Meet Our Newest Blogger: Carolyn Pippen

Posted by Carolyn Pippen on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 in Admissions Committee, Information for Incoming Students, Vanderbilt Blogs.

Well hello there!  My name is Carolyn Pippen and I am an Admissions Counselor here at Vanderbilt. I will also be one of the main writers for our admissions blog, so I wanted to take a moment and introduce myself to all of you out there in the blogosphere.

I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky and graduated from Vanderbilt in 2009. I majored in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, but I also took courses in Film Studies, Italian, and Special Education. One of my favorite things about Vanderbilt is the freedom our students have in creating their own fields of study, and I definitely took advantage of the liberal arts attitude on campus while I was here.

After graduating I spent two years teaching high school math in Greenville, Mississippi through Teach for America. This experience deeply invested me in education and inspired me to return to my much-loved alma mater and advocate for every high school student who aspires to a highly competitive post-secondary education.

That is something many of you out there might not know about admissions counselors – we are your advocates. It is not my job to find every fault, misstep, or typo in your application; it is my job to find all of your strengths and be your cheerleader in this seemingly stressful, often confusing process. My goal, and the focus of all my efforts as a counselor, is to make sure my students are as competitive in that process as they absolutely can be.

Part of our advocacy for you is to keep you as well-informed and well-prepared as possible. That’s where this blog comes in! We will be arming you with important deadlines, student profiles, application tips, and everything you could ever want to know about what Vanderbilt is, what we stand for, and the types of opportunities a Vanderbilt education could bring you.

I could not be more excited about joining this effort, and I hope you are all excited about the inside view you are about to get into this amazing university. See you out there!

Tags: admissions blog, admissions counselors, carolyn pippen, creative writing, film studies, italian, kentucky, mississippi, special education, teach for america, Vanderbilt Admissions Blog