- By Tina Post
- Around Town
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Wells College recently hired Michael Woody to fill the position of associate director of admissions. Previously situated in admissions offices at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, SUNY Geneseo and Daemon College, Michael comes most recently from Xerox, where he was a service and solutions sales executive responsible for providing products, services and solutions to the public service sector, including high schools and colleges in the Central New York region. He earned his A.A. degree from Community College of the Finger Lakes, his B.A. in Psychology from Keuka College, and his M.S. in Business Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. He also holds an Executive Leadership Certificate from Cornell University. Michael’s vision for his new role lies in ensuring that his young staff receives excellent training in both admissions and financial aid. Michael’s staff is receiving Admissions Counselor Basic Training (ACBT), sponsored by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. He also plans, in the near future, to have staff take training at the state level through the New York State Association for College Admission Counseling.
“Having such a young and energetic staff, guidance and direction is the key,” he explains.
A first generation college student, Michael became interested in the admissions and financial aid field when applying to college, in the course of navigating through unfamiliar admissions and financial aid forms. “The process was very stressful, and I vowed that when I graduated out of college, I would help others with the admissions process and the financial aid piece of things,” he explains.
Michael’s master’s thesis was entitled “The Ethical Ideology of Admissions and Financial Aid Professionals and How They Go Through the Decision Making Process.” He credits this work, together with his Executive Leadership Certification from Cornell University, with combining his leadership, management, and admissions and financial aid experience in a way that returned him to the admissions field in his current position.
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