Todd Graf left his position as Office Manager at the Admissions Office last month for his new job as Assistant Registrar in the Registrar's Office. Graf worked in Admissions for over nine years as the Office Manager, where he provided administrative support and served as the Co-Supervisor of the Blue Key Society.
Prior to his position in Admissions, Graf worked as an Office Manager Executive Assistant at Maguire Associates for ten years doing research consulting. Lasell was a client of Maguire Associates, where Graf met Vice President of Enrollment Management Kathleen O'Connor. “I discussed with her about completing my degree and it worked out at the perfect time,” said Graf. “I needed a little bit of change in my career so I could focus on my education.”
Graf soon accepted a position as Office Manager and graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Administration Management after previously completing his associates degree from Newbury College.
During his time in the Admissions Office, he interacted with current and prospective students on a daily basis. “I was the face of Hamel for nine years,” said Graf. “I sat in the reception area and handled the incoming traffic and all the campus visitors and potential students.”
Junior communications major, Maeve Willerup, works in admissions as a member of the Blue Key Society. Willerup has known Graf since she started working in the office last year. “He's always been like the face of Admissions right when you walk in the door,” said Willerup. “He's the first person you see, and the reason why is because he has such a beaming smile.”
Even though she no longer works with Graf in Admissions, Willerup still sees Graf at her job at the Registrar's Office. “When he announced that he was going to be working in the Registrar’s Office, everyone was super bummed, but I was like, ‘Oh, I still get to see Todd almost every day,’” said Willerup.
Graf enjoyed working with students in the Admissions Office and watching them grow even after they left campus. “To see them grow professionally is just very rewarding…It's hard after working with them for three years to see them go,” said Graf. “To have them come back is just amazing. The whole back of my desk was just covered in sticky notes from students. It just brought me joy to come to work every day, and to see a student leaving a kind note on my desk saying that I made a difference.”
In the Admissions Office, Graf has been missed by students since he left. Junior exercise science major Katrina Abouzeid, member of the Blue Key Society, says Graf’s absence has been felt in the office. “It has been definitely sad for all of us to see him go, but we're so happy for him to get such a great position in the Registrar's Office,” said Abouzeid. “Now we're having an Admissions Counselor sit at his desk, and we're kind of just seeing where we can go from here and saying, ‘This is everything Todd did, who's going to do it now?’”
After nine years, Graf left the Admissions Office for a change of pace. “I just wanted to learn something different and expand a little bit,” said Graf. This new role is different from his previous jobs and Graf enjoys the change in pace. “I've gone from being on the frontlines and dealing with a lot of logistics and running around to now managing a lot of data,” said Graf. “It's very different and a nice change.”
Admissions Counselor and ‘20 Alumni Rosa Del Carmen Gomez has known Graf since she joined the Blue Key Society in 2017. “This is an incredibly important role and Todd made it look easy,” said Del Carmen Gomez. “We are going to miss him and his sunshine personality in the office. We are so proud of him and excited to see all he does with the Registrar’s Office.”
When Graf isn't working, he enjoys spending time with friends and doing outdoor activities such as gardening, skiing, going to the beach, and traveling.