys this aspect of the job. She said there is always work to do in the office, but that these tasks allow a break from the everyday job.
“The best part of working in admissions is knowing that your job is important,” Kirsch said. “Some of my favorite things to do are the odd jobs we get tasked with when there aren’t as many transcripts to process. Writing postcards, folding t-shirts and preparing the folders for acceptance letters is always a nice change of pace from the routine.”
Kuykendall also said he likes the job because he can be very flexible with his schedule. His work schedule was built around his class schedule, so he usually works mornings. He is also able to switch shifts around sometimes, if something comes up and he can no-longer make it to work.
His favorite part of the job though, is the group of people he works with and the experience it provides. Kuykendall said he enjoys the Halloween and Christmas parties the office hosts because it allows everyone to relax and have a good time. He recommends any student to consider the job if they are looking for one.
“It’s really fun,” Kuykendall said. “The workers are great. Everyone has a good time.”
