Living Aloha with Erwin Wong

Through extensive and varied experience as an admissions professional, Erwin has seen the tools of the trade evolve, but still argues that nothing replaces the importance of relationship building and connecting with students and families on a human level. Learn how Erwin embodies the motto of "Living Aloha" on this episode of WeAdmit!

Transcript

00;00;00;10 - 00;00;50;10
Janice Crampton
This is WeAdmit! by AISAP, the podcast where we share true stories from admission and enrollment professionals. I'm your host, Janice Crampton, executive director and CEO. So as we think about all things data and tracking and the big picture of enrollment management that Erwin spends so much time talking about in our podcast, one of the things I want to remind everyone is that AISAP has another summit coming up, and that's our Data to Drive Strategy Summit, an online program that will allow you the opportunity to really look at what in fact do the numbers tell us as we might be able to craft the story and craft the next step in our intentional enrollment strategy.

00;00;50;16 - 00;01;19;16
Janice Crampton
So join us November 15th and 16th for our Data to Drive Strategy Summit. For more information on this event as well as all things AISAP, go to aisap.org and learn more. Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of WeAdmit! I have the good fortune and pleasure of spending time with Erwin Wong, who is the Director of Enrollment Management at the Buckley School.

00;01;19;25 - 00;01;51;04
Janice Crampton
Erwin and I met at the recent Annual Institute that was held in Chicago this past July, and what was so funny about my initial introduction to Erwin is that I heard about him before I met him. I heard about him from another one of our AISAP friends and colleagues, Vincent Travaglione and I heard how amazing Erwin was in his work and in his, I guess, collaborative spirit.

00;01;51;29 - 00;02;27;07
Janice Crampton
And then I also heard about Erwin from AISAP’s Director of Finance and Operations. And Ron had the good fortune, I think, because you and or your team were trying to figure out the old system that we had. But Ron on occasion would say, I just got off the phone with Erwin. He is spectacular. So needless to say, as I walked on into the ballroom in Chicago and you walked by and I saw your name tag, I was like, Erwin!

00;02;28;06 - 00;02;47;01
Janice Crampton
So to be able to not only spend now this time in a much more thoughtful and intentional way rather than over a turkey roll up and, you know, a drink ticket is quite exciting. So again, welcome, welcome, Erwin to the WeAdmit! podcast.

00;02;47;10 - 00;03;07;13
Erwin Wong
Well, thank you, Janice. And I have to say I am such a big fan of yours and the whole AISAP just being affiliated with AISAP is so such a wonderful thing to be a part of. And so to be a part of this and to be a part of anything that's affiliated with the organization is truly an honor and really a joy.

00;03;07;22 - 00;03;09;00
Erwin Wong
So thank you for having me today.

00;03;09;12 - 00;03;35;05
Janice Crampton
Well, thank you so much. And, you know, I'm going to push you a little bit more. Not that that wonderful whole, dare I call it testimonial wasn't special enough. But, you know, this year we're spending some time thinking about not only the WeAdmit! podcast, but a lot of our work at AISAP in the area of sort of two key things and one is goal setting or goals and then also belonging.

00;03;35;05 - 00;03;53;02
Janice Crampton
And as you think about what you just shared about the connection that you have to this association, your association, what might you describe as being that sort of point of belonging? What has it been or how has that been demonstrated to you?

00;03;54;04 - 00;04;28;16
Erwin Wong
Mm hmm. Well, you know, I think that we're living in is it fair to say that we're living in very extraordinary times? And I think because of that, it has probably drawn us in ways as professionals and even as humanity to each other, in ways that calls for us to be a little bit more vulnerable, a little bit more collaborative, a little bit more trusting of each other in ways that pushes the envelope, that pushes the boundaries, then probably many of us have as sort of like sibling professionals.

00;04;28;16 - 00;05;06;29
Erwin Wong
And and oftentimes I do refer to us as sibling professionals because there is a certain rivalry that we have with our partner institutions in the same consortium. But we're also family too, because we can support each other and will support each other. And these are definitely times that we need to circle the wagons, that we need to come together and have these family meetings as professionals in admissions and be able to connect with one another in a spirit that draws us to be more collaborative, that gives this opportunity to dialog and to be more in tune and in touch with each other so that we can be a resource.

