What does a million miles symbolize?
For Dave Black, Paskill’s VP of market research and consulting, it stands for the distance he’ll go to support the hundreds of higher ed institutions he’s worked with over the course of his career.
Dave recently hit an impressive milestone: over one million miles traveled for his work with Paskill. In-person collaboration has always been a crucial component of Paskill’s work. Sometimes, talking to clients over video conferencing or email just won’t cut it. That’s why Dave takes the conversation to them.
“Dave shows incredible commitment to our clients,” said Jim Paskill, president of Paskill. “Whether he’s helping an institution launch a media campaign, introduce a new brand identity, or improve customer service through an on-campus workshop, he brings a mix of experience, market knowledge, and instinct that really moves the needle.”
Dave conducts on-campus workshops that cover everything from recruitment to yield and student experience to brand development. During these workshops, he meets with campus leaders and staff on the front lines of enrollment, including admissions counselors, VPs of enrollment management, financial aid support staff, and faculty.
Plenty of companies offer online workshops. But going to campus helps Dave really understand the local competitive environment and challenges a college is facing. It’s an immersive experience that informs the way he personalizes every workshop to a college’s unique needs.
It also saves participants from a day of dreaded online trainings, spending hours in front of a computer screen. Instead, Paskill’s workshops are highly interactive. Members of teams from across the university work together, breaking down silos and learning from each other. No matter the workshop topic, there’s a consistent goal: connect the campus community to deliver better customer service to students.
“Dave’s work with our clients doesn’t end when he leaves campus. There’s a consultative relationship that continues after the workshop,” explained Dana Evans Amberge, Paskill’s senior consultant for enrollment management and marketing. “This ongoing support is what makes Paskill’s workshops stand out. Our clients benefit from Dave’s industry experience and get tailored solutions based on what Dave uncovers in the workshop.”
As part of Paskill, Dave is a member of a team striving to make an impact. Participating in Paskill’s admissions workshops have helped college and university staff put new techniques into practice, improve their engagement, and increase enrollments.
“We recently hired Paskill to do a two-day workshop for our undergraduate admissions team, said Mark Hunt, VP for enrollment management at Faulkner University. “The information presented was highly relevant and the interaction with Dave was excellent! The information was presented in a way so that even newer, very inexperienced counselors could understand the concepts and fully engage in the discussion. Our team is certainly better equipped now than they were prior to the workshop!”
Of course, you don’t reach a million miles unless you really love the work. For Dave, the best part of the job is visiting campus and seeing the impact his team’s work has on the institution.
“The work we do at Paskill really makes a difference for these institutions,” Dave said. “I enjoy getting to work with teams directly on campus and seeing how they grow over the course of the workshop. They leave more confident and better prepared to support students. That makes all the travel worth it.”
