Front and Center at Colby-Sawyer

If you visit Colby-Sawyer College, a new, yet familiar, face will be greeting you at the front desk. Jen Ellis ’85 has recently taken on the role as visitor services coordinator and is ready to greet visiting prospective students, families, alumni, donors and friends to the college.

This is not the first time Ellis has worked in the admissions department at Colby-Sawyer. In 1987, after working two seasons for ski patrol at King Ridge and Tenney Mountain, she accepted a position as an admissions counselor at the school. Ellis said, “Working in admissions taught me a lot about event planning, sales, travel, customer relations, the importance of being organized and other useful skills that could transfer to any job.” Ellis worked in admissions for four years and said her favorite part of the job was her coworkers.

Originally from New Jersey, Ellis chose to come to Colby-Sawyer so she could learn to be a better skier. Her sister-in-law at the time had attended Colby Junior College in the 1970s and encouraged her to apply. Ellis quickly adapted to college life in New Hampshire. She was a member of the tennis team, dorm government and student government, and she worked at the dining hall in the dish room. She remembers, “Friends who were small enough would ride into the dish room on the conveyor belt to say hello sometimes — very funny to see!”

Ellis also said that living in Abbey Hall was her favorite part of being a Colby-Sawyer student. “It gave me lifelong friends, lessons in relationship building, how to create fun and made me realize there were many different ways families lived their lives,”Ellis said.

Ellis currently keeps herself busy by playing tennis, walking, golfing, skiing and doing yardwork. She also enjoys making maple syrup in the sugar shack on her property in the spring. Ellis is a trustee for the First Baptist Church in New London and the president of their women’s fellowship.

Ellis is excited to take on this new position at the college. She said, “I am most excited to welcome families and visitors to Colby-Sawyer College for the first time and show them the many opportunities the college and New London has to offer them.”

We are excited to have you back in the admissions department at Colby-Sawyer, Jen!