Winning the Future with Davion Fleming

From Division 1 college athlete to Director of Admissions, Davion Fleming has an established career of crafting the future of independent school communities by focusing on WIN (What's Important Now). As a member of AISAP's Board of Directors, Davion offers insight into the tremendous impact of admission and enrollment professionals and how this global association can better support them.

Transcript

00;00;00;10 - 00;00;12;13

Janice Crampton

This is WeAdmit! by AISAP, the podcast where we share true stories from admission and enrollment professionals. I'm your host, Janice Crampton, Executive Director and CEO.

00;00;14;16 - 00;00;57;00

Janice Crampton

Join me today on this episode of WeAdmit!, where my guest is Davion Fleming, who's the Director of Admissions at Lick-Wilmerding High School in beautiful and sunny California. The thing about Davion that really has been a takeaway is he's very much of a futurist. You certainly know that data helps to show us what's happened in the past. But as we think about Davion's work and sort of his mindset, he really has fashioned himself as one who sets goals, thinks about vision, looks and identifies what the challenges and the opportunities are to obviously think and avoid risks and problems.

00;00;57;15 - 00;01;22;24

Janice Crampton

But he always thinks about who are the students and the community of the future. Interestingly enough, Davion kind of picks up on a theme here at AISAP in this month and season of “Yes, we're in a moment,” but we're so excited to think about the future with our Annual Institute in June in La Jolla, California. Enrollment Marketing Summit that's taking place in April.

00;01;23;00 - 00;02;01;13

Janice Crampton

Our Directors Summit that also takes place in April. And we really hit the road as a team and a staff. Seeing you all in your regional areas in sort of a zip code near you. So join me with Davion Fleming as a futurist and join AISAP in the future. So hello everyone, and welcome to this episode of WeAdmit! the podcast where we talk about the trials and the triumphs of those in the admission and enrollment profession.

00;02;01;21 - 00;02;44;27

Janice Crampton

And in this episode, we have the good fortune of speaking to one of our esteemed board of directors, Davion Fleming, who is the Director of Admissions at Lick-Wilmerding High School in the San Francisco, California area. And the reason I mention all of this is because as we talk about trials and triumphs of an individual in the profession, what's great about today's conversation is that, Davion, I'm going to have you speak on behalf of the wonderful Board of Directors and the seat of leadership, because obviously in the work that we're doing, we hope that we can deliver in answering those questions of what is the problem or what is the pain point

00;02;44;27 - 00;02;58;04

Janice Crampton

and how we can as a global association, assist in being value add. So there's no pressure in this call, Davion. You just have to answer for the entire profession and the entire board of AISAP. How do you like that one?

00;02;58;18 - 00;03;10;01

Davion Fleming

I am well used to the pressure. I mean, I played college football and so there's a lot of pressure I think on those Saturday mornings. So I think I'm used to it. So I'm ready and game.

00;03;11;07 - 00;03;24;09

Janice Crampton

Are you kidding me, you played college football? Now right out of the gate, we have the opportunity to digress, dare I say, from inquiry to app and hear a little bit more about this side of you. Tell me more.

00;03;25;01 - 00;03;51;16

Davion Fleming

Yeah. So I played football at Northwestern University for four, five years. It was probably the most fun of. No, not the most fun or pretty close, the most fun I've ever had. So yeah, Saturday mornings were engrossed with football and still to this day, I think Saturdays and Sundays are very football focused, even though I should be doing admission stuff.

00;03;51;27 - 00;03;52;05

Davion Fleming

Haha.

00;03;53;00 - 00;04;14;01

Janice Crampton

Wait. Now hold it. You have to acknowledge that we do need to have what do they call that, the balance of life. So you can't be doing admission and enrollment all the time. Although, let's face it, I think for those of us in this profession, you know, you can be doing your grocery shopping and find yourself interacting with an applicant in the frozen food section and doing a little assessment.

00;04;14;01 - 00;04;32;14

Janice Crampton

So who am I kidding? But so you played collegiate football. Was this something that could have been the potential of, you know, NFL status or did you see that there was an arc to your work there and it just became the platform for transferable skills?

00;04;33;16 - 00;04;55;27

Davion Fleming

Yeah. No, I it was definitely an arc. I think that, you know, going there, it was an opportunity for me to one like play football and I love playing football but also to get an education at the same time. So I was the first person in my family at the time to go to college and go to a four-year university.

00;04;56;11 - 00;05;08;05

Davion Fleming

So it was just a really great opportunity for me to do that. And while I got to do that, I got to play football. And so I think that there was kind of NFL aspirations at one point in time, but I was like, this is this is good.

