New admissions counselor for graduate programs hired

On Feb. 5, Goshen College admissions announced they had hired Lawrence Giden to fulfill the role of adult and graduate studies admissions counselor. The role had been previously held by Richard Warren, who recently transitioned to a new role as annual giving and advancement coordinator. 

The position is responsible for recruiting students for adult degree completion programs, adult certificate programs, and master’s and doctoral programs. 

Giden, a graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, is familiar with the Mennonite higher education and has a Master of Arts degree in Christian formation. 

According to Linda VandenBosch, director of admissions, his experience as an adult student makes him a good fit for the role.

“He earned his master’s degree as a working adult,” VandenBosch said, “And so he can relate to students that he is looking to recruit, because he has been in their shoes.

Giden also has previous experience as a mental health technician, which has equipped him with the tools needed to deal with people going through major life transitions. 

“I worked directly with patients that had mental health challenges like anger, depression, suicide,” Giden said. “I mainly worked with teenagers, but I also worked with adults, and those adults could have different life experiences as well.”

According to VandenBosch, this position is crucial for GC’s expansion of adult and graduate programs.

“We feel like he has the skills set to do that,” she said, “And Lawrence is also very outgoing and very passionate about education, and so we feel like he will be great at communicating with potential students.”  

VandenBosch also stressed how important it is to differentiate between undergraduate admissions and graduate admissions. 

“For adult students, they are looking for flexibility around their life,” she said, “And they’re looking for a program that they can move through as quickly as possible because it is a huge sacrifice and a huge time commitment.” 

According to VandenBosch, Giden also has a great sense of humor, which is definitely a plus. 

“The Bible says laughter is good medicine for the soul,” said Giden, “And by the grace of God, I am grateful for this new season and by his grace, we’ll keep moving forward.”