00;05;07;11 - 00;05;30;28
Erwin Wong
And I think that this summer at AISAP has really been that thing for our team as we tried to hit the reset button on a lot of topics and issues this year, in particular, kind of in the midst of and the already and not yet of moving away from the pandemic, but still very much in it. I think this is a great space for us to explore all that.

00;05;30;28 - 00;06;10;09
Janice Crampton
Absolutely. So, you know, I love what you just said with regard to sibling, right. Sibling schools, sibling associations. You know, what is interesting about this is there's sometimes sibling rivalry. Right. And and so if we imagine an and I'm not trying to be, you know, stirring things up, but in the work that you've done in a very competitive landscape, I mean, you're in Los Angeles, which, again, it doesn't take too long to look at a map and see probablyan arm's length away

00;06;10;09 - 00;06;33;24
Janice Crampton
you have another very strong choice for families. But how do you master and monitor the fact that we're all in this together? We're one family. But you have crazy Uncle Charlie and you have a little sibling rivalry. Tell me a little bit more about that and how you kind of manage it.

00;06;34;12 - 00;06;56;20
Erwin Wong
Well, sure. And there's a lot of layers of it. Oftentimes in this landscape, it's very interesting because we're a K-12 institution. And so our feeders are also our direct competitors, so to speak. And so it's a very interesting dynamic in how you kind of manage that relationship. But for me, I lean with relationship first.

00;06;57;02 - 00;07;17;27
Erwin Wong
And relationship means that you have to learn for ways to listen to each other and to build trust. That's the only way that you can continue to cultivate that relationship. And so to be able to trust and to get out of your natural comfort zone, so to speak, and to be able to try new things, things that maybe we haven't done before.

00;07;17;27 - 00;07;45;21
Erwin Wong
But and it's definitely a lot easier if you are kind of arriving new to the scene again. And for me, this is kind of like part two and in a very different context of L.A. Before that, I was a little bit further west in west L.A. I had this one side of my career that was there, and then I moved away, kind of grew up and and recently served in the San Francisco Bay Area for about eight years.

00;07;46;03 - 00;08;10;18
Erwin Wong
And then I arrived back phase two of sort of time in L.A. And I have to say, coming in new into this context, into this new situation where everybody is trying to sort things out, it really causes all of us to reach deep in ways to challenge ourselves, to push the envelope on that relationship by getting out of our comfort zone once again.

00;08;10;18 - 00;08;37;06
Erwin Wong
And I know that I challenge myself every day to try to reach out to others and to be more vulnerable as a professional, allowing myself to be more human with them, because I think that's what is going to take that. In order for us to reach families, we need to reach deep inside of ourselves and we need to go across the aisle and to be able to go to our sibling institutions in ways that's more collaborative, that's more creative.

00;08;37;09 - 00;09;00;09
Erwin Wong
I don't think there's any other way that we can navigate through this if we don't have that. And the beauty of organizations like AISAP is that you become that third arm, that partner that's more neutral, that can bring about opportunities for us to be face to face and to build those coalitions and to be able to cultivate our sibling relationship in a way that's more full and robust.

00;09;00;26 - 00;09;35;27
Janice Crampton
Yeah. And I think again, that as we oftentimes describe, there are common threads throughout our work to bring us back to that learning and development framework. And yet the beauty of being not only who you are as an individual, but also the beauty of being who you are as an institution, allows you to personalize it and put that that very different feel and flavor that is oftentimes called the mission in a way that does make things look varied and different.

00;09;36;05 - 00;10;01;15
Janice Crampton
And yet at the very core of it, as you said before, there are sort of dare I call it the DNA is similar, right. Picking up on that sibling or familiar aspect. You know, Erwin, as I think about and you've mentioned this already, sort of the different chapters of your professional life you started in your first admission and enrollment professional journey at a theological seminary, is that correct?

00;10;02;07 - 00;10;03;24
Erwin Wong
That's correct. Yeah. Yeah.

00;10;03;24 - 00;10;16;10
Janice Crampton
Tell me about... I'm always fascinated about how people came into this profession. Share with us a little bit about how you were introduced to all things admission and enrollment.

00;10;16;10 - 00;10;50;18
Erwin Wong
Well, I have to say that it actually began even a little bit before that kind of out of my experience as an undergrad and just having experience working with the Vice Chancellor for student services and campus life and my undergrad and just having much more intentional relationships and mentors that really included me, that really encouraged me, that saw things in myself that I didn't even see, that really kind of propelled this opportunity for me to think about this career of working in admissions and enrollment and recruiting.

