The Alumni

Alumni Hit Road to Make Case for the Hill

By Phillip J. Hoying '09

WANTED: Passionate and enthusiastic volunteers to represent Hamilton, to connect to interested high school students, and to recruit the best and the brightest — worldwide.

With ever-increasing numbers of students applying to Hamilton, the Admission Office would like your help promoting the College in your community by joining the Hamilton Alumni Recruitment Team (HART). Made of alumni across generations — some of them also parents — who are interested in an insider's ­perspective on Hamilton's admission process, HART is an off-the-Hill volunteer team led by Sara Rizzo Ziesenitz '00, associate dean of admission. "HART volunteers can be in places where admission officers can't always be," she says.

"Because admission officers are only on the road four to six weeks per year, we need help recruiting, covering college fairs, leading off-campus interviews, reaching out to recently admitted students, and even hosting and attending local Hamilton receptions," Ziesenitz says. Last year, HART members led 530 off-campus interviews, making volunteers "crucial to Hamilton's overall recruitment efforts."

Volunteers traditionally donate only 10 to 15 hours per year, but according to Ziesenitz, these hours make it possible for interested students to see some of the College's defining characteristics and values through personal interactions, which would be impossible without volunteer support. "I think there is a natural attraction to making sure Hamilton is continuing to recruit good students and community members," Ziesenitz says.

HART is currently in need of volunteers in Los Angeles; Boston; Houston; Chicago; Westchester County and Long Island, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn.; Portland, Maine; and the Princeton, N.J., area, though it is always looking for volunteers across the country and abroad. Those who are interested in joining the recruitment team can fill out a volunteer interest form at www.hamilton.edu/alumni/volunteer/HART or contact Sara Ziesenitz at 315-859-4431.