00;05;09;07 - 00;05;30;05

Janice Crampton

Yeah, yeah. There you go. I have to say, and many of our listeners have heard me reference our two children, who, in fact, are not children. They're now grown men. But as one stands, six-eight and the other six-nine, they did not... Well, let's just say their height was the driver of the sport that they played.

00;05;30;05 - 00;05;56;14

Janice Crampton

Where I'm going with this Davion is this idea notion of when they played collegiate ball that was the platform and the opportunity for them to get an incredibly powerful and life changing academic experience. And it sounds as though you really have looked at this football experience, athletic experience as the same or similar platform.

00;05;57;10 - 00;06;18;09

Davion Fleming

Yeah, I would agree. But, you know, one of the beautiful things about sports in athletics is it teaches you so many lessons, right? And so there are a lot of things that I've taken from my football career that I apply every day to my profession now. Right. Like there's a lot of ups and downs in the football season and that happens in the admissions season.

00;06;19;15 - 00;06;29;08

Davion Fleming

And so, you know, you kind of take those with you. And there are things that my coach says now that is kind of in my mind or kind of echoes, you know, ten, 15 years later.

00;06;30;16 - 00;07;00;28

Janice Crampton

You've spoken just now about kind of firsts for you and your family. And you think about the role that you play now in truly changing lives. Can you just, again, maybe share a little bit more about how that perspective that you have on your own personal experience now impacts? Let's call it operational duties and tasks or mentality towards how you at Lick-Wilmerding retain and even manage admission and enrollment.

00;07;01;19 - 00;07;25;13

Davion Fleming

Mm hmm. Well, that's a great question for me. I just kind of have a can do attitude. I think that and that's the kind of energy that I try to bring every day to the office and that’s the same type of energy that I try to bring to the admissions season. I do try to pace myself as much as I can because again, in a football game, you can't show all of your cards too early.

00;07;25;22 - 00;07;47;20

Davion Fleming

You have to kind of hold out there a little bit something, you know, in basketball game or in a baseball game, but, you know, I try to do that. And I think that that's also appreciated by families. Right. It's a really stressful process for a lot of families going through it, especially here in the Bay Area and I'm sure the same in other places.

00;07;47;20 - 00;08;12;21

Davion Fleming

But you don't want to bombard folks with too much information too quickly and you want to really kind of, you know, unfold or unveil certain parts of your school or certain parts of your community one piece at a time. So that at the end of the process, once they get this full, well-rounded kind of experience and understanding of the school, I feel really great about the schools that they're applying to.

00;08;12;21 - 00;08;47;18

Janice Crampton

And I think what's interesting as well about the not overwhelming a family is the talent and the skill set of listening, right? The individualization of each experience requires you to not just push a whole bunch of stuff out there and then see what might stick, but to truly lean in and listen in a way that then the next piece that you send to them or share with them will be a reflection of what they've said.

00;08;47;18 - 00;08;54;06

Janice Crampton

Exactly. So yeah, very powerful. It's almost like the special teams element.

00;08;55;24 - 00;09;21;29

Davion Fleming

Right. Right, right. Right, right. No, it's also something that I'm really sensitive to because of my background where I didn't know anything about independent schools until I went to college and started my career in admissions. And so when I look at our process or when I look at any given school's process, I try to look at it from a lens of not knowing anything.

00;09;22;00 - 00;09;47;01

Davion Fleming

Right. And so how should I, again, kind of unveil each part of the process in a matter such that anyone can kind of understand it. Anyone can follow along. Right? It's kind of like a novel, right? You can't put the climax at the beginning. You have to kind of work your way to getting there.

00;09;48;05 - 00;10;21;13

Janice Crampton

Well, and as you've mentioned, again, from your experience growing up and where you are now, tell me how that work with the athlete ambassador program came into play because it's fascinating to me to think again about your positive messaging and your goal setting and how, again, you've had this not only be represented in volunteer roles and responsibilities, but in who you are as a person.

00;10;21;13 - 00;10;33;04

Janice Crampton

And I'm just wondering if you could share a little bit about the impact that all of that has had on where you are today and how you, in fact, even got involved with such a very interesting and amazing organization.

00;10;34;00 - 00;11;14;13

Davion Fleming

Yeah. No, it was for me, it was always about giving back, right? And for me, it was always about finding the student or finding the families that were like me and sharing my experiences with them and helping open the doors, the same doors that other folks opened for me. And so as I think about my role in admissions or my role being a volunteer or ambassador, a lot of it just stems from finding other kids like me who love to learn, who didn't always have the opportunities to be in a classroom where my teachers necessarily care whether or not I did well right?

00;11;14;13 - 00;11;22;10

Davion Fleming

I give them those types of experiences because those are the things that I truly and dearly wanted growing up.

00;11;22;10 - 00;11;36;27

Janice Crampton

So did you. And I may have misunderstood here when we were chatting a little bit about the college and university that you attended. So you attended Northwestern and played collegiate ball there?

