President’s Update: An IACAC (New Year’s) Resolution

By Todd Burrell, President
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

With the New Year come the, easy to make, but hard to keep, New Year’s resolutions. I, myself, am guilty of making these; I start out keeping them (for a few weeks at least) and then they just seem to be forgotten and quietly disappear until the next year. I am sure there are those of us who keep these resolutions and I say to you, “excellent job and share your success story.” However, you might be like me, and find them hard to keep them.

I will say though, that I know and have observed many members who continue to keep a resolution that is made by just becoming a member of IACAC. This is the “will and want to give back to those we work with on a daily basis.” IACAC is made up of members who are passionate about what we do and who go out of their way on numerous occasions to not only help out students and families, but even each other. Our profession may be questioned at times and there are those who wonder what exactly we do, but with all of these thoughts, IACAC members (and so many others not in our association but whose daily work involves assisting students/families) continue to move forward and make strides in impacting the future of our profession and the lives of students. 

While we reflect on the past year, and all that was accomplished within our association, I invite all members to help in continuing the momentum that is within our association. This year, I encourage you to:

• Attend a District Seminar this spring
• Register for our Annual Conference in May
• Get involved and sign up for an IACAC committee
• Explore the IACAC website and see for yourself all of the excellent resources available to help us on a daily basis
• Read the Admission Essay (if you are seeing this, mark this one off of your list)
• Learn more about NACAC and all that is offered by being a member (and get involved in NACAC)
• And I have stated this before, and this is the easiest, share your story! 

In continuing the theme of our 2012 Annual Conference, “Connect,” I encourage us to keep building our connections. In December 2012, I was excited by the opportunity to connect and partner with Illinois School Counselor Association (ISCA) in responding to an article in the Chicago Tribune about the college selection process and Ivy League institutions. I would like to publicly thank, Dr. Erin Mason (DePaul University and ISCA President) for sharing her expertise and work on our response to this article. As I stated above, there is truly passion in our profession, and this showed by the responses received from this article.

In addition, the Executive Board is looking at building our partnership with ISCA, and we will continue to collaborate with them by sharing our professional development opportunities. 

Finally, and with so much excitement, I am proud to announce the IACAC Scholarship, our way as an association to give back to students. So many IACAC members have helped to make this dream of mine become a reality and I am excited we have this opportunity to help out students. Whether you help to spread the word, provide of your time in working with the logistics, or donate to help fund the initiative, thanks for your support! (Continue reading the Admission Essay for more details.)

So, I say “thank you” for helping to keep a resolution to give back and make IACAC such a strong voice for so many. Your stories, your connections, and your dedication (and passion) will allow us to reach out to many more in spreading the word about the work we do each day. 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve.