New Director of Graduate Admissions and Services Michelle Kronfeld, PhD, definitely understands the challenges adult learners face. After earning her St. Ambrose Master of Business Administration degree in 2005, she returned to school and, earlier this year, completed her doctoral degree in higher education administration through the University of Iowa.
The Work of Graduate Admissions
Kronfeld's mission is to open people's minds to possibilities. "I've been able to witness the difference graduate education makes in moving people to a different state: socially, economically and career-wise," she said.
First Come the Questions
According to Kronfeld, the most common questions posed by prospective graduate students are, "Can I do it?" "Do I have the time?" "What will happen to my personal life?"
Then, the Answers
"I tell them to start by taking it one class meeting at a time, then it's course-by-course, in small bites," she said. "Eventually you end up with, ‘I can do this!' Individuals can go to grad school without making significant personal life sacrifices."
Kronfeld Odds and Ends
- Started out majoring in architecture
- Earned her bachelor's degree in international business, with a minor in Spanish from Illinois State University
- A self-labeled introvert, but admits that she can be "pretty chatty"
- Loves to read suspense novels
- Celebrating 10 years in graduate admissions this summer
- Remembers being in 8th grade when her dad earned his doctorate
- While earning her own doctorate, she received one of only two 2013 research grants awarded by the National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals
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