00;11;37;19 - 00;11;38;24

Davion Fleming

Yeah, I did.

00;11;39;14 - 00;11;43;14

Janice Crampton

So. So you're one of those solid D1 athletes, my friend?

00;11;44;22 - 00;11;47;22

Davion Fleming

Yes. I think at the time I was I don't know about now.

00;11;49;05 - 00;12;04;17

Janice Crampton

Well, you're a certified personal trainer. My gosh, I can imagine that you're not exactly you know, we don't think Davion as a couch potato, although, again, if you're watching those football games on a Saturday or Sunday right now, I'm teasing.

00;12;04;18 - 00;12;23;18

Davion Fleming

Well, you got to. I get in, I usually get in my workouts before before I sit down all day, much to my wife's chagrin. At times she always wants me to do some stuff. And so I go and do it right. Best believe my phone is right next to me so I can check scores and highlights.

00;12;23;18 - 00;12;43;14

Janice Crampton

That's so funny. Well, and let me also again, because of that attention to detail and the love and the passion that you have for obviously your level of athleticism, it's interesting that I was saying a little tongue in cheek and you and your response was, no, I promise you, I get my workout in ahead of time. I'm like, “There's no judge.”

00;12;43;19 - 00;13;02;26

Janice Crampton

Did you notice that? Did you notice? And you're like, I know I got to work at it. I'm like, No serious. Like, it's okay. Yeah, coming from someone who probably needs a good personal trainer, Davion, that can be part of your board responsibility and the care and feeding of your executive director. It's like getting her up and moving.

00;13;02;26 - 00;13;06;17

Davion Fleming

But hey, I’m all for it. I’m a team person. Just let me know what you need.

00;13;06;17 - 00;13;36;02

Janice Crampton

There you go. There you go. Well, as you know, Team AISAP is something that we use with great frequency. But back to you. So you’ve, again, been a coach and a mentor, not only for students who may or may not through the various volunteer organizations, may be a reflection of underrepresented communities. But as you've gone from Northwestern and that admission work and I was similar, I did college admission before I came to this side of the desk.

00;13;36;11 - 00;13;44;27

Janice Crampton

What brought you and what was appealing about that transition of higher ed to that, again, independent school space? How did you make that leap?

00;13;45;14 - 00;14;11;14

Davion Fleming

It really kind of stemmed from just learning about so many different schools and having my mind open to what school could be. And really, I'm enamored with the mission and the visions of these schools. And so when I was working at Northwestern, I had the pleasure of over the course of three admissions cycles, three or four admissions cycles.

00;14;12;08 - 00;14;40;00

Davion Fleming

I ran applications in like the New England area. I read applications in the South and mostly in Florida. And I also read a lot of applications in the San Francisco Bay area as well, and Seattle and Portland. And so I got this like really great understanding of independent schools across states or rather on the coast. And I was like, these are so amazing.

00;14;40;04 - 00;15;04;16

Davion Fleming

And I really loved how each of the schools really kind of stood for something and their values were very clear. And so I wanted to be a part of an organization, really want to be part of an institution with whom I believe in their mission. I believed in their vision and their kind of their approach to education and who they want to be aspirationally as well as I was looking for that values alignment.

00;15;05;08 - 00;15;10;18

Davion Fleming

And so I think that I've been able to find that in the last two places that I've found.

00;15;11;08 - 00;15;36;08

Janice Crampton

So you were at Nueva and then obviously your work now at Lick-Wilmerding, that college counciling perspective. Sometimes people call it shipping and receiving, right? Admission and then college counseling. What would you say are some of the transferable skills that you might want to have people think about and reflect as they are potentially thinking about their career change?

00;15;37;05 - 00;16;02;19

Davion Fleming

I think it goes back to listening. You really have to be a great listener. I think in our profession as well as if you want to do college counseling, we have to sit down and listen to folks. Right. I think I also think it's just being able to just knowing yourself really well and also kind of understanding, you know, what your values are and in that kind of values match.

00;16;02;19 - 00;16;32;21

Davion Fleming

And so one thing that I do with my team now and with a lot of mine, a lot of the students that I work with, whether that's our ambassadors or our interns, I usually have them go through kind of a values assessment or a values-finding exercise so that they can keep themselves grounded. And here are the three, four things that I care the most just about, right? That the school or institution cares the most is about finding those connections.

00;16;32;21 - 00;16;56;26

Davion Fleming

Right? Because I think that those things kind of inspire you to continue doing your work at the hardest times of the school year, on the hardest times in the admission cycle or whatever it is that that one is doing. And so I know that for me it's on those. And the middle of February, when I'm locked up in my room, in my house and I'm reading applications, it's not easy, right?

