The College Advising office plays a critical role in the lives of our students as they look beyond their Williston Northampton School education—and this fall, a new member of the team will be helping students find their paths.
Ryan Martin joined the College Advising staff this summer as the College Advising Coordinator for Student Services. In his role, Martin will help students throughout the entirety of their college admission journey. We sat down with Martin to ask him a few important questions.
Q: Tell us a bit about you and where you’re from
RM: I’m originally from Western Massachusetts, and now I live in Agawam. I’ve been here my whole life, essentially. I graduated from American International College (in Springfield) in 2003 with a degree in communications.
Q: What did you do before you joined the staff here at Williston?
RM: Most of my career has been in education. Prior to coming to Williston, I worked in the Agawam public school system as a site coordinator for children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Prior to that I was at The MacDuffie School working in admissions as a Senior Admissions Associate. I was also at Mount Holyoke College, where I worked with international students.
Q: What was it about the College Advising Coordinator position that stood out to you when you applied?
RM: If I can help out in any way with making a college dream come true for a student, that’s amazing. Our students here end up going to a lot of great colleges, and the idea of helping them reach those destinations just makes me feel happy and fulfilled.
Q: What do you remember about when you applied for college?
RM: I didn’t really have a college advisor! I went to a public school, so I did have a counselor, but not just for college. I think here at Williston, it’s awesome that there is a whole department dedicated to college advising and helping kids get into the college of their dreams. I want to make students feel comfortable during the process, because I know it can be a stressful situation for them. I was the first one in my family to go to college, so we didn’t really know much about the process. Finding my college wasn’t an easy process, but I learned a lot in that time—I hope I can help students learn a lot about the schools they are interested in, so that the process is easier for them.
Q: Finally, tell us a fun fact about yourself.
RM: I was in commercials and advertisements as a kid. My mom sent in a picture to a local mall, and they said “this kid looks like he could be in commercials.” So I did that, and was also in a few small magazines—nothing crazy. But it was fun, and my soccer buddies when I was younger would say “oh, I saw you in a commercial last night” or “I saw you in the newspaper.” I had a lot of fun doing that—and it paid well!