{"id":9703,"date":"2026-04-29T07:52:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hra.org\/?p=9703"},"modified":"2026-04-29T07:52:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T11:52:48","slug":"maryland-college-counselor-tour-spring-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hra.org\/maryland-college-counselor-tour-spring-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Days, Nine Campuses, and One Very Memorable Bus Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Cavallari, Director of College Counseling<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"HRA

Director of College Counseling Elizabeth Cavallari with her cohort for the Maryland Crab Crawl Counselor Tour<\/p><\/div>\n

A month ago, I took an early morning train to Baltimore and boarded a bus that would become both my classroom and my community for the next four days. Alongside 30 other high school and college counselors from across the country, I visited <\/span>nine private colleges and universities in Maryland<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was exhausting\u2014full days, constant movement, and more information than I could possibly process in the moment. But it was also informative and fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, stepping onto nine distinct campuses was a highlight. But one of the most meaningful parts of the experience didn\u2019t happen on a campus at all.<\/span><\/p>\n

It happened on the bus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ten hours on a bus might not sound like a highlight, but it absolutely was. Those hours became a space for honest, thoughtful conversation. We talked about <\/span>the state of admissions<\/span><\/a>, the challenges we\u2019re seeing in our schools, and the solutions we\u2019re trying to build. We shared insights and traded perspectives.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was professional development in its most organic and impactful form.<\/span><\/p>\n

And then there were the people we met on campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"HRA

Cavallari meets the Green Terror at McDaniel College<\/p><\/div>\n

Over the course of four days, I connected with college and university presidents, vice presidents for enrollment management, deans of admission and other admissions staff, leaders from across their campus including athletics and student life, and, of course, current students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharing meals and asking questions, I <\/span>built relationships<\/span><\/a> with the very people who shape the student experience on their campuses. Our group even (unintentionally) crashed a reception for the opening of a new performing arts facility. And unexpected moments like these become great memories, especially when the university\u2019s president made sure we didn\u2019t leave.<\/span><\/p>\n

What I gained from these conversations goes far beyond brochures or websites. I got the inside scoop on the culture and vibe of each place. I left many of these campuses clearly picturing individual students there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We often talk to students about <\/span>the importance of visiting campuses<\/span><\/a>. What we don\u2019t often say is that those visits matter just as much for college counselors.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a <\/span>college counselor<\/span><\/a>, I am also constantly learning. Constantly updating my understanding. Constantly working to ensure that the guidance I provide is rooted in real, current, lived experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

So no, the travel isn\u2019t glamorous. It\u2019s early mornings, long days, and a lot of time on a bus.<\/span><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also one of the most meaningful ways to grow in this work: by seeing new places, meeting new people, and <\/span>forging relationships grounded in shared purpose and community<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Cavallari, Director of College Counseling   A month ago, I took an early morning train to Baltimore and boarded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":9708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,50,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-counseling","category-home","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9703"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9709,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9703\/revisions\/9709"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hra.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}