00;16;56;28 - 00;17;13;25

Davion Fleming

But the thing that keeps you moving forward and keeping believing in the school that I work at is that values piece. And so I think kind of going through that on an annual basis is pretty is my recommendation for a lot of folks, especially folks who are just beginning in this profession.

00;17;14;23 - 00;17;42;23

Janice Crampton

Yeah. What I have appreciated about this line of our conversation today is that values alignment and the opportunity, as you just said, that your values align with an institution and vice versa. Have you ever been faced, you know, in a moment or a situation where you see that they aren't aligned? And if so, how did you kind of work around that or through that?

00;17;43;25 - 00;18;24;14

Davion Fleming

I think that there have been some times when that's happened, and I think that's, you know, like any marriage or relationship, you have to kind of learn to compromise and I don't know, work your way around that, right? And again, kind of come bond again over the over the shared values. Right. And so it's not necessarily the case that when I kind of removed myself from the situation, I found that the value that this maybe this other person or the institution had, it wasn't the case that I did not value those things.

00;18;24;14 - 00;18;47;23

Davion Fleming

It just wasn't a top priority for me or vice versa. It was still kind of appreciating the, you know, the value or the place that the other person was coming from and using my strengths and my values to to still kind of uphold them so that we can come to some sort of agreement. So we're in the middle, right, or acquiescent at times.

00;18;49;07 - 00;19;23;23

Janice Crampton

Do you believe that that when you're a director of an office, you have a little more, I guess, say or latitude in getting those values more closely aligned? That's a question. Do you think that, and I guess where I'm going with this, let me be clear about where, again, my line of thinking. You know, you've mentioned the importance of this assessment of values when you are a relative newcomer to the profession, and yet you need to do it on a regular basis.

00;19;24;02 - 00;19;44;27

Janice Crampton

There's something to be said for if you're just starting off in this profession and I don't mean starting off as a director, but I mean, you know, you've just started and you're new to the profession, a new to your position. You need to obviously identify what your values are. But if the institution’s values don't align with them,

00;19;44;27 - 00;20;08;00

Janice Crampton

then perhaps you're at the wrong school because how can you be a change agent is my question. And then again, I'm shifting now to and now you're a Director of Enrollment, you have a little bit more influence in, you know, your ability to maybe change. So I'm laying out, you know, scenario, so to speak. And I would love for you to comment on that.

00;20;08;12 - 00;20;14;04

Janice Crampton

You know, am I correct in that assumption or do you think that we're overlooking the, “No matter where you are?”

00;20;15;14 - 00;21;04;16

Davion Fleming

You know, I think that the hardest thing that I've had to reconcile with the last year and a half, as I have moved into being a director and then now I serve on the board at AISAP, and I serve on the board of the Peninsula School is there are... it's really it's kind of really hard to be in these administrative positions because there are times in which what is best for the school and what is best for the institution may not align with what your personal values are, or they may not always align with, or they may not always be what's best for, you know, a single individual.

00;21;04;18 - 00;21;35;13

Davion Fleming

Right. And I think that a lot of us take a lot of pride in taking care of our teams, taking care of a student or taking care of our volunteers or taking care of, you know, fill in the blank. Right. But it may not always be what's in the best interest of the school or institution. And so it's our job as a director, whether that's important level or, you know, kind of administrative about the school to try your best to reconcile those two things and balance those two things as best as you can.

00;21;35;27 - 00;21;38;29

Janice Crampton

What's your methodology for reconciling that?

00;21;39;13 - 00;22;08;15

Davion Fleming

One of the things that I am really good at, I think, or I have a natural aptitude for, is kind of seeing the big picture and seeing kind of long term vision. And so I think that for me, it's as long as I know what that position is, as long as I kind of can see that if for me I am able to kind of reconcile that and I'm able to from there kind of explicate to other folks why decisions were made the way that they were.

00;22;08;25 - 00;22;52;21

Davion Fleming

And so I come to that understanding, I think, you know, fairly quickly without too much trouble. And so, you know, while I may not always agree with an individual decision, I can understand the why behind it. And for me, that is settling because then through all of that, I'm able to see, oh, actually what I pretty much rationally thought about this decision where maybe I thought it didn't it wasn't valuable but it actually was, right? But my positionality within the school or position nowadays in my role right I might be able to see the kind of bigger picture that perhaps you may see, Janice or AISAP.

00;22;54;09 - 00;23;20;22

Janice Crampton

You know what I love about again, this mindset and the sharing that you're offering our listeners today and me is you just said it that longer view vision of things that so often we are asked to serve in these roles and in these capacities because of our values and because of how those values have then been demonstrated in successes.

