{"id":1572,"date":"2025-11-19T11:30:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/utia.tennessee.edu\/spotlights\/?p=1572"},"modified":"2025-11-20T12:37:26","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T17:37:26","slug":"cassie-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/utia.tennessee.edu\/spotlights\/cassie-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Cassie Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Director of Enrollment Services champions access to higher education and meaningful student experiences at Herbert<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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Where are you from, and how did your education and career lead you to the Herbert College of Agriculture?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am from Kingston, Tennessee. Going to college was always the dream, but the path there seemed steep. I am a first-generation college student and got my undergraduate degree in Human Services at East Tennessee State University. When I went to college, I didn\u2019t know exactly what I wanted to do \u2013 I just knew I wanted to help people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My senior year, I did some internships with high school outreach and decided that it was something that I could do for a little while after I graduated. It was something I could do to help students who also wanted to go to college, but maybe couldn\u2019t see how to get there, like me. I was not sure higher ed was for me. I started at Tennessee Tech University as an admissions counselor, helping students in the admissions process of college. I also started my master\u2019s in strategic leadership while working full time.  After two years there I moved to UT as an admissions counselor doing the same work, but for the land grant. While my goal of helping students was the same, the mission felt more meaningful. While I was there, I served on a search committee for the Herbert College of Agriculture and I remember even though I had no ties here, it felt like home. A few months later the position of recruitment coordinator came open. I took a chance and applied, and the rest is history!<\/p>\n\n\n

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What are some of your main responsibilities, and can you describe a typical day in your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of people say this, but there truly is no typical day here. My main responsibilities include overseeing the recruitment strategy for the college and the scholarship program. I have two recruitment coordinators on my team, and I supervise an ambassador team<\/a> of 50 students across all 11 majors in the college. I also manage the awarding of more than 200 endowment accounts. I resolve issues for student accounts, review appeals, work on new agreements, and anything related to the scholarship process of the college. I foster relationships with stakeholders, students, schools, and academic partners. I create new and innovative ways to meet students where they are and help them realize a future in agriculture, natural resources, and construction science. There truly is no day-to-day here, but my favorite days are the ones where I can walk away and know that because of me a student feels better or more capable.<\/p>\n\n\n