After three years, Kingswood Oxford welcomes Director of Enrollment Management Susan Emery back to campus. Dr. Emery first started working at KO as part of the admissions team after former Head of School Dennis Bisgaard offered her the position. Her old position on campus involved her working with admissions to implement the International Student Program, which we still have in place today.
Dr. Emery earned her bachelor’s in business administration at George Washington University, then her master’s at Boston University, and finally her doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of Southern California. Dr. Emery also “accidentally” minored in Chinese, having taken enough courses to qualify because of her interest in the subject, something she described as a happy accident.
Once she completed her schooling, Dr. Emery worked as an educational consultant on the west coast, helping international families apply to schools in the United States. Dr. Emery also helped to build a startup boarding school in downtown Los Angeles.
Dr. Emery left KO for a brief period to work at a new startup school in Washington D.C. with Mr. Bisgaard. During that time, Dr. Emery kept in close contact with the staff and faculty here at KO. Luckily, Dr. Emery was able to return when a position for director of enrollment management opened up. Her new position requires her to work closely with both the admissions office and the marketing department. “I oversee everything that has to do with admissions and enrollment, and that includes currently enrolled students and retention,” Dr. Emery said. “I also often partner with the financial aid and marketing departments.”
Above all else, Dr. Emery’s favorite thing about KO is getting to see the unique and impressive work of KO students. “My absolute favorite thing is seeing the students’ creativity on full display on the work they do,” Dr. Emery said. “Working in admissions, those are the sort of stories that I tell, and the students here really inspire me with all their hopes and dreams.”
We are so glad to welcome Dr. Emery back on campus, and we can’t wait to see all of the fantastic work that she will do not only for the admissions office but also for KO as a whole.