00;10;50;18 - 00;11;21;21
Erwin Wong
And then you're right, that led me to a career in higher education, working at UCLA and SC and then later at, at Fuller Theological Seminary, where I held a leadership responsibility and office of 25 people at probably the largest multi denominational seminary on the globe. And that was a very interesting challenge that how do you recruit to the world, so to speak, on a shoestring sort of like budget.

00;11;21;21 - 00;11;59;24
Erwin Wong
And it was always about how do you do champagne recruiting on a beer budget and and being able to do more with less. And when you're trying to figure out what the market is, but your market is the world, so to speak, and so there was such an interesting laboratory, I think, for learning as I think about those years and how it's kind of fostered my thinking and kind of opened up my space in terms of thinking about how do I connect with other people in different contexts and different time zones in a way that comes natural to me now.

00;12;00;05 - 00;12;11;24
Erwin Wong
But certainly with that learning curve of sort of thinking about how do you recruit other people in different facets of life around the globe in different contexts and different languages? That was quite a challenge.

00;12;12;09 - 00;12;43;24
Janice Crampton
Yeah. Oftentimes people, and when I say people, I mean those in our profession, will look with a little bit of envy at schools that are well resourced, that have wait pools that are quite deep are perceived as not struggling in any way, shape or form. And I remind them that it's still really hard.

00;12;44;07 - 00;13;28;05
Janice Crampton
It's still really hard that just because they have some of the things that you would wish for, it doesn't mean that it's easier. It's just different. And I think that's a little bit of what you're also saying as you think about or reflect on when the world is your dare I call it applicant group, people say, well, you have so many people to choose from and yet you still need to battle and segment and demonstrate the value added and look at all the different ways that you can call to attention in what, again, in the spirit of your love of data but info-besity, there's just like so much out there that we have

00;13;28;05 - 00;13;56;22
Janice Crampton
to kind of drill down and find that special kernel. And as I look at your resume of sorts, if that is, you know, again, one chapter of your story, it also appears as though not only have you held a number of different roles, but you've gone from those very well-resourced institutions to some smaller places where the word scrappy might come to mind.

00;13;56;22 - 00;14;25;17
Erwin Wong
Absolutely. And I think what it has taught me is to really not take anything for granted. It's really taught me a lot about how important relationship building begins at every stage. And really, Janice, I mean, I've done it all from being a custodian to being the person that handles all the mail room operations. I mean, do you remember the days when people used to request for information on a card?

00;14;25;17 - 00;14;59;24
Erwin Wong
They would send it into a school and then you would mail out the View book or you would mail out the college catalog. And so and I remember all those processes of data entry and being able to counsel applicants or families through different situations. Even before we had an online application, we used to mail a three and a half inch floppy disks to people, to you or to coach people in terms of how to type in when you have such limited space in a hard copy application.

00;14;59;24 - 00;15;27;16
Erwin Wong
So I've seen a lot change in the last couple of decades particularly, and it's given me a huge amount of appreciation. And you're definitely right that it doesn't matter who you are, what size, shape, whatever your budget is. We all have growing challenges and needs and we all have to rise to that occasion in terms of what those challenges are going to mean as we serve families and as we serve the greater good of the institution.

00;15;28;25 - 00;15;56;03
Janice Crampton
You mentioned, and I am sitting here nodding in a very affirmative fashion about those postcards and standing at the table and people filling it out and all those other kinds of things. And sometimes those are referred to the good old days. But I think Gladys Knight & the Pips say a version of memories where it's funny how the good old days are the good old days, but when they were, we still reflected on the good old days, right?

00;15;56;13 - 00;16;03;16
Janice Crampton
Something like that. But what, in all of this that has changed, what has remained the same?

00;16;03;20 - 00;16;54;21
Erwin Wong
I think what has changed for me is just the value in people and putting them first that nothing replaces the importance of relationship building. And what I mean by that is we have gone from a very heavily inundated process of paper to digital. And I really believe that we really need a diverse plan, that kind of integrates both in today's world and always kind of investigating and reinvestigating and kind of recovering and uncovering what once was, what has been and then what might be true again, that there is nothing in today's world that we shouldn't revisit just because you just never know what might work in today's

00;16;54;21 - 00;17;22;12
Erwin Wong
market. But all for the sake of augmenting relationship building and that, you know, whatever is out there, whether it's the newest, latest thing on a CRM or what, a direct mailing or whatever that might be, I just think that if it's not about trying to reach people and families, if it's not about scratching people where they're itching, then I don't know if I want to put my time and energy and money into it.

