Welcome to the 2023- 2024 Alumni and Parents Admission Program (APAP) season!
My name is Pamela Bookbinder Clarke, AB’06, and I am honored to serve as your new APAP executive chair. For the past three years, I had the privilege of serving as vice chair, and have chaired the NJ APAP program for over ten years.
Before I jump into my excitement for the upcoming season, I want to take a moment to thank Jason Lewis for his leadership during his tenure as executive chair (2020- 2023). It is always nice to step into a role that has been well-prepared by my predecessor.
This year, I am excited to share my enthusiasm for WashU with prospective students and serve on a leadership team with remarkable alumni volunteers and university staff.
Your role as an ambassador for the university is even more important than ever. It is critical that we establish a personal connection with prospective students when “meeting” them either in person or virtually for APAP interviews. We can do this by emphasizing our own student experiences. We can do this by telling our stories about why we decided to make WashU our college home. And we can do this by conveying to students the latest university news, events, and initiatives. WashU rightly prides itself on its student experience and community-oriented environment, and together I am confident we can express these hallmark features to prospective students this year.
It is imperative that all APAP members log in and become familiar with the APAP Volunteer Portal and its new features. Since APAP spearheaded this groundbreaking initiative several years ago, it has become the hub for volunteer resources, and APAP has continually enhanced it. As a reminder, APAP members may volunteer to conduct interviews of prospective students residing outside the APAP member’s region. This will provide a greater diversity of prospective student interactions, allow us to better deploy our APAP members when needed, and more evenly distribute the number of interviews across the APAP member base. Personally, this ability has greatly enhanced my own experience as an APAP member! If you did not originally volunteer to conduct interviews for students outside your local committee but would like to do so, please contact me or APAP staff.
Please stay in touch with us over the next several months. It is important that we know how this year—and all of its unique opportunities and challenges—is going for you. Your feedback, concerns, and stories will allow us to enhance your APAP volunteer experience and the experiences of the prospective students you meet. You are the backbone of APAP and your feedback continues to drive us forward. You will also receive regular updates from APAP staff during the season. We have some exciting things in store for you, including a virtual Kick-Off on November 7 at 7pm CT, so be on the lookout.
You can reach out at any time to APAP staff or me directly at pamelabclarke@gmail.com.
Thank you for all that you do for APAP! Here’s to a great season!