Lyndsay Malcomb '10

Lyndsay Malcomb '10, Executive Director of Admissions at St. Lawrence, joins us this month as she talks about what it's like to be an alumna living and working in Canton, NY. Lyndsay gives us a peak into the world of Admissions and shares how she stays connected with Laurentians in her Network. 

Transcript

[Theme Music]

Beth:  Hello Laurentian's and welcome back to another edition of Scarlet & Brown Stories. The Laurentian Podcast will re-interview various different alumni, parents, faculty, and staff to hear about their Scarlet & Brown story.

I'm your host, Beth Dixon, and this month we have an incredible interview with somebody who I consider to be a dear friend, a classmate, and also a colleague on campus. We will be chatting with Lindsay Malcolm, class of 2010, who is currently the executive director of admissions.

We're going to ask her a little bit about what it means to work in college admissions specifically at St. Lawrence University, as well as some of the aspects that make her such a strong Laurentian. So without any further adieu, let's get into my interview with Lindsay Malcolm.

[Music plays and ends]

Beth:  Hello everyone. We are here with Lyndsay Malcolm, class of 2010, and also the executive director of admissions here at St. Lawrence University. Lyndsay and I actually go way back. Not only are we classmates from the great class of 2010, but we also were admissions interns together in the summer of 2009, right before our senior year.

So Lyndsay set herself up well for our career in higher education, but especially a career in St. Lawrence University's admissions office. So I want to welcome on in Lyndsay. How are you doing today?

Lyndsay:  Hey, thanks for having me, Beth. I'm great. It's a beautiful day in Canton. It still feels like a little bit of summer, but fall is creeping in. The weekend is here, so it's good.

Beth:  Great. And just to reiterate this again, we are going to be dropping this podcast in November, but we're actually recording this in September. We have a pretty busy fall coming up ahead and I know admissions is very busy in the fall.

So that kind of leads me to my first question with you. I think you have so many different constituencies within the St. Lawrence community. You're an alum, you had family who have come to St. Lawrence, but you're also an employee, used to be a remote employee, and I think admissions in and of itself is something that a lot of people within the Urian community want to learn a little bit more about. So how do you explain to people who don't know much about the world of college admissions, what admissions entails?

Lyndsay:  Yeah. Well first of all, thanks for having me. I'm very excited as a fan of the podcast to be invited on is a real honor. So I just wanted to say thank you so much.

Beth:  We're so happy to have you.

Lyndsay:  Well, admissions is one of these career fields where you don't grow up as a 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-year-old and think like, I'm going to be an admission's counselor, right? Or I'm going to go into higher ed. And so my St. Lawrence experience as a student really shaped where I was headed in my career field, not really knowing until my senior year and we had done the senior internship together with Terry Cowdry and then realized, this is cool. I guess people do this as a career. I'll go on and get my master's. And in my master's program is where I really learned that admissions in a basic sense is sales.

Beth:  It very much is.

Lyndsay:  We have a product that people are interested in, that we are trying to sell and the nuance of what we do is education. And so people can't really look at the St. Lawrence experience in a little box on a shelf and go, "That one looks good, I'll take it."

So much of what we do really requires a skill set. It's more than just selling a product. So I think of my job as a storyteller, as an educator, as a listener. We do a lot of listening, and making sure that the product that you are interested in is one that you believe in, one that you would be happy experiencing for a long period of time. It's not a one-time use type of product. And then making sure that the students and families that are interested understand the benefits of investing in the higher ed college experience, especially small liberal arts, which often gets a bad rap in the media.

So at the core of what we do is sales, but in a very nuanced educational way. And at St. Lawrence, our experience is so much more than just the classes that you take or the major that you're declaring in. It is about those experiences outside of the classroom, the people that you meet, the study abroad experiences that you have. And that requires an additional level of abilities rather than just saying, "Here's my product, do you want to buy it at this price?" If that makes sense?

Beth:  Well yeah, and I think that does make a lot of sense in having started my career as well in the admissions world. I moved to the other part of sales, which is fundraising for the university. And I often think about this and those of us on the podcast production team, were thinking about this before of, is there a secret sauce of what makes a Laurentian? Because you're talking about all these wonderful ways of selling the school, but what about who's buying the product? Who's coming here? Is there a way that you're making the class of everybody who is interested in the university? Is there a secret sauce to those students?