00;17;22;12 - 00;17;27;16
Erwin Wong
It all has to be about building relationships and being more in touch and in tune with where people are at.

00;17;27;27 - 00;18;06;14
Janice Crampton
Yeah, and what's spectacular about that mindset and that understanding and that philosophy in all that you do as a manager, but also individually as you impact one person one day, each day, every day. I'm reminded of something that was written about you on the website of the Buckley School upon your arrival, as you were being welcomed and in what's so nicely stated here is that over time, in those first few months of conversation with you, that there was definitely that hint,

00;18;07;11 - 00;18;41;05
Janice Crampton
if not, then the scream and shout of your ability to understand data and analytics and to take that piece or those pieces of data and build strong and strategic partnerships and what I appreciate about not only this, this lovely write up about you, but also what I appreciate about that thinking and I'd love you to share a little bit more is that oftentimes people see data and analytics as separate from the story telling.

00;18;41;16 - 00;18;58;10
Janice Crampton
And what I'm hearing from this and also in our conversation is that you're seeing that it's a critical element of the story and that in the absence of data and analytics, you can't really even tell the story. Is that correct?

00;18;59;01 - 00;19;21;27
Erwin Wong
Absolutely. Now, let's just put one thing out there that we're never going to be 100% right, you know, unless we are in touch in attuned with every household, in every community or in our communities, we're just not going to get 100% right. And even then, I'll tell you that my wife

00;19;21;27 - 00;19;42;15
Erwin Wong
and I will put together a list for shopping. And we all have every intention on getting everything on that list. But then somehow all these other things that seem good as I go shopping will will pop into my shopping cart. So it's just all to say that we know we're all very complex and complicated, wonderfully complicated creatures.

00;19;42;28 - 00;20;05;10
Erwin Wong
And the more that we can sort of wrestle with what families, what people are thinking or what are some of those disruptors sort of in that enrollment management that we're looking at, what are some enhancements? What are some things that people are thinking about? You know, I think that having data tell the story really adds to that piece

00;20;05;10 - 00;20;28;12
Erwin Wong
as you're connecting with people. That you're getting a sense and a flavor of what is going on all the time. But you have to be very disciplined with that meaning that you've got to have a system in place and you have to have everybody invested and involved in making sure that information is reflected in whatever system that you're a part of.

00;20;28;24 - 00;20;44;12
Erwin Wong
And if you don't maintain that level of discipline and that mindset, then a lot of great information never gets to the place where it needs to be, then mined later on and uncovered as you're thinking about all the data points in terms of the season.

00;20;45;15 - 00;21;19;17
Janice Crampton
So as you think about data and the mindset of this grocery list, okay. So Erwin, I'm going to send you to the AISAP market and you need to make sure that you pick up the following critical items that every office must have on their grocery list before they get really ready to serve up the banquet. Boy, am I stretching it here with metaphors, but what are the things that are absolutely critical on that list?

00;21;19;17 - 00;21;29;22
Janice Crampton
Must haves? And then what are a couple little special little items that you might throw in there that would be your I call it the ever so popular junk food.

00;21;30;11 - 00;22;09;10
Erwin Wong
Yeah, well, you definitely need a system in place, right? You definitely need sort of the skeletal system in place in terms of how to receive that information and then what to do with it. So there has to be an input and an output and if there are some other things that sort of come by way of enhancing that through maybe some attachments that add to getting that information through surveys then that definitely can add quite a bit just in terms of adding to that elemental piece of what are essentials.

00;22;10;05 - 00;22;40;12
Erwin Wong
And you've got to figure out a way to communicate what it is that you're, how you spell out the mission of the institution. You've got to figure out whether it's that elevator pitch being able to spend time critically thinking about what it is that your school represents, what it values, what is considered a mission-aligned family to be able to spell out all that ingredients out there for people to get a sense of who you are.

00;22;41;04 - 00;23;00;18
Erwin Wong
And I think one of those enhancements would be to figure out, well, how do you cast that information out there to really be able to project that vision so that people, you know, sort of get a sense of what that is and whether or not they feel aligned to the values of your school.

00;23;01;24 - 00;23;17;08
Janice Crampton
And you probably never go to the supermarket hungry because. Right, because if you go and you're just itching and you haven't necessarily gotten that plan together, it's going to throw a lot in the cart, right?

