Meet the Admission Team

“I knew I would be attending an institution where I could feel accepted,” he says, “and was confident that Rhodes would be an environment where my beliefs would be respected.”

He graduated from Rhodes in 2017 with a degree in Biology and a minor in Chemistry and headed to medical school, where he earned a Masters in Biomedical Sciences from Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. However, after his first year of medical school, Piyush re-evaluated his career priorities by focusing on his true passion of working with students. He concluded that he needed to make a change, and so took a leap of faith to give back to the school he felt had given him so much.

“Rhodes did a lot for me when I was here as a student,” he says, “so being able to help prospective students--especially those interested in Pre-Health--find Rhodes is fulfilling work.”

Piyush likes to try new restaurants around Memphis and support local sports teams like the Grizzlies and 901 FC. We would also be remiss if we didn’t mention that he bakes great cheesecakes.

While he enjoyed his time at school and received a first-rate education, he did begin looking longingly back at Memphis, finally able to see the incredible growth that the city had undergone beginning shortly before his departure.

He moved back and found a job working with youth and also doing Communications work at a local church before applying for his current position at Rhodes.

“Because I came from a liberal arts background and have a deep love for the city of Memphis,” he said, “I felt like Rhodes was a great fit for me and feel lucky to have been granted a chance to work here.”

Since joining the Rhodes admission staff, the architectural beauty of campus has continually struck him as one of his favorite aspects of the school. “It is a great privilege,” he said “to be able to look up every day and be engaged on an emotional level just by the sight of campus.”

Mac enjoys playing pickup basketball, whether with the regulars at Rhodes after work or with his buddies at his high school on the weekend. He also exhibits an avid fandom for the NBA and especially the hometown Memphis Grizzlies.

Enter Rhodes. Once Lauren visited campus and Memphis, she knew she had found the perfect blend of a small school in a big city. In her time at Rhodes, she chose an Interdisciplinary Major of International Studies and Political Science and studied abroad several times. She graduated in 2003 and immediately began her professional life in the Rhodes Admission office, where she has worked ever since. In that time she has served as a past President of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL).

Living in Memphis became a welcome change for Lauren from her New Jersey roots. “Memphis is much more relaxed and affordable than living in the Northeast,” she says, adding, “Southern hospitality really does exist.”

As she has spent more time at Rhodes, she has noticed some positive changes to her alma mater, most notably one of diversity. “The Rhodes community has become a much stronger part of the city of Memphis and has also become a much more diverse environment than when I was a student,” she says. “We recognize our responsibility and place in the city, and there’s a mindset of working towards an ever more inclusive and welcoming community on campus.”

Lauren enjoys traveling extensively and exploring downtown Memphis with her husband and young son when she’s not recruiting students to Rhodes from all over the world.

Zoe knew that access to professors was one of the premier reasons she wanted to attend Rhodes. “I chose Rhodes because I really thrive in a small classroom setting where you can get to know your teachers and peers,” she says. She graduated with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Music before joining the college’s admission department.

In addition to the opportunities in the classroom, Zoe feels strongly about the diverse communities on campus, loves talking with members of the Rhodes community about the legacy the school has created, and appreciates the location in her growing hometown of Memphis. To use a baking metaphor, it’s a perfect confection.

For students currently applying, Zoe advises them to look outside of all of the classes the school offers. “College is not just classes,” she says. “Make sure that the school has all of the extracurriculars or clubs you're interested in, too.”

“The overnight experience allowed me to see how close Black students were with each other on campus,” she says, “which was pertinent to my decision. I had a great time going out to campus events with them and knew that in addition to living in the center of a city, I could see myself making friends on this campus.”

After graduating with a major in Political Science and minor in International Studies, Sydney joined the admission office at her alma mater. She aspires to expand Rhodes’ reach by “informing students, like myself, who would not have heard about the institution intentionally.”

Outside of the office, Sydney enjoys interacting with the natural world. Hiking, swimming, and camping are a few of the ways she finds peace in nature.

She credits the students who hosted her on overnight visits as an important factor in her decision to attend Rhodes. “They represented the true warmth, authenticity, and intelligence that I still know to be true of our students today,” she says. Once she chose Rhodes, she declared a major in Psychology and graduated in 2002, and subsequently received a Masters of Science in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University.

Megan found her way back, after spending some time abroad in Thailand, to her alma mater’s admission office, where she has had a hand cultivating and reinforcing for the last 11 years the same sense of community she felt when she visited as a high school student. Her dedication to the student body of Rhodes can be seen most directly in her relationships and interactions with current students, many of whom she recruited herself.

Megan has enjoyed making a home out of the city of Memphis, which she says has an unapologetic authenticity. “It has long embraced its faults and challenges,” she says, “but is finally starting to celebrate its strengths and opportunities.” When she gets time away from the many duties of being Director, she likes to run the trails in nearby Overton Park and also loves bringing her young son to campus with her husband.

"I was attracted to Rhodes after retiring from a career in Disaster mitigation and management with the American Red Cross," says Jo. "After retirement, I came home to Memphis to be close to my three children and two grandchildren. I was looking for the perfect fit in a position and found it at Rhodes. I have a great work group, loving community, and satisfying work. Since then, my daughter has attended and graduated from Rhodes, but I like it so much, I am still here! My favorite part of working with Rhodes is the supportive environment that we all have, regardless of our status as student, faculty, or staff. I also love to make the visit as fun as possible! 

Frequently, you will see one or more student workers congregating behind the front desk where she coordinates campus visits, not because these young people have to be there (and they don’t), but because they enjoy her company.

Jessie arrived at Rhodes at the beginning of 2019 after graduating from Mississippi State University with a degree in Communication and a minor in Theatre. Though she was new to Rhodes, she quickly began to feel at home. “From my first day, everyone was very welcoming and inviting,” she said. Now that she has settled into Memphis, she enjoys taking advantage of parks and trails where she can run or bike, but also can be found browsing for new reads at the Benjamin L. Hooks Public Library.

Enter Rhodes. Once Lauren visited campus and Memphis, she knew she had found the perfect blend of a small school in a big city. In her time at Rhodes, she chose an Interdisciplinary Major of International Studies and Political Science and studied abroad several times. She graduated in 2003 and immediately began her professional life in the Rhodes Admission office, where she has worked ever since. In that time she has served as a past President of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL).

Living in Memphis became a welcome change for Lauren from her New Jersey roots. “Memphis is much more relaxed and affordable than living in the Northeast,” she says, adding, “Southern hospitality really does exist.”

As she has spent more time at Rhodes, she has noticed some positive changes to her alma mater, most notably one of diversity. “The Rhodes community has become a much stronger part of the city of Memphis and has also become a much more diverse environment than when I was a student,” she says. “We recognize our responsibility and place in the city, and there’s a mindset of working towards an ever more inclusive and welcoming community on campus.”

Lauren enjoys traveling extensively and exploring downtown Memphis with her husband and young son when she’s not recruiting students to Rhodes from all over the world.