PYSK: Lindsey Boudinot
Lindsey Boudinot, director of graduate, online and certificate admissions at Stephens College
Age: 30
Job description: I develop and maintain professional working relationships with faculty, professional peers, department representatives and program directors; advance departmental enrollment goals through lead generation, marketing and strategy; partner with staff in other departments to develop recruitment plans for each program; supervise recruitment coordinators; serve as the primary point of contact and customer service representative to prospective students; and ensure prospective students enroll in the appropriate programs to meet their career objectives.
Years lived in Columbia/mid-Missouri: 26
Original hometown: Ashland, Missouri
Education: Bachelor of Arts in psychology and sociology from Drury University and MBA from William Woods University
Community involvement: Columbia Chamber of Commerce Women’s Network, 2014-2015 co-chair of Business Leader Forum Committee; Chamber of Commerce EPIC, member of Education Committee; graduate of Leadership Columbia class of 2014; Jefferson City Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals, member of Professional Development Committee; Jeff City Chamber YP Summit 2012 and 2014, volunteer and sponsor
Professional background: I’ve spent seven years working in higher education admissions for nontraditional undergraduate and graduate students, including work at William Woods University and Columbia College before coming to Stephens College in January 2015.
A favorite recent project: I’m currently working on launching new marketing initiatives for the Stephens College graduate, online and certificate programs. This is a new challenge for me but has broadened my understanding of the marketing world and made me even more acutely aware of how all the intricacies of higher education from marketing, to admissions, to academics play a part in the overall success of our institution and students.
A Columbia businessperson I admire and why: The Columbia businessperson I most admire is Suzanne Rothwell, executive director of public relations at Columbia College. Suzanne embodies the type of leader and civic community member I hope to be. She leads with compassion and has the uncanny ability to help young leaders and newcomers to the Columbia business community know their true potential and help place them in the arenas where they need to be to launch their success.
Why I’m passionate about my job: I have the opportunity to come in every day and know that what I do is helping to make a difference in someone’s life both professionally and personally. Education opens the door to many opportunities, and what we do at Stephens is provide these individuals with the catalyst to make their career aspirations become a reality.
If I weren’t doing this for a living, I would: If I weren’t working in higher education, I would love to be working in fundraising for a nonprofit service organization such as the Food Bank, Central Missouri Humane Society or American Cancer Association.
What people should know about this profession: Stephens College’s graduate, online and certificate programs are growing. We have three strong, long-thriving programs: Master in Strategic Leadership, Master of Education in counseling and our Bachelor of Health Information Administration programs. We also recently launched the Master of Fine Arts in TV and screenwriting, set to begin this fall. In August of 2016, we will begin our Master of Physician Assistant Studies program. Our on-campus program will be combined with our association with University of Missouri Health Care, Boone Hospital Center and Capitol Regional Medical Center, which will allow us to deliver a well-rounded education with a breadth of choices for clinical rotations in a variety of settings to our new students.
What I do for fun: I travel, hang out with family and friends, hike/bike the Katy Trail with my family, attend movies and live productions and shop.
Family: Husband, Josh Boudinot; daughter, Layla Boudinot; dogs, Neptune and Kaydee; and cat, Milli
Favorite place in Columbia: I love Stephens Lake Park (especially with my daughter), watching productions at Jesse Hall, eating at Murry’s, and I also really enjoying being on the Stephens campus so close to all of the excitement of downtown.
Accomplishment I’m most proud of: Presenting my own research at a national conference at the end of my undergraduate study. It was research I did to examine how women in advertisement aren’t portrayed much differently today than they were in the 1920s. I put a lot of hard work and many hours into completing the research, and to have it chosen to be presented at a national conference was a true honor.
Most people don’t know that I: Have lived in two countries outside of the United States and have visited 14 countries, including Norway, Austria and the Czech Republic.