00;23;18;05 - 00;23;40;27
Erwin Wong
Well, you definitely have to have some goals, right. You do need a shopping list at the beginning to figure out what are those things that you can build on every year. And so, again, it's not one of those situations where if you go to the market and you shop for everything at once, you're probably not going to have a very well-balanced refrigerator, well-balanced diet.

00;23;41;06 - 00;24;14;24
Erwin Wong
And everything will eventually just kind of spoil if you shop for the year. But if you build in some goals that are incremental, that really work with the growth of that enrollment management model, that mindset of what you're trying to foster and cultivate your institution, then you're going to have some goals in place that are going to be short term, mid-term, and then some long term goals that are in place that then you can also look for ways to kind of measure what those outcomes are going to be because it's that feedback loop that's really going to help you to refine your processes.

00;24;14;24 - 00;24;27;12
Erwin Wong
And I find that oftentimes every seminar or session that I go to offers a golden nugget that's going to help me to contextualize that idea to the purposes of what I'm trying to accomplish that season.

00;24;28;18 - 00;24;50;10
Janice Crampton
I love it. I think, again, that feedback loop is oftentimes that critical piece, and yet it requires you to maintain a level of stamina that once you get across the finish line, you've got to circle back and check to see if it in fact worked and so on and so on. So I really appreciate you highlighting that.

00;24;50;29 - 00;25;14;14
Janice Crampton
You know, one of the things, pivoting a little bit, but one of the things that I was interested in learning more as we think about your roles and responsibilities, it is a little bit of I don't want to say all over the place, but there is this element of common threads in different institutions.

00;25;14;14 - 00;25;55;26
Janice Crampton
But Director of Admission and Community Relations, Director of Admissions, Enrollment, Financial Aid, you have been a Director of Institutional Advancement and I'd love to know what was it about either these titles and/or these institutions that brought you to these places? You know, was it what you were hired to do? Was it, in fact, a challenge? Because, again, for many titles mean a great deal and for others, they mean nothing other than just what the school calls them.

00;25;56;23 - 00;26;12;22
Janice Crampton
And I'm just curious to go from a Christian institution in Pacific Palisades to Honolulu, where you were Institutional Advancement, and then again to the Bay Area for Admission. Tell me more.

00;26;13;09 - 00;26;39;29
Erwin Wong
Now. Well I think it has to do with mission and vision for the community and for the school, that if you feel aligned to it and that's, and I think there you know, it's really difficult at times to explain to certain members of my family what I do for a living. I think I'm pretty convinced that my mom still doesn't get it.

00;26;39;29 - 00;27;03;16
Erwin Wong
She thinks that, she has this vision of me walking around the school grounds with people showing them different things, like a computer lab, like a classroom. And she thinks that people actually pay you money to do that, that you're actually walking around school showing and giving tours all day. So I don't necessarily know that people really get it.

00;27;03;16 - 00;27;44;16
Erwin Wong
And some people with some members of my family think that I'm in sales of some sort. And it's not quite that either. But if I were to run with that, I would say that I can't sell anything unless I really believe in it. And it can't just be about tuition dollars or about budgets, but it has to be something that I really believe in, that there is this intrinsic reward that I feel that I'm being able to at times even provide space for certain families to really receive an experience that's going to be a game changer, not just for their student, not just for them as a family, but

00;27;44;16 - 00;28;26;22
Erwin Wong
it may have an impact for future generations. And certainly I live for those moments as well as serving other families that come to the school in a more traditional fashion. But certainly, I have to believe in the vision and the mission of the institution for me to be able to extend that and to be able to share that and to be able to build a relationship around that because if I'm looking at this right, it's not just a K-6 or -8 or a K-12 experience, but if I'm looking at this the right way, I'm cultivating a relationship that's really kindergarten through life in some cases, even before kindergarten.

00;28;26;22 - 00;28;53;01
Erwin Wong
Right. And I've seen it time and time again with all the institutions that I've been a part of that when you look at it from that that continuum that you were thinking about how those relationships will impact other people through time. And I just love when I go to reunion and I see alums get together and they talk about their experiences as if time really didn't pass by.

00;28;53;12 - 00;29;15;26
Erwin Wong
And yet it has. And you can see how their experiences together and their experiences from that institution has really transformed other lives because of it. And certainly, those are the moments that I think about what the mission of the institution has meant, not just for those that were on the attendance roll sheet, but also the people that were impacted because they were a part of your school community.

