In admissions, we often get so caught up in the process of the funnel that we can lose track of the individuals with whom we interact. As reliance on international admission increases, we must look at how we interact with students, agents, consultants, and families from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Our ability to show understanding and a humble, listening ear give us an opportunity to honor all with whom we cross paths and increase our personal touchpoints as we go through the admission funnel. In this session, we will look at the importance of names in various cultures, phonetic variables, how children are given names in multiple cultural settings, and where and when we can ask about how one would like to be called/identified.

Melissa Bacon, Newman School, MA