Lyndsay:  Yeah, it's one of our most popular questions is, do you think I'm a good fit or who is a good fit for the St. Lawrence experience? Because while we are very similar to dozens and maybe hundreds of other college experiences in this country, there are some things that set us apart.

Beth:  Absolutely.

Lyndsay:  In addition to being small, we are incredibly rural. We are close to the Canadian border, which blows people's minds. It's residential. All of our students are living right here. And so this question becomes even more important to those who are making up the sauce. And so I often reply back with, "It's not necessarily who's a good fit, but who's not a good fit." So right off the bat, something that would sour the sauce would be a student who wants an urban experience. They just know they want that cosmopolitan or metropolitan experience.

They're either from a rural place in their high school or they grew up in a rural area and they just want a total change of pace. Out of the gate you are not going to thrive at St. Lawrence if you just know that that's what you want. And then students who are, I think, hyper focused on an academic goal. So I want to go to nursing school and I want to do it in five years and I want this type of curriculum. They're very regimented and that's great, but our experience is not that.

And so the students who are a good fit are motivated, again, a little bit more nuanced.

Beth:  Right.

Lyndsay:  Things that we would pick out working with them as juniors into their senior year, motivated in their academics, their extracurriculars, they're driven. They're not afraid to try new things and then embrace the community as we are.

And I think that's really important and making sure that it's one thing to believe it and understand it and then come here, you really have to give it that chance to work. And so I think students who embrace what we are and who we are, are the ones that really add to the recipe and make it interesting. Because once they get here, they're going, "Oh, you don't have this. Well, let's start Model UN. Or mental health and wellness is super important. We're seeing that wave really crusting right now. Great, let's do something about it. So it's not who can add to it. And we're not looking for any specific pieces, rather who are you as a person? What are the characteristics that you bring to our community?

Beth:  Also, one thing that I always thought was very interesting is the emphasis that we put on, like you were saying, working with students, it's it there's a little bit of counseling and mentorship that go along with this form of sales that you were working with students to make sure that this is a good fit for them because we want what's best for students at the end of the day. And I always say that the students who show that demonstrated interest, those that are coming to admissions events and reaching out to counselors or going to college fairs when St. Lawrence is going to be in the area or meeting with counselors are showing that engagement from the get-go. Would you agree that that is an important component to prospective students and your, I guess it's an assessment, of what their fit could be?

Lyndsay:  Absolutely. There's a reason why a third of our class every year is early decision. The students who have identified what it is about St. Lawrence that they like, either an academic program, oftentimes it's an athletic experience or a coach that they've connected with or a family member or their local postmaster is a alum.

We hear all sorts of crazy stories of how they get connected. But absolutely, there're lots of opportunities to engage with us and to really get to know who we are before you have to make any type of commitment. And I will be the first to admit to a student or a family when the signs and flags are going up that maybe we're not a good fit.

So I very much see my job as a counselor and educator to say, "This is what we can offer you and these are all the ways that you can choose to engage with us," and reciprocate back kind of this relationship.

But if that reciprocation is not going to benefit the student or the student is kind of showing signs of interest elsewhere, I think it's part of my job to say, "I don't think this is going to be a good fit for you." Because ultimately that's what is important for the community as current students-

Beth:  Right.

Lyndsay:  ... Is making sure that the students who come really want to be here and will add value into the experience.

It would be like me going out on the road and saying, "Yeah, we have this beautiful Olympic pool complex for swimming and diving." And then students getting here and being like, Where's the pool? We have a facility, but we have to make sure that how we market and sell our experience is accurate in a market and time when you go to some high schools and you're like, "Oh my gosh, this feels like a college experience," this is what I have to compete with. So in a way, I think there's a population of students who know how to do what you've described.

They know how to engage, they know how to show their interest. The challenge, in my role, is making sure how do the students that don't know how to do that are equal in this, and as a north country student myself, you too, Beth. Some of these things that come innately to other populations of student might not come as naturally to north country kids, for example.

