Welcome to My Freshman Year

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Hello friends and fans of Hopkins Interactive! My name is Zakaree Harris and I am the newest addition to the Johns Hopkins Admissions Staff. To give you a bit of background: I grew up in Warren, Rhode Island and went to Mt. Hope High School (a question every admissions person tends to ask). I did my undergraduate work in psychology and human development at Connecticut College. I also played collegiate basketball there (Go Camels!). I then did my M.A. in organizational management at The George Washington University while I worked in their undergraduate admissions office.

I was at GW for almost four years before I decided to make the move to Hopkins. Similar to high school students leaving high school and attending college, I was nervous and anxious about this new opportunity. But, it was the best move for me to make and it has been a tremendous experience thus far (just like the Hopkins Freshman feel right now)!

My role as senior assistant director at Johns Hopkins will be to coordinate our multicultural recruitment. I will be an advisor to our Multicultural Student Volunteer group (MSV) and will coordinate our Baltimore Scholars Program (more to come about this in a future blog). My two biggest projects will be the Hopkins Overnight Multicultural Experience (H.O.M.E.) program and the Discovery Days program. During the H.O.M.E. program, we invite high school seniors from across the country to do an overnight program with our current students (October 21-23). Disco Days (as it is commonly referred to around the office) is a similar program in April where we admitted students are invited to campus for an overnight experience. My travel territories will include the states of Oregon, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Maryland.

My “freshman year” has been going well so far, but I think that being the new person in any situation can be difficult. The environment is unfamiliar and the people are new. All of a sudden, you are thrown into a situation where you are faced with building new relationships with people and learning a different culture. For me, that is part of the fun of being “new.” I am able to ask questions and immerse myself in a place where I don’t know everything. I can sit back and listen to my colleagues talk about things that will help me grow as a professional and as a person. I really have enjoyed learning about my new colleagues and their past experiences in the admissions field!

Many of the freshman on campus now are probably feeling exactly the same way as I am. Many of you still in high school may be nervous about the prospect of finding yourself in a new environment for four years. If I can give you any advice, it would be to enjoy being “new.” Don’t let it stress you out, but maximize how much you can learn by just listening. Try not to feel overwhelmed with the prospect of being in a new city or meeting new people; just be yourself and everything will fall into place.

I have been here for about two months now and everyone I have met from my fellow staff members to current students has been nothing but helpful to me in my arrival to campus. I certainly wish all of you the best of luck in the college search and I hope to welcome you to your freshman year very soon!

2 Comments

• By Sarah, September 13, 2010 @ 12:44 PM

  Love it! Great HI entry :)

• By Mark Butt, September 16, 2010 @ 8:15 AM

  Woo hoo!! Zak is here!

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