00;29;16;27 - 00;29;50;11
Janice Crampton
We hear from so many people and we think about their professional trajectory or journey that an individual has obviously been on. And in the spirit of that, so often we highlight the many successes. And you have truly had a number of successes. But have you had any failures? Has there been a challenge that seemed insurmountable?

00;29;50;11 - 00;29;58;02
Janice Crampton
And yet maybe you were able to either overcome it? How did you handle it?

00;29;59;14 - 00;30;05;11
Erwin Wong
Well. Well, there's quite a long list of that, Janice. I mean.

00;30;05;18 - 00;30;14;04
Janice Crampton
Isn't that funny? We tend to write, we tend to celebrate all the successes. And yet we're sort of like, well, hold it here. There are a couple of clunkers. But anyway, go ahead. I'm sorry to cut you off.

00;30;14;04 - 00;30;54;05
Erwin Wong
Yeah, no, there is there's quite a bit. In fact, that list is probably miles and miles long. I would have to say that probably early on I was probably fed with the idea that you had to maintain a certain level of professionalism. And maybe I'm showing my bias and my age. But when I was sort of growing up and sort of getting into my first job and learning about what the work world was like, I was probably fed some ideas that there was a real big separation between what was personal and what was professional.

00;30;54;16 - 00;31;19;26
Erwin Wong
And while I still believe that there are certain levels of that and filters that are true, I've learned the hard lesson, especially when you're working with people that you need to be very personal. And for me, that was a huge. In the early beginnings, over about a half of my career, I just did not invest myself personally into my work, into other people.

00;31;20;05 - 00;31;45;19
Erwin Wong
And for me, as I look back at that, until I caught that, I really discovered that that was a huge character flaw. In fact, if I let it continue, it would have been a fatal flaw. And what I encourage most young professionals that are climbing into this career is that don't leave yourself out of your professional life, that you're working and your processing with families.

00;31;45;27 - 00;32;10;29
Erwin Wong
So be a human being. Never forget what your humanity is and what it can add to that relationship building. As long as your motives are good and true and that they're in the right place, because really it's all about relationships, it's all about relationship building, and it's all about how we can help each other and be a resource to each other.

00;32;11;07 - 00;32;41;07
Erwin Wong
So I don't often think about myself in terms of being an Admissions director, but oftentimes I think of myself as a fellow parent that's just trying to help out another parent because that is very easy for me to wear. For other people, it might be a different thing in terms of if you have a professional background, if you have like a marital and family therapy degree, maybe it's kind of being a guide in helping them to, maybe it's asking questions that will help them to arrive to the right decision.

00;32;41;17 - 00;33;02;04
Erwin Wong
I don't know what that might be for others, but I know for me to be able to look at every family and every child as if they were my own and be able to not leave myself out of it. And at times allow myself to laugh and have a great time with them as if they were in my own living room.

00;33;02;13 - 00;33;24;22
Erwin Wong
I'll allow myself to cry with them if they're dealing with disappointment, despair. If you're dealing with frustration, if they're dealing with frustration about the admissions process or they're even just frustrated with me, I give them the space to do that, and I share with them even that disappointment that I feel about the process or even with myself in terms of that.

00;33;24;22 - 00;33;46;22
Erwin Wong
But just really being real in those moments I think is very helpful. And the minute that I stop allowing myself to feel, then I should probably get out of this profession because the inability to be a human being, the inability it also means it's the inability to serve others the right way.

00;33;47;13 - 00;34;36;26
Janice Crampton
Mm hmm. And what's so beautiful about what you just shared is, I think that for those of us who have been doing this work for a number of years - notice, I didn't say how many was the number, but the number of years - is that you do learn about the importance of authenticity and humanity and grace. And I think as we think about the training and the mentorship and the coaching that we're doing for those who are new to the profession, and I don't mean new just in a chronological sense, but even, you know, whatever age you are and you're entering, the absence of that piece of the puzzle, that important element really is the difference

00;34;36;26 - 00;35;12;02
Janice Crampton
between your ability to remain in this profession for a number of years and find great joy. Right? So you find great joy. I loved back in the day when we would send out, you know, remember the trays of letters that were in envelopes you like so painstakingly poured over what you put in the envelope, oh, my Lord, please don't mess up the denies with the accepts, you know, all of that.