Beth:  So how do you equalize the playing field? How does St. Lawrence as an admission's office reach out to those communities that may or may not have the structure to teach? How do you get into college, right? Or may have more first-generation college students that don't have a model within their family who have gone to college. And we're at a time right now where we have an all-time high of first-generation college students coming to colleges all across the country, which is a very exciting thing in St. Lawrence is playing a huge role in that. But how do we do that?

Lyndsay:  We have 10 admissions counselors on staff, and of the 10, that are responsible for domestic recruitment within the United States, five of them work in New York as part of their territory. And then there are an additional three that cover New England.

Beth:  Okay.

Lyndsay:  And so we are really committed to the rural areas, our backyard of the north country schools, even rural areas of Canada, to make sure that there is an admissions counselor that's going to the schools, connecting with counselors, being available for parents, and doing that education piece of our job. Here's who we are, here's what we can offer you as a St. Lawrence experience. And then the further you get down in that process, it's okay, now here's how you are successful in applying. So let's talk about your test scores. Let's talk about the importance of your essay. Let's talk about the importance of submitting things on time.

And in some of the communities that we work with, students don't have wifi. That's a very real scenario in 2022 of some students in rural New York and rural Vermont.

One of my favorite essays from last year was of a girl in Vermont, the bus at the end of the day would drop her off at a local bar. And the back booth of this restaurant bar was dedicated for students in that area to go do their homework and use the restaurant and bar wifi.

Beth:  Oh wow.

Lyndsay:  Because they didn't have wifi in their community. And so her essay was about that experience of people watching and seeing, her neighbors, and just people from her community, and kind of outing herself as someone who couldn't afford internet. And so we try really hard to not only share the experience but then educate as best we can to level that playing field among constituents or students from all over the country.

Beth:  I think that's really great to hear and I think for a lot of people who don't know too much about the recruitment process, it is important to highlight that you're not just going to the same schools every single year. Of course that is a part of the recruitment process, but is it safe to assume that every year we're looking at different places that we could be going, not only to help spread the word about St. Lawrence, but to do exactly what you're talking about which is try to help other communities engage their students within the college process?

Lyndsay:  Absolutely. I lived down in the Charlottesville area of Virginia for almost six years. So had a list of schools that often we went to and are a good fit for St. Lawrence and we know that there's student interest. And as soon as I moved back to Canton, in August, we had three students visit from a school I had never heard of in Alexandria, Virginia. And I thought, I know that school, I know where it is. I've never been there. It's a huge school. I didn't think it would be a good fit. But it took one student to find us to realize this could be a good fit for me. They came here, went home, shared the experience with their classmates, and then two other students came all the way up from Alexandria, which is not close.

Beth:  Nope.

Lyndsay:  And so we very much use data every single day to inform what we're doing. We're very lucky to have a good data team. We look at who's applying what type of demographics we want to draw from, something like the Twin Cities, Chicago area we honed in on, because the weather's similar enough. So we-

Beth:  Wisconsin, Minnesota, they get it. Yes?

Lyndsay:  Get it. We don't have to do that part of the sales job. But yes, every year we're reassessing with data informed decisions on what we can do better, what's the right population for us, and how can we get into those new markets.

Beth:  That's fantastic. One of the things that you mentioned is that you grew up in Tupper Lake and then you know, attended St. Lawrence, you left for Boston to get your master's degree, came back to live in Canton for a number of years, then you moved in a remote capacity to live in Charlottesville, Virginia and just moved back to Canton.

Lyndsay:  Yes.

Beth:  So obviously the north country has played a huge part in your entire life. What is it like to be back and have gone from a remote employee experience to being back on campus? What is that experience for you?

Lyndsay:  Yeah, oh, this question makes me laugh because as we've been reconnecting with friends and colleagues, some of whom we haven't seen in the last six years, it's been quite comical to say, "Yeah, this is my third time I've moved to Canton." Once as a student, which I totally account for, once for the first time to take the job, and now to be back with my family. So being back in Canton feels like no time has passed at all, but also that a lot of time has gone by in the same way if that makes sense.

Beth:  Yeah.

