Candidates for Council Team Director – Secondary 2015-2016

Denise Dalton

Emily Schubert

Denise Dalton
Division Chair for Student Services
Lemont Township High School

Education:
M.A. in Educational Administration, Governors State University (1999);
M.A. in Counseling, School Concentration, Governors State University (1997);
B.A. in Psychology, Northern Illinois University (1993)

IACAC Member:  15 years

IACAC Activities:
Scholarship Committee (2014 & 2015);
Annual Conference On-Site Committee (2012 & 2014);
Annual Conference Teller (2014);
Annual Conference Program Committee (2011 & 2012)

NACAC Activities:
Imagine Grant Recipient (2013 & 2014);
Conference Registration Volunteer (2014);
Conference Teller (2014);
Conference Attendee (2013 & 2014)

Other Professional Activities:
National Certified Counselor (1997–present);
South Suburban Counselor Association (2009–2014);
Directors of Guidance and Student Services of Suburban Chicago (1997–2003; 2014–present)

Candidate Statement:

My interest in running for the IACAC Council Team Director position is really very simple: In recent years, I’ve been a fortunate recipient of grants through IACAC and NACAC. Both organizations have given me such rewarding professional (and social) development opportunities that I want to give back with my time and energy. In my view, IACAC is the premier organization with the power to impact the greatest number of high school and college-aged students in our state and region. No other professional organization can match what we do, and I would love to be part of the team that helps to improve the already high standards of care and practice that IACAC has built.

Recently, I took on a new position at Lemont High School which adds a variety of responsibilities beyond college counseling. In my heart, however, preparing students for post- secondary opportunities is my passion and my purpose. By increasing my involvement in IACAC, my goal is to never lose sight of what matters the most to me as a high school counselor.

The responsibilities of the Council Team Directors are very much in line with what I enjoy most about my current position at Lemont High School. I believe I could seamlessly apply skills and strategies from my “day job” to IACAC and back again.

Emily Schubert
College Counselor
Boylan Catholic High School

Education:
B.A. in Communications—Public Relations, Bradley University (2008);
M.A. in Leadership in Human Service Administration, Bradley University (2011)

Previous Employment:
Bradley University,Admissions Representative (2008–2011);
Bradley University, Associate Director of Admissions-East Coast Regional (2011–2012)

IACAC Member:  7 years

IACAC Activities:
Annual Conference Attendee (2009, 2011, 2013, 2014);
District Seminar Attendee (2013);
Scholarship Committee Member (2014–2015);
Mentee (2008–2010, 2012–2014);
Mentor for new counselor (2015);
Presenter at Annual Conference (2015)

Other Professional Activities:
Indiana ACAC Member (2008–2010);
Indiana ACAC Annual Conference Attendee (2008);
NEACAC Member (2011–2012);
NEACAC Annual Conference Attendee (2012);
New England Area Regional Representatives (NEARR) Member (2011–2012);
College Board Conference-New York City (2011)

Candidate Statement:

I am honored to be nominated to serve as Council Team Director-Secondary on the IACAC Executive Board, alongside many of my colleagues and friends. While at times as counselors we feel lucky to just get through the week, this nomination has helped reignite my passion for working with our students, faculty, parents, admissions counselors, and IACAC colleagues on a day-to-day basis.

If I am being perfectly honest, I landed in this profession completely by accident. A combination of some tour guide experience, some orientation experience, some connections, and maybe some personality led me to my first job as an Admissions Representative at Bradley University. After just a few months on the job, I was hooked. The students, parents, travel, and most importantly, the colleagues had me at “hello.” That accident has given me the opportunity to find my passion and hopefully, my life’s work.

Spending time on the college side as a campus-based representative and regional representative followed by my transition to the high school side as a college counselor, have given me a wide breadth of experience in a relatively short amount of time. When I was given the opportunity to move back to my home town of Rockford and be the first college counselor at Boylan Catholic, I said yes. Being in a new position to the school and a new position personally proved to be “stressful.” The support of my IACAC colleagues and friends was exactly what I needed to help make our new college counseling program successful. Since my start at Boylan, we have provided individual college counseling for all students, introduced Naviance, increased admissions representative visits by 65%, diversified colleges and universities our students attend, started a Junior College Night (thanks to the Nate and Julie show!), introduced major information sessions, and much more. Without the encouragement and ideas from IACAC, specifically my mentor, Amy Wesley, I don’t know if it all could have happened!

Now it is time for me to give back to an organization that has given so much to me. While I don’t have a long list of IACAC credentials, I now feel like I have the time, motivation, drive, and support from my administration, to contribute to a wonderful organization. Specifically, I hope to be a voice for the Rockford area, which I believe is underrepresented in IACAC. If given the opportunity to serve IACAC within this role, I will work to support the members and mission of this organization. I thank you so much for your consideration.