Gustavus Adolphus College

Assistant Director of Admission

Direct: (507) 933-7603
Toll-free: 1-800-GUSTAVUS

jreese2@gustavus.edu

Territory: California, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, SW MN

Education: B.A., history, Gustavus, 2002; M.A., history, Minnesota State University, Mankato, 2005

Life before Gustavus
I grew up in a small town in southern Minnesota called New Richland and attended NRHEG High School. My dad is a school teacher, baseball coach, and farmer. My mom owns her own dance studio. I also have two younger brothers. In high school I was very active, participating in three sports, choir, band, newspaper, danceline, taught Sunday School, was a lifeguard and softball coach in the summers. In 1998, I started my freshman year at Gustavus and fell in love with it immediately. I made the most of my time at Gustavus, participating in Chapel Choir, Delta Phi Omega sorority where I was Community Service Chair, Inter-Greek Senate where I was Education Chair, IM sports, and volunteer work around the community. My senior year at Gustavus, I pursued an internship in Washington, D.C. at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. After returning to Minnesota, I attended Minnesota State University, Mankato where I received my master's degree in history.

What are your professional/work interests?
My professional interests are to assist individuals make one of the biggest decisions of their lives: where to attend college. To me this means contacting each individual in my territory several times, making sure that I answer all their questions, encouraging them to visit, and assisting them with any financial aid or scholarship concerns they may have. I believe that to make the best decision on where to attend college, you have to be very informed about the schools you are looking at. I am also a strong advocate of diversity on campus. I plan to work with a variety of departments to promote diversity at Gustavus through recruitment, educational events, and scholarships.

What are your most recent professional/work projects?
My most recent, and ongoing, professional projects include coordinating Scholarship Days, supervising our interns, working with the Minnesota Association of College Admission Counselors Professional Development Committee, and making one-on-one connections with students in my territory who would make great Gusties.

What do you learn from interacting with Gustavus students?
I have learned that Gustavus is truly a place that can be called home. Many students consider Gustavus their home and they involve themselves in so many different organizations that Gustavus has to offer. Gustavus is truly a place that has something to offer everyone, no matter what their interests may be inside and outside the classroom.

What do you value most about working at Gustavus?
The strong Gustavus community and its commitment to the college and the students that attend it. This is a place where people actually do care about the individual and that in turn makes individuals commit themselves to strengthening Gustavus and the community as a whole.

What are your hobbies?
I love to run and dance. Being fit is very important to me. I also love to read and to sing.  My favorite thing to do, however, is to be with my daughter. It is fascinating to see her discover new things and look at the world so differently than I do.

How have you been involved in your community?
I have always been a strong community member. In high school, I taught Sunday School for three years and our children's choir for two years. I volunteered at a Homeless Shelter in the Twin Cities. At Gustavus, I was the Community Service Chair of the Delta Phi Omega sorority, where I established a cancer benefit brunch and promoted many educational events.

What is your favorite Gustavus tradition?
My favorite Gustavus tradition would have to be Homecoming. The best four years of my life were at Gustavus and to see all the people who were a part of that time with me, together in one place again, is the greatest feeling in the world.