00;23;20;26 - 00;23;53;26

Janice Crampton

Right. But sometimes it's also because of how you handled challenges or missteps. Do you have an example for us today that may talk about how you manage, I hate to call it a failure, but a less successful experience or a challenge? And how, again, that mindset of the longer view helped you maybe reconcile with how it all ended?

00;23;53;26 - 00;24;31;24

Davion Fleming

You know, the one that always comes to my mind in retrospect wasn't a big deal. So this was my first open house, at Nueva and, you know, I wasn't really used to putting on such a large scale event like this. I think we were expecting maybe four or 500, you know, like 400 people. Yeah, a little less than 400 people we were expecting and I wasn't as precise as I could have been about the flow of the day and specifically check in.

00;24;32;19 - 00;25;07;23

Davion Fleming

And so yeah. Didn't give a lot of very clear instructions to our volunteers didn't really do or didn't have all my T's crossed if you will. And when folks are going to check in and we got really close to that our start time of open house, Janice, this line was what out the door. We were supposed to start at 1:00 or something like that and there was probably like 150 people who needed to check in because it was, it was terrible.

00;25;07;23 - 00;25;25;22

Davion Fleming

It was really bad. And we just started letting people in, working on it. We were saying, like, we’ll just check folks in later and yeah, we were like 10 minutes behind schedule or ten, 15 minutes behind schedule and you know, of course my Head of School was there and my boss was there. Yeah, it was just not good.

00;25;25;27 - 00;25;52;03

Davion Fleming

And I still have a lot of pent up anxiety and when I have events because of that. But it was a great lesson for me because, you know, I think, you know, for me, a strength of mine is also just kind of going with the flow and let the things happen naturally. But that was a moment in time where I realized I can't always be like that.

00;25;53;02 - 00;26;13;29

Davion Fleming

It was a really great reminder that I can be the person who is extremely detail oriented and all those things. It takes a lot of energy for me to do that, and it was a great reminder to myself that I need to invest the energy in order to be successful. Yes, in that event. But then over the course of that admission cycle.

00;26;14;13 - 00;26;37;13

Davion Fleming

And so I think, you know, after that, I really have tried my best to invest that time or energy upfront and also partner with folks who are naturally really good at that to help uplift the team and lift up the school and so yeah, that's yeah, that one always kind of makes me feel like it makes me feel a little weird about yeah.

00;26;37;13 - 00;27;04;03

Janice Crampton

Yeah. I think what I also enjoy about that story is so often when we think about that question that I asked you, it feels pretty heavy, right? Like there's going to be this profound moment that you're going to share. And yet the profound moment was about a check in list. Right. And it is, right? And it is the devil in the details.

00;27;04;03 - 00;27;31;10

Janice Crampton

But it's also, as you just said, recognizing where you are, in fact, strong and where you are, in fact, needing opportunity to partner with someone else. Right? And it's the recognition as I'm gathering or as I'm dissecting what you just shared is it's also how you manage that moment of the hundred people in the line. And oh, by the way, I think we have to go back to the old videotape.

00;27;31;10 - 00;27;53;11

Janice Crampton

I think you entered into this story saying it wasn't a very large open house. Maybe I misunderstood, but when you said 400 to 500, I was like, that's not an open house. That's like one school's enrollment for a year. But anyway, you know, that checkin, that devil in the details, we think about the competencies and skills of the admission and enrollment professional, and people think they're big things.

00;27;53;11 - 00;28;18;02

Janice Crampton

It's no - Literally understanding about management of an event and an idea what you can cast into the universe. I have no control over it. And then what? The things that you really can't control and where in lies that difference? I love it, Davion. And that again, there was a lot of good takeaway from that, right? Very good takeaway.

00;28;18;18 - 00;28;30;06

Janice Crampton

What do you love the most about your job now? Because again, you've had many years of success in this profession. But what excites you now as you enter into, yet again, another season?

00;28;30;16 - 00;28;59;24

Davion Fleming

The thing that I love the most, it takes some time for me to see it, actually. So I get the most joy after I admit a class and then kind of seeing them maybe three or four years down the road because, you know, after so... When we admit a class, I always feel like those are my kids. I have these hopes and aspirations for them.

00;28;59;24 - 00;29;22;23

Davion Fleming

You can see the potential, but I also know that they're going to exceed all of those things. You know, anything that I project for them, I know that they're going to break out of that shell. And so when those same students are getting ready to graduate, when they're getting ready to go off and do wonderful things, whatever that may be, that’s probably the best feeling ever.

00;29;22;23 - 00;29;49;06

Davion Fleming

And so I've had that now for the past couple of years. I know that I'm new at Lick, but there are some students who applied, who also applied to the last school I was at and I remember their applications, I’m like, “Oh, they were great, this kid was amazing.” And they’re getting ready to graduate and, “You’ve grown and changed in all of these different ways that I just couldn't even fathom.”

