Recruitment

 Do you know Jessica and Steve?

Every November the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia hosts Virginia College Application Week with the goal of providing a “. . . structured opportunity and support for underresourced Virginia high schools to assist seniors in applying to at least on postsecondary institution.” 

Jessica and Steve – that is Student Outreach and Recruitment Specialists Jessica Anderson and Steve Vehorn - have come up with their own twist on this special recruitment event called the Reynolds Application Drive. This drive is perhaps the most successful tool they have in their robust bag of recruitment hardware.

From November until March 1 when the Reynolds Scholarship Application closes, Jessica and Steve’s goal is to bring the Reynolds Application Drive to every high school in the college’s service area, as well as prospective adult learners. The “Drive”, Jessica says, “includes a workshop – in person and virtually, essentially a brief presentation – one hour max, then we walk the students through the college’s application and scholarship process. They are “accepted” on the spot, which they get a kick out of, and then we all celebrate together.” 15 to 20 students generally attend each drive event.

Getting the word out about these events, as with all outreach to students, is the key to success. To reach students, Jessica and Steve rely on every means of communication short of carrier pigeon. They host virtual information sessions, open houses, and tours, in person tours when possible, text and email campaigns, social media, and flyers distributed to schools, libraries, local businesses and organizations.

Faculty and staff can help Jessica and Steve in their outreach. “If you meet a prospective student,” Jessica says, “please let them know we are here for them. We will walk students through the entire process, answer their questions, and get them the help they need to get started. We have an online form that comes directly to us, so any person interested gets our attention right away.”

Here is the link to the Recruitment online form. Please share this link with any prospective student. Who knows? The next Reynolds grad may be the person you referred to Jessica and Steve!