Tracy Bleeker
I grew up on a small farm outside Asheville with my parents and three younger sisters. Although I have lived many other places (Wilmington NC, Breckenridge CO, Missoula MT, Boca Raton FL, Northern Japan, and Boston MA) for school and various working vacations, I always come back to Asheville, back to that farm, and back to Warren Wilson College. There is simply no other place that is home to me.
I first came to work at Warren Wilson in 1999 as an admission counselor. I thought this would be a good "real job" to have for a year or two to pay the bills, while I pursued my writing and finished up my thesis for my MFA in Creative Writing from UNCW. I ended up staying much long longer than I intended (5 years) just because I liked being at Warren Wilson and working with students so much.
I left to go back to graduate school for a Master of Education from Harvard in Higher Education, mainly because I was afraid of being complacent. (Because I liked my job and the people I met so much, it almost felt "too easy.") I felt that I needed to struggle a little and push myself. While I was in Boston, I caught myself talking about Warren Wilson non-stop in my classes and to my professors and friends.
The position of Assistant Director of the Annual Fund opened up right after I graduated and I thought: 1) it was something I would be good at; 2) it was a field I could grow in (there are so many non-profits in Asheville); 3) I understood a real need for money for student scholarships; and 4) I felt that I could make a compelling case for giving to Warren Wilson because I truly believe in the education we offer here.
However, I began to realize, while listening to speeches at Philanthropy Day, Association of Fundraising Professionals meetings, and Council for the Support and Advancement of Education conferences by local and regional fundraising greats, that I did not picture myself as a fundraiser for life. I saw the path I needed to take to be a VP of Advancement one day and it did not feel right. I knew it wasn't my path. But I'm really happy to have had this experience because I feel like I learned so much more about the College's history, about non-profits, and about fundraising. I also met so many amazing Warren Wilson College alumni and friends and heard their stories. I now know how graduates of all generations attribute so much of their successes and happiness in life to their years here.
When a position opened up in admission this summer, my decision to transfer back (like my decision to come back to Warren Wilson College after the completion of round two of graduate school) was immediate, and one I made with my heart, not my head. I simply missed the people I had worked with in that department and I really really missed working with students. Warren Wilson students are such amazing young people with so many great skills and talents and hopes and dreams and ideas and wanderlust and vision.
Throughout the next year or couple of years, I look forward to meeting you and learning more about you. And, of course, telling you all about Warren Wilson College!