00;35;12;02 - 00;35;38;16
Janice Crampton
Right. And we would pretend to like, okay, yield fairy dust, you know, come on. The same joy should happen if you hit “send” on a button like It is an amazing opportunity to impact a child and a family's life, but the institutions life and that's what I'm also hearing you say is like you will be sad. If you've done a good job,

00;35;38;16 - 00;35;46;27
Janice Crampton
you will be sad when that favorite candidate has decided to go elsewhere. But you also celebrate that they're going to be successful.

00;35;47;20 - 00;36;08;24
Erwin Wong
Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And that's beyond my job description, right? That is beyond sort of, it’s the mission beyond the mission, so to speak. And I have to be at a place where I'm happy for everyone and trust in the process that there is a school out there for everyone.

00;36;08;24 - 00;36;21;21
Erwin Wong
And that I'm helping all of my colleagues across the country being better at their serve and being better at living out their mission. Because that's what we should do and that's who we should be.

00;36;22;18 - 00;36;46;06
Janice Crampton
Believe it or not, that almost brings us full circle in the spirit of and that's what it is when we talk about family and that's what it is when we talk about sister institutions. Right? And that's what it means when we talk about that interesting balance of, again, a phrase that some have said we need to look at and examine for its potential ripple effect,

00;36;46;06 - 00;37;04;06
Janice Crampton
but “goodness of fit.” We as educators need to make sure that those children that we're enrolling are the right fit for the composition of our schools. And if it's just about a number. Oh, Lord, we're making a big mistake, aren't we?

00;37;04;16 - 00;37;29;09
Erwin Wong
That's right. And it's also important to remember that, you know, that doesn't come alone. But that child comes with adults and parents and guardians and other parent figures that are also part of this community. And while it can be an amazing game changer for any child, many of us also feel it's also a family experience that is part of this as well.

00;37;29;09 - 00;37;49;05
Erwin Wong
And how critically important that is to make sure that we're doing our best and tell it in terms of telling the story and making sure that there is a real authenticity to that story so that people don't feel like it's a bait and switch or tthat they begin to wonder what they signed up for.

00;37;49;23 - 00;37;50;06
Erwin Wong


00;37;50;09 - 00;37;57;27
Janice Crampton
Mm hmm. Mmhmm. What's your next challenge that you'd love to embark upon?

00;37;58;24 - 00;37;59;02
Erwin Wong
Mm hmm.

00;37;59;19 - 00;38;01;10
Janice Crampton
I sense you're a goal setter.

00;38;02;05 - 00;38;37;11
Erwin Wong
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, there's. There's quite a bit. I think that if you've been following where the world has been the last few years and maybe where we're headed towards, there is a lot that we're doing right now in terms of trying to figure out. So you were talking a little bit earlier about being data centered and a lot of it we're trying to figure out. Trying to track along the story of what our future is going to look like.

00;38;37;11 - 00;39;00;20
Erwin Wong
And we know that there are some inherent challenges that were even before the pandemic. And then the pandemic has just made things layered with a lot more complication. So it's being able to be very purposeful with the types of questions, the type of data that we're receiving, and then how that's going to inform us in of making some important decisions in the future.

00;39;01;03 - 00;39;44;16
Erwin Wong
And I think that that is not just any one particular institution, but I think it's as a whole. We just need to be better in terms of asking the right questions and being able to make some decisions as we're trying to be predictive about what is coming around the corner. And we definitely think that largely I think that it's going to be a 2 to 4 year process before we feel like we're sort of on top of this mound of data that we're trying to figure out. How people are sort of dealing with the aftereffects of the economy, public health, even trust in the educational system and process and the way

00;39;44;16 - 00;40;07;11
Erwin Wong
that it's being delivered. How we're serving families by helping them to get to know the school, or are we putting too many hoops for them to jump through? Are there certain language or cultural barriers that are still inherent in the system that we're that is just sort of a “blind spot” to us right now.

00;40;07;11 - 00;40;35;16
Erwin Wong
And that's something that I'm always worried about, that I'm not necessarily thinking about the things that are part of another person's reality, that I need to pay attention to and to make sure that that's not an inherent bias that I'm ignoring. And, you know, that's so much a big part of my world these days of making sure that parents don't feel alienated in the process in some way, shape or form when they actually should feel a sense of belonging.