00;29;49;06 - 00;29;57;08

Davion Fleming

And so, yeah, when those students become seniors, when they're getting ready to leave, I think that's my favorite part.

00;29;58;03 - 00;30;25;26

Janice Crampton

Yeah. Isn't it interesting that when we think about the long term view of things, as you so beautifully said earlier in our time together today, that when you have the good fortune of being with an institution for a period of time to recall that applicant and their family and see where they are, but also to again see where you are.

00;30;26;17 - 00;30;57;21

Janice Crampton

I had an instance at one school, obviously, prior to my work here at AISAP, where we were a pre-K through eighth grade school. And there was a moment at this one graduation where I said, every single student that is in this school I've met with and I've had an impact on, and I didn't mean it from the “I” perspective, even though I was an office of one, but because there were a lot of people involved in that process.

00;30;57;21 - 00;31;27;10

Janice Crampton

But there was something, to your point, Davion, about the impact of, “Wow, this is a community that we've touched at some point in their journey,” and we don't just mean their re-enrollment forms, you know, right? Their check in at the open house. That's pretty profound. So you are excited again about not just the short term, but the long term.

00;31;27;21 - 00;31;29;23

Janice Crampton

What excites you about this profession?

00;31;31;04 - 00;32;02;16

Davion Fleming

I am really excited about the untapped potential in admissions and enrollment management. I think that we are at a really interesting kind of nexus point in the ecosystem of a school where I believe the only. So we think about the head of school and all of their jobs, you know, all the jobs and all the things that they do where many of it kind of lies within the academic side.

00;32;02;16 - 00;32;34;28

Davion Fleming

And a lot of it also resides within the operational side. But there isn't a single other person in the school typically other than the admissions or enrollment management professional who also sits up at that nexus point, right? Where there is... Because I'm able to again project into the future based off of applicants that we see based off of what we see kind of happening in the world, we can affect what's happening academically.

00;32;34;28 - 00;32;58;17

Davion Fleming

Right? And I've been in a great position in my last school and I'm beginning to do this at Lick where folks are asking me, what are you seeing in the pool? What are folks excited about? Do we need to add that the extra Mandarin class? Because there's so many more students who are coming in from immersion programs learning Mandarin.

00;32;58;17 - 00;33;24;01

Davion Fleming

So yes, we need to add, you know, Mandarin five and six within our school in the next couple of years. Right. And then on the operational side, again, you know, working with development, working with finance, I think folks who understand that part of it, but also the academic side. Right. And working with the dean of students, working with the dean of teaching and learning or the dean of curriculum, whatever it may be at your school.

00;33;24;13 - 00;33;36;25

Davion Fleming

Right. Like there isn’t, besides the Head of School, there typically isn’t another person who straddles both of those is, much as you know, the Director of Admissions or Direct of Enrollment Management.

00;33;38;07 - 00;34;03;27

Janice Crampton

So really that role as a futurist, that idea notion of again whether it's crystal ball or that crazy eight ball, hopefully, you know, there's a little bit more information and data that you gather. But that role as a futurist, do you feel as though there is an element, an aspect of your work and your training that you are missing?

00;34;04;20 - 00;34;17;18

Janice Crampton

You know, again, I guess I'm doing almost like a needs analysis with you right now, but given what you see happening and what you're so excited about, you know, are you feeling well equipped or is there, “I wish there was a class on...”

00;34;18;28 - 00;34;41;05

Davion Fleming

Oh, you know, I'm really blessed. I'm really lucky because I have really amazing folks that I work with or I'm really close with our Chief Financial Officer, our CFO. I'm really close with other folks in our administrative team. So I get a lot of the things that I need are and I'm not shy about asking questions and letting folks know that I don't know something.

00;34;41;05 - 00;35;04;15

Davion Fleming

And I would like to know more. But I think it's really important for folks in our roles to kind of understand all of the other levers that make the school function and make the school work. Kind of understanding... I think I would like to hope that folks kind of understand, like Net Tuition Revenue, but also come up with what that means.

00;35;04;16 - 00;35;42;25

Davion Fleming

Right? And you know, if we need to add another administrator position on the school, like what does that mean for enrollment? What does that mean about maybe financial aid, right, if we added this is kind of international TRIPS program, right? What does that mean for tuition? Right. And so I think kind of understanding all of those levers and in the push and pull effects of, you know, what does it mean if we if we grew the school by 40 students, how does that affect our Net Tuition Revenue?

00;35;43;02 - 00;36;17;13

Davion Fleming

What does that mean for our faculty and staff in terms of do we need to add a couple more people? Is that one administrative person? Right. Like there's everything has a ripple effect, right? Everything, everything. Every decision that a school has kind of affects everyone. And usually a lot of times, again, that falls on the admissions and enrollments professional right, to kind of figure out how to make that work or we will kind of deal with the brunt of a decision.

