Nicole Eversley Bradwell, M.S. ’02, circles the globe to find extraordinary international students who will succeed in the Ithaca College environment.   by Sherrie Negrea

For two weeks last September, Nicole Eversley Bradwell, M.S. ’02, trekked from one college fair to the next in Peru, Equador, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama. Less than three weeks later she was in south Florida meeting prospective students, and after another 10 days back home, she was off to Phoenix for a breakfast with guidance counselors.

During fall recruiting season, admission counselors at Ithaca College become world travelers, promoting the College to high school students in far corners of the globe. For Eversley Bradwell, an associate director of admission, international recruitment travel has been on her itinerary for the past nine years, with a primary focus on Asia, which sends more students overseas than any other region.

But this year Eversley Bradwell headed to Central and South America, an area the admission staff had not visited in six years. What surprised her most during her trip touring college fairs and high schools was the level of familiarity many of the 500 prospective students she met had with Ithaca College.

 “It’s amazing. I’m surprised each and every time,” she said, busy in her office the day before she flew to Florida. “I was anticipating that I would have to educate a lot of people about Ithaca College. But in every country I was approached by individuals who were very familiar with Ithaca, or they had been to Ithaca or they had had family, such as an older sibling, who had [come to or] considered Ithaca College.”

International recruitment is a key component of the College’s longstanding effort to create a more diversified student body.  This year, 181 international students representing 68 countries are enrolled, comprising 3 percent of the student body.

“International students are an integral part of our student community,” says director of admission Gerard Turbide, “and so it’s important that we continue our efforts to reach students abroad.”

When admission staff members recruit students abroad, they typically travel with Linden Educational Services, a Washington, D.C.–based company that creates tours for college admission counselors. Eversley Bradwell’s trip to Central and South America included representatives from 22 American colleges.

“The thought behind this is that in greater numbers we can attract more students,” she explains. “Also we are representing U.S. higher education, as opposed to just looking out for our own best interests. We can accomplish more through collaboration.”

Between recruitment trips in the fall, Eversley Bradwell shifts gears and reviews applications for students applying for the spring semester. She also helps organize a series of six admission programs that attract up to 1,000 prospective students and their families to campus for each event.

From October to April, Eversley Bradwell focuses on reviewing applications for next fall’s admission. Then in the spring, the recruitment season resumes, though the trips tend to be shorter and are centered on college fairs in U.S. cities. Over the summer she coordinates staff development and training for the Office of Admission, where she has worked since 1994.

Eversley Bradwell enjoys the traveling associated with her job, but admits it can be difficult to be away from her daughter, Adriane Teabout, and husband, Sean Eversley-Bradwell, who is also connected with Ithaca College: he’s an assistant professor in the Center for the Study of Race, Culture and Ethnicity.

“I like admission,” Eversley Bradwell says, “because it’s always changing. We go through cycles. The time of year determines what types of activities you’re involved in. Every few months, what you’re doing completely changes — and that keeps it fresh and exciting.” Just like the new faces she helps bring to South Hill.