Welcome to the team, Dana and Michael!
Q&A with Carleton’s Two Newest Assistant Deans of Admission: Dana and Michael
Q&A with Carleton’s Two Newest Assistant Deans of Admission: Dana and Michael
Carleton Admissions is thrilled to welcome two new staff members: Dana Mackey ‘12 and Michael Massad ‘14. Read on to hear them reflect about their time at Carleton as a student, their time away from Carleton, and what they’re most excited for about returning to Carleton.
Q. When did you graduate from Carleton?
Dana: I graduated in 2012 as a political science major.
Michael: I graduated in 2014 and majored in Political Science as well!
Q. What were you doing before coming to Carleton?
Dana: Before working at Carleton, I spent my time pursuing a Master’s degree in Education and working at Epiphany School in Boston. Epiphany is a private, tuition-free school for low-income students from Boston neighborhoods. I taught 7th grade science for two years before moving into a more administrative role.
Michael: The two years prior to joining the Carleton Admissions Team, I worked for two years as an Admission Counselor for Southwestern University down in Georgetown, TX. The year before that I served an AmeriCorps term working as a College Completion Coach with College Forward, based out of Austin, TX.
Q. What is one of your favorite memories of being a Carleton student?
Dana: One of my favorite Carleton memories is when I requested that my friends accompany me on a winter camping trip in Northfield. I was very excited about it. Turns out, we weren’t prepared with the correct cold weather gear, making the trip very difficult. We were in our sleeping bags at 6:45pm because we were so freezing. I don’t think any of us got much sleep that night. It was worth it for the funny story!
Michael: Playing with the Gods of Plastic (GOP) senior year and finding myself lost in a world of frisbee, fun and family. I’d sometimes get so lost in the world of tournaments I would snap back to the realization that “Oh wait, I’m a college student!” Otherwise it may be all of my time spent in the DJ booth for KRLX. I had a bunch of shows and I loved getting to run them either solo or with two of my best friends from Carleton. Really, though, the best memories are the informal ones — just sitting in the lounge playing board games or hanging with your friends in the LDC after class. There is an amazing spirit of fun on this campus and I’ve loved being a part of it.
Q. Did you study abroad while at Carleton?
Dana: I studied abroad with a non-Carleton program called International Honors Program (IHP). It is a comparative urban studies program that travels to four different cities around the world. Over the fall semester, we spent time in Detroit, Sao Paulo, Cape Town, and Hanoi. I completed a comparative project on urban play spaces for low-income youth. If anyone reading this has questions about the program, please contact me! It was a great experience.
Michael: Yes! I studied abroad in New Zealand during the fall of my junior year with HECUA. My program looked at the intersection of three things: Environmental sustainability, indigenous Maori culture and government policy. It was the prefect program for me and it was actually where I started really thinking about my comps. I loved traveling all around the North Island staying on maraes and then going to Queenstown and jumping from the Nevis Bungy, the world’s third highest bungy jump!
Q. What was your experience of applying to Carleton?
Dana: I applied to Carleton early decision, so I received the acceptance in early December. When I saw the envelope in my mailbox, I surreptitiously stuffed it into my athletic bag. For some reason, I didn’t open that letter (or tell anyone that I had received it) for a full half hour. I think I was scared of possible rejection (I LOVED CARLETON!) and possible acceptance (I’M MOVING AWAY FROM HOME!). Turns out, the envelope was full of good/not so scary news! I had a great four years in Northfield and would choose Carleton all over again if I was given the chance.
Michael: Gosh, I couldn’t tell you. I bet my Mom would know better than me.
Q. If you could go back and give your 12th-grade self advice on the college process, what would it be?
Dana: I would encourage myself to be patient and more comfortable giving up control. I try to work really hard every day and then trust that good things will come.
Michael: I’m going to break the rules and say two things, one academic and one personal. First, take comps more seriously. It seems like a major pain and hurdle standing between you and graduation, but in reality it’s an amazing opportunity to do some high level research into a topic that you feel deeply passionate about. I feel like I had a great comps experience already (thank you Tun for you advising!), but I feel like it could have been so much more. Second, you did a pretty good job already! Just make sure to hug your friends and have fun.