{"id":4353,"date":"2020-05-14T09:49:02","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T13:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nacacadmitted.wpengine.com\/wordpress\/?p=4353"},"modified":"2020-05-14T10:36:56","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T14:36:56","slug":"get-to-know-nacacs-next-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/05\/14\/get-to-know-nacacs-next-ceo\/","title":{"rendered":"Get to Know NACAC’s Next CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

NACAC shared some big news with its members earlier this month.<\/p>\n

After a year-long search, the association selected its next chief executive officer. Angel B. P\u00e9rez, currently the vice president\u00a0 for enrollment and student success at Trinity College (CT), will assume his new position at NACAC on July 15. He succeeds Joyce E. Smith, who is retiring after more than 30 years with the association.<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez recently shared insights about his personal journey to higher education during an episode<\/a> of the How I Got Into College<\/em><\/a> podcast. Here are five things you should know about NACAC\u2019s incoming CEO.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1: College admission is more than a job for P\u00e9rez<\/strong> \u2014 it\u2019s a passion. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“One of the reasons I actually do the work I do now and why I’m so passionate about it was because I truly believe that a high school counselor and an admissions officer changed my life,\u201d P\u00e9rez said.<\/p>\n

Although he always loved learning, college attendance wasn\u2019t a forgone conclusion. Neither of his parents had attended college and his New York City high school was known more for its gang violence than its academic profile.<\/p>\n

But a counselor at his high school was impressed by the professionalism he demonstrated as a peer mediator, and a rep from Skidmore College (NY) helped him envision what a liberal arts education could offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though the only reality I knew was Puerto Rico and the South Bronx, there was something deep down inside of me that I knew I wanted to live a different life,\u201d P\u00e9rez said. \u201c\u2026I saw how difficult life was for my parents and I wanted to make sure that I sort of took advantage of them bringing me to the US (to) get as educated as possible.”<\/p>\n

2: His time at Skidmore set the course for his future and helped him more clearly understand the complexities surrounding college access and success. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMy mind was blown by college\u2026I did become a really different person,\u201d shared P\u00e9rez.<\/p>\n

The former Fulbright Scholar earned his bachelor\u2019s degree at Skidmore, majoring in social work and government. He went on to earn a master\u2019s degree from Columbia University (NY), a\u202fdoctorate\u202ffrom Claremont Graduate University (CA), and a Teaching Certification in Higher Education Pedagogy from the\u202fDerek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning\u202fat Harvard University (MA).<\/p>\n

Those experiences \u2014 particularly his undergraduate years \u2014 also offered P\u00e9rez a powerful perspective into what it means to \u201cmake it\u201d as a first-gen, low-income, student of color.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people around you look very different, sound very different, have a different knowledge base than you,\u201d he said. “\u2026You end up navigating these two very, very different worlds…and you have to be really strong emotionally to really manage that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s one of the reasons I have such deep levels of empathy for the students who are making those transitions today,” he added.<\/p>\n

3: P\u00e9rez likes to joke that he never left college, having worked in higher education for the past 22 years. <\/strong><\/p>\n

He also has great respect for the counselors, admission professionals, and others who help students navigate the college admission process.<\/p>\n

During his How I Got Into College<\/em> interview, P\u00e9rez referred to college admission counselors as \u201cchief storytellers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the ones with their words\u2014and, yes, sometimes really beautiful brochures\u2014that tell the story of what life could be like on a particular college campus.\u201d For P\u00e9rez, the effect was like \u201cpainting a picture\u201d of a place he didn\u2019t know existed, but was almost instantly drawn to.<\/p>\n

4: He has big ideas about how to make the admission process better and is eager to learn more from NACAC members. <\/strong><\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez shared his support of test optional admission policies during his chat with podcast host David Whelan. He also talked passionately about the need to simplify the FAFSA. But his first actions as NACAC\u2019s top executive will involve soliciting member feedback, P\u00e9rez said.<\/p>\n

“I think a big part of how you begin is by listening and really understanding and respecting the history of the organization,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026NACAC is a really complicated organization. It has over 15,000 members. It has affiliate organizations all over the country and internationally as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez wants to hear from members from all those various segments as he plots a future course for the association.<\/p>\n

5: P\u00e9rez<\/strong> is proud of his work with NACAC so far and is eager to tackle the host of challenges<\/strong> posed by the coronavirus crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n

P\u00e9rez, a longtime NACAC member, is currently finishing up his appointment as chair of the association\u2019s Ad Hoc Committee on Leadership in College Admission<\/a>. The group will issue a report to the board of directors this summer that examines what NACAC will look like in 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is an incredible moment, in our history\u2014in the world’s history\u2014but it’s also an incredible moment in college access in the United States. Colleges and universities right now are in a really tough place, but I do think there is no better time than now to bring people together to think about what the future will look like and to fight for the issues that we care about the most,\u201d P\u00e9rez said.<\/p>\n

Learn more about P\u00e9rez<\/strong><\/a> and listen to the full <\/strong>How I Got Into College<\/em> interview<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Admitted writer\/editor Mary Stegmeir welcomes additional comments and story ideas at\u00a0mstegmeir@nacacnet.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NACAC shared some big news with its members earlier this month. After a year-long search, the association selected its next chief executive officer. Angel B. P\u00e9rez, currently the vice president\u00a0 for enrollment and student success at Trinity College (CT), will assume his new position at NACAC on July 15. He succeeds Joyce E. Smith, who … Continue reading Get to Know NACAC’s Next CEO<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,6],"tags":[474],"class_list":["post-4353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-college-admission","category-nacac-news","tag-angel-b-perez"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Mary Stegmeir","author_link":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/author\/mstegmeir\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peWmJq-18d","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4353\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/admitted.nacacnet.org\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}