Lyndsay:  My husband, who is also class of 2010, and I had some really big milestones when we lived in Charlottesville. Jake's goal in moving there was to get his PhD from the University of Virginia and environmental science, which I'm very proud of. So we just want to plug his success.

Beth:  Congratulations Jake. Yes, of course.

Lyndsay:  We got a dog. We welcomed a bebe into our lives. We've two-year-olds. So being back in Canton, your landscape really changes as a parent and a dog owner. All of a sudden things like parks and playgrounds, large fields to run in, and biking become important.

Beth:  Sure.

Lyndsay:  So it's been interesting to see how this community, who we're very familiar with, now fits back into where we are in our lives as a family. And as a north country native I feel so incredibly biased towards the north country. I had such an amazing childhood growing up in Tupper Lake. I was incredibly lucky to have classmates and family who were active, who loved the outdoors, who instilled in me a real appreciation of place and to be kind of present in your place and whether you want to be there or not, to try to find the value in what a place can offer you. And so that's how I've always tried to experience life, whether it's in Canton or when I was abroad in Kenya or in Charlottesville. It's not always been easy, but if you find those things that you appreciate and are positive, it makes that so much easier. Relocating and moving is so challenging. Especially with a two year old.

There's just something so wholesome about the north country. two-year-old.

Beth:  Yeah.

Lyndsay:  Right. There's just something so comforting about having your car mechanic know your name or being a regular at the Friday Farmer's market and having just a little bit of a simpler lifestyle in a lot of ways. I just, I've always loved the small town experience and so it doesn't mean that in any way our life is less. It just makes you more appreciative of things that you have had or what you've experienced previously.

Beth:  I have to imagine coming back with a child, having left without a child and re-engaging with some of the faculty, staff, and community members who maybe also have had children since you were gone. And having that relationship in a completely different manner has also been a part of your experience. Am I correct to assume that?

Lyndsay:  You are correct. And the beautiful thing about moving back to a community that you've lived in previously is the challenges of making friends, finding that community almost nonexistent, and that I couldn't be more grateful for friends that we've kept in touch with over the last six years to kind of welcome us back into the fold. And then for them to have children who are also the same age as Miles, it's like, okay, you understand bedtime at 7:  30 is a hard line. Walking around with fruit snacks in your purse is now a reality. And so just so lucky, and I think it says a lot about the Canton community, the faculty and staff here, that people can say, "Oh, I haven't seen you in a while." Well yeah, it's been six years. And just have it feel like, how are you? What do you need? Does my 16-year-old need to be your babysitter? That has been, I think, really speaks volumes about the community that we have surrounding us at St. Lawrence and in the greater Canton area.

Beth:  You know, you talk a lot about community and it's gotten all of us on the production team also thinking about the community just within the admission's office itself is really interesting. We realize that a lot of the employees in admissions similar to University Advancement, have a lot of alums who work in the Office of Admissions in, We've also had a lot of admissions counselors who have been there for a long time, which is not an industry standard.

For those that don't know, I mean I think that the average lifespan is about two years within admissions and you either move on or move up and that's about it. And so it's a really special thing that St. Lawrence has these wonderful employees who have been in the admission's office for such a long time. Can you speak to what specifically about our Office of Admissions keeps people so engaged in this capacity?

Lyndsay:  I think part of it, is as alums, young or old I will say, want to keep living or reliving the college experience to some extent. Those of my colleagues that are still working in the office or have worked here and moved on to other opportunities, I think all very much believed in the experience. And so what an amazing way to sell a product.

Beth:  Sure.

Lyndsay:  To not only believe in it, but having lived it, is really valuable.

Beth:  Absolutely.

Lyndsay:  And I truly believe that every alum that has worked in our office, and I would also say in other departments across campus, wants to reiterate or educate in some way to this next generation of students that you too can have this experience. It might not look exactly like mine.

Beth:  Sure.

Lyndsay:  But you can do all of these things and here's what I did, now let's talk about how this applies to you. And we're just so drinking the juice, whatever that phrase is, we're just so in it that we want students to realize that they can have the same type of experience.

We also have an incredible student employment program. You can start here as a first-year, as a tour guide. You can work up to be a leader in that program. You could be a summer intern. And then we have a really great fellowship opportunity for students in their senior year to very much become professionals.

