UTA’s mission: Create an impact that lasts generations
“An orchestra conductor doesn’t have to know how to play every instrument, but they know exactly what their role is, and they have a keen understanding of when the piece doesn’t sound right or when an instrument needs to be adjusted,” she said. “When you take all of the components in the enrollment process—the students, the departments, the faculty, the staff, the systems, the communication—that is one massive orchestra that needs to deliver the same piece of music.”
Enrollment management is concerned with nearly every aspect of the student lifecycle at UTA, from recruitment and admission to retention and progression to graduation—to even postgraduation outcomes. As vice president for enrollment management, Havens Gerardo said her job, while mostly behind the scenes, is making sure all those pieces are working optimally.
A native of Honduras who immigrated to the United States to attend college in 1989, she sees the work as a natural progression of her years of education and shifting career ambitions. Before her career in enrollment management began, she racked up accomplishments in elementary school teaching, radio and TV production and environmental interpretation, which is the practice of creating curated exhibitions and educational programming that greet visitors at national parks.
And while those careers may look disparate, Havens Gerardo sees a common thread: a focus on storytelling.
“When you do storytelling well, it involves both teaching and learning,” she said. “It’s the same in student recruitment, for example. In recruitment, we’re curating a story, an experience that gives us common ground, an experience that we all share, one that is authentic. If we do it right, we’ll make a real connection that lasts.”
Havens Gerardo said that operationally you have to start with deploying foundationally solid strategies and back them up with data.
“I can’t make anybody do anything,” she said. “My only opportunity is to compel people, and I do that by telling a story—one that starts with data. It can tell us where we are, where we’ve been and where we’re going. Data makes sure we’re all reading from the same sheet of music.”
Since joining UTA, Havens Gerardo, who has built her career in higher education around working with institutions focused on access, has seen nothing but possibility in what’s ahead for the University.
“UTA has the right ingredients for reaching the next level: leadership that has a firm vision and a campus that is hungry to fulfill the University’s mission. The work we’re doing here together can impact lives immediately and for generations into the future,” she said. “That’s the only thing that makes real change in our society, and it’s exciting to be at a University that makes such a thing core to its mission. That potential for impact is what drives me.”
- By Amber Scott, Marketing, Messaging and Engagement