Brad Baertsch
Director, Freshman Admission & Recruitment
Arizona State University
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Graduated from college without a clear plan, so I moved home to Montana and got a job in admissions.
I was able to travel extensively as part of my first job, learning about culture and access.
Got recruited to work at my alma mater & live in one of the greatest cities, San Francisco.
In San Francisco, I developed one of the greatest professional networks and continued to travel.
Putting in hard work allowed me to advance further in the university and work on special projects.
Willing to be a problem solver and work on projects allowed me to gain many broad experiences.
People don't always understand what I do, even though I've done it for almost 15 years.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Helena High School
Helena High School
Career
Director, Freshman Admission & Recruitment
I design the plan to recruit and enroll new freshman to the university and manage a team of 40 coordinating this effort.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Design
Being Creative
Day to Day
My typical day involves directing 3 teams focused on recruiting the next generation of Sun Devils. I also spend a significant amount of my time reviewing communication and marketing that is being shared with prospective students. Additionally, I work with academic partners to make sure we are promoting the university experience to its fullest, along with reviewing data sets to make informed decisions.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for college students
Always be prepared and just because you are done with school type of studies, doesn't mean you are done studying. You need to study and learn all the objectives of the job you have and the job you want.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Friends:
"Admission and marketing at a university means you are a cheerleader (nothing wrong with that), but admissions and the work we do is built out to promote access to educational opportunities to students that will change their life trajectory!"