00;36;17;21 - 00;36;18;04

Davion Fleming

Right.

00;36;18;16 - 00;36;55;10

Janice Crampton

And so and again, what I have appreciated about this, you know, again, identification of the importance of understanding the levers is that we continue to hear from many a practitioner around, “Our board has decided to grow in enrollment.” It's not even “AISAP help us in the creation of an enrollment management plan.” It's, “Help us in creating the case to be made for the plan.”

00;36;56;25 - 00;37;26;19

Janice Crampton

Right. It's, “Help us to put together what are the things we need to consider.” Philanthropic opportunities, scholarship creation, right? Busing and traveling and transportation. Right. Hot lunches. Right. And I think that that's also what you're saying here is we spend so much time thinking about the here and now and, with love and a little bit of humor to you,

00;37;26;25 - 00;38;05;23

Janice Crampton

aybe not enough time on how to do a check in at a 400 person open house - haha. But we think so much about the future and we know we need to do that. But we also live our lives in the here and now. It's also like where do you find that time to truly think? And that was something that Scott Schamberger, our board president, spoke of in his WeAdmit! podcast, is that as you think about your schedule of the day and the week and the month and the quarter and the year, where in lies this opportunity to really in a very intentional way put that block of, “And these are the hours when I'm

00;38;05;23 - 00;38;06;14

Janice Crampton

going to think.”

00;38;07;00 - 00;38;54;28

Davion Fleming

Hmm, mm hmm. Right. And that's so important. I think that's probably one of the things that I underappreciated about being a director or becoming a director is just the amount of time I need to to really think and sort through all of the mishaps and problems and challenges that happen over the course of the year. And just think strategically about the school and so kind of intentionally kind of blocking out time where on my calendar I just say, like, “I have a meeting” and a lot of times I'm just like kind of working and thinking, right? Or thinking ahead or having a strategic conversation with a couple of other folks.

00;38;54;28 - 00;39;27;01

Davion Fleming

Right. And so yeah, I really kind of underappreciated needing time to do that. And you know, I also want to acknowledge that I have a five person team, including myself. So I have kind of more I guess it's a little bit easier to carve out that time, but if you're Office of One, it gets really hard to do that because you're engaging every single part of the process, but in the midst of that,

00;39;27;02 - 00;39;34;22

Davion Fleming

it’s still I think it's even more important to be able to carve out that time for yourself.

00;39;34;22 - 00;40;10;28

Janice Crampton

I was just talking with last week Sylvester Cutler, who's at Greenhills School in Michigan, one of your fellow AISAP board members, and a wonderful AISAP cohort leader. And, you know, again, professional. Where I'm going with this is that here he is as a Director of Admission and Enrollment with four or five people on his team. And he is struggling - my word, not his - struggling with his love and desire of spending time at the higher level, let's call it that.

00;40;10;28 - 00;40;38;08

Janice Crampton

There is a hierarchy, but strategic is higher, let's call it that, when in fact there's also great joy and love for giving an open house or an open house tour, right? Or being part of the folder stuffing. I mean, I'm being almost silly in the nuts and bolts, but, you know, the idea notion that I seek to deliver here is time management, right?

00;40;38;28 - 00;41;09;14

Janice Crampton

All of these things have an element and aspect of importance. And I bring it back around to something you said at the very beginning. What are your values? What do you value? And how does that then help you in in your day? You know, Davion, one of the things that we value in this AISAP WeAdmit! podcast is the importance of not getting overly serious in all these deep discussions that we have.

00;41;09;22 - 00;41;21;09

Janice Crampton

So here you go. You'll appreciate this. What's your get psyched song as you get ready for the big game, whether it's on the field or off the field. Ha! What's your get psyched song?

00;41;21;09 - 00;41;40;02

Davion Fleming

Oh my gosh. You know, I really like I like Beyonce. I will say she has some pretty great songs for just about anything. Mm. My get hyped song...

00;41;41;27 - 00;41;51;09

Janice Crampton

You listen to it, it comes on the radio. Or am I dating myself with the radio? It's, you know, it's on your iTunes or your apple or. Right.

00;41;52;08 - 00;42;20;25

Davion Fleming

This one's this one is super is really... But it's a song that I've appreciated for a long time. And when I hear it, when it comes on and it doesn't come on very often, when it comes on, I do like to I like to sing it out loud. So I usually try to not to listen to it if I’m around other people for their sake.

00;42;21;07 - 00;42;23;09

Davion Fleming

I'm one of them, but oh.

00;42;23;12 - 00;42;26;16

Janice Crampton

I'm dying to know what it is. Talk about a preamble ramble.

00;42;27;13 - 00;42;32;12

Davion Fleming

I really like Chandelier by Sia.