Many admissions counselors, and I at one point knew the exact statistical information, but I think over the last 10 years of that fellowship program, at least a dozen young alumni have gone into higher ed specifically, in admissions offices. And I think that is also, even though you're not working at St. Lawrence, also a testament to the type of experience that they have within Payson Hall, within the building that they're working in as students to say, I'm going to take what I learned and go make an impact on another student's life at another university.

Would I love for them to work for us? 1000%. But I can't keep them all. And some of these schools are big. We have alums at Dartmouth, Columbia, Rice, University of Washington. So they're getting not only a great student experience, but if you're at a student employee in our office, a really excellent professional experience that prepares them for the world after they've graduated.

Beth:  And I think that's really important when you're thinking a lot about the student experience in higher education. A lot of the times when you go to then work in higher education, you're almost kind of pulling back the curtain and seeing the Wizard of Oz behind and seeing how the inner working's kind of work. When you're able to give students a taste of that as a student, I think it would make the experience less jarring. Because I think it is fair to say that for some people, when they learn about business decisions, whether it's at St Lawrence or in any other place, it can be a little jarring for them to realize, "Oh, this is how things have to run." And I think what's great about having those fellowship experiences and having internships available and having these abilities for people to understand how higher education works, not only does it prepare them to be excellent administrators within higher education institutions, but it also helps them to be very engaged alums.

It allows them to better understand the problems and help us maybe be a problem solver, maybe volunteer and raise their hand and say, You know what? I think I know something about this. I can be of help for the university.

So while I think about that, it kind of makes me realize that when you're recruiting a class, you're kind of helping to shape what the next Laurentian legacy is going to be, whether it's through the students that come to work for you as students or what they do after they leave.

I know that this is kind of a big question, but how do you keep in mind this idea of the Laurentian legacy when you are recruiting a class? Is it a part of the messaging that you're doing or is it maybe subconscious?

Lyndsay:  It's such a good question. It might be one of the best questions I've ever been asked about my role and how it connects directly to the Laurentian experience. I think that the right student, singular, or the right class, much harder, can truly leave a lasting impact on a university. I do believe that.

I don't think though, in our day-to-day, we're super conscious of that.

Beth:  Sure.

Lyndsay:  I think that we're very aware of the key characteristics and values that we need at a small highly residential liberal art experience. Kind of going back to what we talked about at the beginning. And it only takes one student, or one group of people, to really start a movement. And thinking back to when we were students, there's so many things that are woven into the St. Lawrence fabric now that we didn't have.

Beth:  Absolutely.

Lyndsay:  We didn't have a New York City semester program, we didn't have a sustainability farm, we didn't have a Thailand program, because if we did, I would've gone. And so there's been a lot of programmatic changes, which are faculty and staff driven, absolutely. Survival driven to some degree as well. You have to remain relevant in 2022 and beyond to this next generation of students who's, as we've discussed, are already experts in some things. But we also have to recognize the voice of our students. And that voice of change, I think, comes from them or our alumni, which I'll also take credit for, Because I admit, they admit they start in the Admissions Office. And so I don't know if I necessarily have a good answer to this besides the fact that it totally does.

And I think what's so beautiful about this next generation of students is they're not afraid to speak up about what's important to them, what type of impact they hope to have, what they hope to bring from their communities to ours. And so in some ways it makes our jobs a lot easier in going back to that concept of just being a good listener. And that comes with the ugly stuff too, right?

Beth:  Sure.

Lyndsay:  Because we do our best, to see all of the good of the person, all of who they are. But what you see on paper is not always what you get.

Beth:  Right.

Lyndsay:  And so there's that kind of component to it too.

Beth:  This could be like your reflective question, you wake up in the morning and go, "Okay."

Lyndsay:  Yeah, how does my job shape a legacy?

Beth:  How am I thinking about this today and the work that I do? No, I think that that's really important and one of the strategic initiatives that President Morris has outlined for this year and beyond is this idea of impact. This idea of not just career prep, but how are we preparing students to know the impact they want to make on the world in their community and in their own lives? And combining that with the fact, like you said, that we have students who are already thinking about that in a way that we've never had that in generations before. I think this is a really powerful time to think about what is the impact of the Laurentian legacy going to be?

