New hire brings relevant experiences to Admissions post

Though she only recently moved into her new office, there are already several indicators why Makenna Adams is a great fit for im体育’s Office of Admissions.

After transferring to PFW from Purdue West Lafayette for her final two years, Adams graduated in May with a degree in psychology, 在她大四的时候, she worked the front desk in admissions. The experience exposed her to many of the questions a visitor might ask.

Like many students exploring the possibility of attending PFW, Adams faced those same questions earlier in her academic journey. That phase included discovering how many misconceptions she had.

“像很多人一样, 当我第一次来这里的时候, I had the idea that this was a much smaller campus,亚当斯说. “Many people think this is just a satellite school, 或者我们只有几栋楼, 或者我们只提供几个专业. But we have tons of buildings, and our campus is bigger than you think. I feel like it’s a bigger school, but it feels like you are at a small school.”

After graduating from Fishers High School in 2020, Adams attended Purdue through online classes her freshman year. She moved to West Lafayette as a sophomore, but couldn’t find a solid base among the masses of students, saying her only friends were a few from high school.

Adams said one of her lecture classes included 350 people. She’d make an effort to talk to someone at a class, and then never see them again. Making connections in or out of class was arduous.

“It’s harder to get opportunities there and stand out and feel like you are making an impact when there are so many people at school,亚当斯说.

Still wanting a Purdue degree, Adams decided to transfer to PFW. She jumped into research opportunities, made new friends, and enjoyed the campus social life. She also enjoyed opportunities in Fort Wayne, which included catching up with friends who were attending other local universities.

“Coming here, you’ll get just as many opportunities, and we have lots of campus events,亚当斯说. “Almost every student gets an internship or field experience, 然而在很多学校, 你可以从那里拿到学位, but you are not necessarily going to get hands-on experience. There are just not as many opportunities available that you can put on a résumé.”

亚当斯和乔迪·罗斯一起工作, 心理学副教授, researching predictors of prospectively reported intimate partner violence, 或IPV. The work measured characterological factors—borderline personality disorder traits, antisocial personality disorder traits, and attitudes toward IPV—and situational factors such as an individual's partner using IPV toward them. The goal was to discover if characterological factors could predict intimate partner violence better than the situational factor alone.

While working in admissions as a student, Adams interviewed for the full-time position as an admissions counselor. 找到工作后, she’s now anxious to start spreading out across the area to tell her story to high school seniors and convince them they should consider PFW. She can also offer guidance to potential transfer students.

To her other team members, Adams is not a typical rookie.

“She is able to communicate effectively to students and their parents who walk in or call in,罗伊·丹尼利安说, 招生助理主任. “When the pressure is on at the front desk, she has been able to answer the tough questions, relying on her personal student experience here as a recent graduate and her training through our office staff. 从西普渡大学转来的, Makenna can answer firsthand the questions we receive about the differences between the two universities. 这对我们帮助很大!”

Now PFW feels like a home where Adams is comfortable; where she can thrive and start her professional career working with people she already knows and likes.

“When I walk on campus, I’ll see a familiar face,亚当斯说. “你总是能看到你认识的人,  which makes it a lot easier to get a contact if you have questions about a homework assignment. 人们其实很了解你, 知道你的名字, 教授们也认识你, so it’s easier to get involved and feel like you are making an impact here.”