00;42;32;12 - 00;42;38;23

Janice Crampton

It's Chandelier by Sia. All right, so that's the one. Okay. Do you have a motto, Davion?

00;42;39;14 - 00;43;14;07

Davion Fleming

One of the, again, it comes from one of my football coaches. It rings true. And everything that I do is an acronym, it's WIN. And so it stands for What's Important Now. And so when as you talk about, you know, spending time to stuff folders with your team or setting aside, setting things aside to think strategically about the year or about their mission cycle, that always kind of comes to my mind, like, What's Important Now?

00;43;14;07 - 00;43;36;10

Davion Fleming

Like, is it the check-in list or is it, you know, buying coffee for your team or for yourself because you need it that particular day? And so I always think about What's Important Now. I'm fortunate and again, I'm blessed. Get to coach flag football this year and I'm trying to impart some of that to the kiddos that I'm coaching.

00;43;36;10 - 00;43;40;15

Davion Fleming

But yeah, What's Important Now. W.I.N. That’s it.

00;43;40;15 - 00;43;40;26

Janice Crampton

That’s great.

00;43;41;09 - 00;43;41;16

Davion Fleming

To me.

00;43;41;26 - 00;43;45;15

Janice Crampton

That's great. So what's important now for our profession?

00;43;46;27 - 00;44;29;21

Davion Fleming

What's important now for our profession? One of the things that I am thinking a lot about in the San Francisco Bay Area is just cost and affordability and changing of, I guess the changing demographics of the San Francisco Bay Area. And I think that's also fairly similar kind of across the board. Right. And so I think we have to kind of keep our pulse on that and really begin to think a lot about what do we want our communities to be?

00;44;29;21 - 00;44;47;13

Davion Fleming

How do we want our communities to be shaped? What do we want it to look like? What do we want it to feel like? Because the affordability is going to impact the demographic composition of schools. I’ve also been thinking of, been a little anxious about, you know, a few years down the road.

00;44;48;19 - 00;44;52;12

Janice Crampton

Yeah. What's important now for AISAP?

00;44;52;12 - 00;45;28;15

Davion Fleming

I think it is getting the word out to folks who were like me when I started independent schools this didn't really know what to do and also didn't have the, you know, maybe the tools and the access to the great breadth and depth of resources that AISAP is able to offer. I highly encourage folks to reach out to me if they need help or if they’re just an ear to listen to.

00;45;28;15 - 00;45;49;00

Davion Fleming

And I think that AISAP offers that, and it's really helped me out in my professional career and getting me to be where I am today. So there's a lot of folks, real folks to thank for that, but also for AISAP for helping lift me up. And so I think that's yeah.

00;45;49;15 - 00;46;29;19

Janice Crampton

Well, I'm thrilled that we have helped you in any way, shape or form. But I also will tell you, I had a Head of School one time many, many years ago say we are preparing for the success of our successors. And as I think about your leadership, not only in the profession geographically, as well as a global association in the seat that you sit in as a board member of this organization, you're one of the reasons why we are going to be winning, because these conversations and the value alignment that we have around What's Important Now is quite exciting.

00;46;29;19 - 00;47;02;23

Janice Crampton

And so I say to you, thank you, thank you in advance because you are first year in and you know where as we have term limits, we've got a lot of years where we can have you sitting in that wonderful seat, Davion. But I am thrilled to not only learn more about your work and your impact, but I also am very appreciative of what I know you are willing to do, your willingness to have any of the people who are listening to this podcast now pick up the phone and give you a call.

00;47;03;23 - 00;47;24;25

Janice Crampton

Because again, I know you well enough to know that you answer and I appreciate that. So thank you for answering the WeAdmit! email request for you to be with us. And so again, I say thank you so much. Davion It's a pleasure. It's a pleasure. So Davion Fleming, again, the Director of Admission and Enrollment at Lick-Wilmerding High School.

00;47;25;17 - 00;47;41;09

Janice Crampton

I'm thrilled. I might have to go back to some of those old tapes that Northwestern might have on you, my friend, and some of your athleticism. You know, again, it's really great to hear not only about what you've done, but also how you came to us. So thank you again.

00;47;41;25 - 00;47;47;00

Davion Fleming

No problem. The pleasure's all mine. Almost any time.

00;47;47;00 - 00;47;50;07

Janice Crampton

Wait, you don't want to get a call in February in the middle of... right?

00;47;50;14 - 00;47;53;18

Davion Fleming

Exactly! Almost any time.

00;47;55;04 - 00;48;09;11

Janice Crampton

We hope you enjoyed this episode of WeAdmit! To learn more about the Association of Independent School Admission Professionals and how you can take advantage of membership benefits, visit AISAP.org , that's AISAP.org