00;40;35;16 - 00;40;56;29
Erwin Wong
And that I take that as a very serious charge, especially my cultural values is really about living aloha and being able to extend the aloha to people. And that aloha isn't just simply a hi or a goodbye, but that aloha is really about helping them to feel a sense of belonging in your community before they're in your community.

00;40;57;10 - 00;41;06;08
Erwin Wong
Which is why we do our best to really extend that to families as they're going through that process.

00;41;06;08 - 00;41;36;20
Janice Crampton
Okay. I know it's overused, but drop the mic. I really have to say that your motto, your mantra, a sort of value system has truly not only captured who you are as an essence, but I can also see and feel again that sort of authenticity throughout and how you present and your goals and I'm sure your management style.

00;41;37;15 - 00;42;07;26
Janice Crampton
I think I might watch your website for a job opening because I would love to have you as a manager. I mean, truly, truly. Erwin, you shared with us, in essence, your motto or your value statement. And again, I love it. Aloha. What's your get psyched song? Oh, God. On your way to school. From school to the grocery store, because apparently your wife sends you there often.

00;42;07;26 - 00;42;08;14
Janice Crampton
I don't know.

00;42;10;03 - 00;42;32;00
Erwin Wong
All right. Well, just let me tell you. So, you know, I'm old school, okay? So I’m not afraid to say that. Okay. So my go to every day when I think and sort of like what I get up for and what I live for, you know, is an old song by Earth, Wind, and Fire called September, September.

00;42;32;00 - 00;42;47;15
Erwin Wong
And I love that song because it paints a wonderful vision, right, of what September used to always mean for me as. A kid growing up that well, first of all, school never started until after Labor Day. All schools were kind of like that. Right. And there's a few.

00;42;47;15 - 00;42;50;10
Janice Crampton
What the heck happened to that, by the way?

00;42;50;10 - 00;42;53;26
Erwin Wong
I don't know. Maybe we should bring that old school idea back in.

00;42;53;26 - 00;42;56;04
Janice Crampton
I think we should. Let's start a campaign.

00;42;56;22 - 00;43;23;03
Erwin Wong
Yeah, but even now, as a professional, I've always been conditioned with some advice that, you really shouldn't stop thinking about the admission season until the second week in September. And I just think about sort of that vision of, in the chorus, never was a cloudy day. Golden dreams are shining days.

00;43;23;11 - 00;43;57;01
Erwin Wong
I mean, I think about that vision and what that finish line represents for us as an admissions office and as a community, as we're thinking about admissions and we're thinking about all the different parts to that in terms of the equations and numbers and data, I think about community building and I think about the richness and the robust nature of new families coming in, meshing with current families, and just that vision of us being one, being one family, being one Ohana, being a family of extended families to each other.

00;43;57;10 - 00;44;01;20
Erwin Wong
To me, that's the vision of September. For me.

00;44;01;20 - 00;44;40;29
Janice Crampton
Oh, Erwin, we're going to end on that, because not only is it just so wonderful to remind ourselves of so much of what you've said in these past few moments, but also because, as I think about this podcast of WeAdmit! I admit that my blood pressure has gone from one high level to a lower level. And that my concern about how we, in fact treat each other as professionals but treat each others other as schools,

00;44;40;29 - 00;45;08;11
Janice Crampton
that concern has been lessened because I hope every single person listens to what you are saying and we lather, rinse, repeat. We are family, we are sisters. We are all working for the same purpose and cause. And if we all practice a little aloha and Ohana, is that how you say Ohana? Ohana, Ohana? I apologize. We don't say Ohana a lot here in Connecticut.

00;45;08;11 - 00;45;31;12
Janice Crampton
06443. And I think I need to build it into my vocabulary a little bit more. But I appreciate you, Erwin, and I really look forward to seeing you at the Annual Institute in La Jolla little bit further south from where you are. But anyway, I again, thank you for your time, your time today.

00;45;31;12 - 00;45;32;15
Erwin Wong
And thank you.

00;45;32;21 - 00;45;34;03
Janice Crampton
I look forward to staying in touch.

00;45;34;26 - 00;45;41;10
Erwin Wong
Thank you. Likewise. Thank you so much. I'm so honored and humbled to be here today and to be a part of this. Thank you.

00;45;42;09 - 00;45;56;14
Janice Crampton
We hope you enjoyed this episode of WeAdmit! To learn more about the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals and how you can take advantage of membership benefits. Visit aisap.org That's AISAP.org