It’s funny now to think about how far down the list Gustavus was for Jenesis Tompkins ’23. The former high school class president, now a Gustavus admission counselor, recalls, “Gustavus had free busing from the Twin Cities. I was just going for the free stuff, to be honest.” She’d been touring East Coast and Chicago schools. Then the financial aid packages came in, and Gustavus was by far the most affordable. Tompkins’ script was flipped. “I was like, ‘Oh.’”
Affordability means different things to different people. What’s affordable for one family may not be for another. For Tompkins, affordability was the deciding factor. But that still didn’t mean Gustavus was the right fit. So she looked deeper. “I knew I could get involved at Gustavus,” she says, “and I was involved in everything. It was a vibe.”
She was co-president of the Pan-African Student Association; the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion co-chair for Peer Assistants; a Big Partner in Big Partner/Little Partner; and the student host for Nobel Conference presenter Dr. Daniel Eisenberg. She majored in Psychology and minored in Economics and Political Science. “My profs were like, ‘That’s the liberal arts dream right there.’”
The transition from student to full-time employee has been relatively seamless. “Adulting is about setting boundaries,” she says. One cool benefit: “Some of my professors are now colleagues and we have coffee and talk about our jobs.”
In the Admission Office, she handles group visit days—everything from logistics to communicating with chaperones. She does one-on-one family visits and also calls on high schools and college fairs—her territories are southeastern Minnesota, Dakota County, and all of Wisconsin. “I may have a little Green Bay Packer something in my office,” she says with a laugh. She flexes her approach to appeal to her prospective audience, which includes high school musicians, out-of-staters, recruited athletes, and parents who are Gustavus alumni. With first-generation students and families, she takes extra care to be understanding. “I handwrite every first-gen student a little encouragement note: ‘Hey, congratulations on making it this far. You’re doing great.’”
Tompkins has noticed three types of prospective families. “Families for whom financial aid is not a concern. Families that need it but won’t qualify for federal or state financial aid. Families who need it and will get it, but have to be sold on the liberal arts.” With everyone she meets, she remains open, helpful, and puts people first. “I say to them, ‘It’s okay if you tell me Gustavus is a no, because at the end of the day, I want you to find your place.’”