When you give back to St. Lawrence, for example, you're giving through St. Lawrence to make those future impacts because you're impacting the education of each of these future leaders and such, which I think is really interesting.

Lyndsay:  I completely agree. And I love the vision. I love the question. And I think what we as a university do well is we help the students who don't have an answer to the question, really find that passion, their interest, how to apply themselves through those passions, and then have the skills to make an impact and not be afraid to do it. I think we're very good at helping students work through that process. So many students come in and think they know what they want and then they go and take a class in the diversities or the humanities or the arts and it's like a light bulb goes off. And those are the most beautiful moments of our students, I think, to just have that transformative experience and really own it, which is just so powerful. Yeah.

Beth:  Well, I need to transition. You said the words, own it. And if there's one thing Lindsay Malcolm has owned, it is the Young Alumni League. You are considered by Dennis Morreale, who has created the Young Alumni League to be the goat, the greatest of all-time young alum to have ever competed for the cup. What was the secret to your success? I feel like I'm doing a post-game recap with you. What was the secret to your success? How many years did you do it?

Lyndsay:  Oh gosh. I just feel so lucky, truthfully, to even have been included in the Young Alumni League. To even be an iota of successful, I got very lucky, just to be brutally honest, my very first draft year. I was like, "Woo, this is a good team." I'm like, "I can do this." And I felt like I used that baseline group of people, eight to 10 of them, to really understand the importance of giving back. And I think that trickled out into other classmates of ours that then did something similar.

I think working for St. Lawrence too has had a total benefit.

Beth:  Oh, sure.

Lyndsay:  So when I traveled to Chicago, or I traveled to Seattle, or I went to Boston, all these places where I could say, "I'll stay with my girlfriend Christine, or I will stay with my former roommate Katie," and draw on those connections really helped. And then always having swag, Laurentians love stuff. So a sticker, a pen, a pennant. But I also, I've always just been me. There's been no facade. There's no trick. It's just honest. And I always try to be very genuine and I feel I'm very good at dates, so I keep track of people's birthdays-

Beth:  I thought you meant dating.

Lyndsay:  ... Well, maybe back in the day, Beth, I just kind of-

Beth:  I thought you meant you were wining and dining people for participation. And I was like, "Hey. I mean, she's being open about it."

Lyndsay:  That I did not do, I will say that was not part of my success.

Just keeping track of people's lives. My grandmother actually taught me that, to pay attention to the details. And she is an amazing record keeper. She's journaled her whole life. And I'm not a journaler, but I do like to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, kids birthdays, and just those little touches, especially as we get older, I found really, really matter. And then following that up with, "Oh by the way, I'm going to be in town next week. Can I grab you a coffee or do you want to catch up?"

Beth:  Yeah.

Lyndsay:  But I think the real secret is just being totally genuine, trying to be who you are and then tying who you are to the importance of giving back, bringing it back to that impact and helping educate our classmates on how much $5 can do, how much just participation matters, just worked well for me and we have a wonderful class. I will attribute it all back to them of just really incredible people who I feel very lucky to be in company with.

Beth:  Absolutely. And while you have been chatting, Dennis Morreale has put in the chat all of your wonderful achievements. So Lindsay started the Young Alum League in 2015, was the overall champion of all the young alum classes in 2015, her first year in 2018, and was a division champion, which is the class of 2010 in 2015, '16, '17, '18, and '19. So literally every year that you were in the league, because in 2020, as we will remember, we did not do the league, which would've been our last year.

Lyndsay:  That's right. Yep.

Beth:  I am only salty about one of those years because I got second place to you and I think it was 2015 or 2016. Okay. Allie Morrow, our great classmate-

Lyndsay:  Yes.

Beth:  Did have 2020.

Lyndsay:  Good for her, that was the year my son was born. So I do remember-

Beth:  Making excuses now. "Oh, my son was born, so therefore I couldn't have won."

Lyndsay:  ... Something had to give. Something had to give. The other thing I'll say, and my classmates and my husband will attest to this, I'm incredibly competitive-

Beth:  Yes.

Lyndsay:  It doesn't matter.

Beth:  Absolutely.

Lyndsay:  Checkers, kickball, I'm out to win. And when Allie Morrow was creeping up, or Paige Freelander was creeping up or Chelsea Lloyd or Beth Dixon, I was like, "Oh, game on. Let's go." And that really definitely was part of my fuel. And also, let's just credit Denny. I mean the structure is brilliant. Take a competitive structure that we're all familiar with, fantasy football, fantasy league type thing, and challenge people in all these different ways. It's a brilliant structure and I was honored to be a part of it. Lucky to be successful in it. And just think St. Lawrence benefited from Denny's brilliant idea and making it be successful.

Beth:  And absolutely. If any of our listeners are young alums within the past 10 years and want to get involved, you can absolutely reach out to Dennis Morreale to get involved because it is a fun time. Because at the core of it, you're reaching out to classmates and connecting with them and reconnecting with them, which is what-

Lyndsay:  Exactly. Exactly.

Beth:  Lindsay, what didn't I ask you that you want people to know about you?

Lyndsay:  Well, two things come to mind. I was very, very lucky to experience the Kenya Semester program as a student. And that, I won't be cliche and say it totally changed my life, but it has shaped it incredibly.

Beth:  I'm sure.

Lyndsay:  I will continue to be a lifelong advocate for study abroad experiences, especially ones that test your limits, push your boundaries, get you out of your comfort zone, which Kenya did for me. I had been as far north as Plattsburgh New York and as far south as Orlando Florida. And so when I told my parents I was going to Kenya, my mom laughed, "Go talk to your dad." So it really, I think shaped a lot of the skill sets that I bring to work every day.

Beth:  Sure.

Lyndsay:  Of being tough and resilient and listening and advocating for my students. A lot of the things that I experience on the Kenya Program, I feel like I use day to day and just, it's an incredible program and I feel so lucky to have been a part of it.

Beth:  Fantastic. Well, we are so lucky as a university to have you, both in the role that you're in and as an alum, we so appreciate everything that you've done to give back because I truly believe that coming to work again at St. Lawrence is an honor and a privilege, but it's also a wonderful way to give back to this community, to make impacts on the community, to help shape the community for the future and make it sustainable. And you are certainly a huge part of that for the Laurentian and community. We are so excited for your first year in this executive director of admissions role, and we cannot wait to see what else you and Jake have brewing up over at Camp Malcolm.

Lyndsay:  Well, we have ideas, that's for sure. There's nothing like being inspired by small-town businesses and friends who are doing great things in the community. So we're thrilled to be back and excited to kind of get our hands dirty, not only at St. Lawrence, but also in Canton. And thank you so much for having me. I loved talking with you and sharing a little bit about my experience with you and your listeners.

Beth:  Well, we are so happy to have you. Thank you again for joining us and we will kick it out to the outro now.

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Beth:  And there we have it. Our interview with Lindsay Malcolm, class of 2010. She and Jake Malcolm, her husband, are just such a staple in the north country and it's so great to welcome them back up in Canton.

I am so excited to see all the wonderful things that she and her staff are going to achieve. As it's probably no secret, it is a very challenging time in college admissions with lower populations of students and higher selectivity across the board. It's really a wonderful time to have such a great leader like her in the reigns of the Admissions Office and staff. We have such a wonderful staff there. And I just want to give a special shout-out to all of our colleagues across campus, as well as all of our various different alumni who step up and help us out with the admissions process, whether they volunteer by helping to staff a college fair or do some off campus interviews.

So thank you all so much for making St. Lawrence such a wonderful place to be. We will be back next month with another great Scarlet & Brown interview. So until then, we'll see you next month.

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Beth:  Scarlet & Brown Stories is produced and edited by Amanda Brewer, Beth Dixon, Megan Fry Dozier and Dennis Morreale. Our music was written by Christopher Watts, inspired by Eugene Wright, class of 1949. Subscribe to Scarlet & Brown stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Consider leaving us a rating review as well. If you have a story to submit to us, you can email us at connect@stlawu.edu.

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