MEDIA, Pa. -- Jeremy Branch, Penn State Brandywine’s senior assistant director of enrollment management, has been elected to serve as president of the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling (PACAC) effective June 2020. Prior to his presidency, Branch is serving as president-elect.
Jeremy Branch, senior assistant director of enrollment management at Penn State Brandywine.
PACAC is a nonprofit association comprised of more than 1,200 school counselors, college admission counselors, independent education consultants and other professionals responsible for guiding students through the transition from high school to college. Branch has been a member of the organization for the past decade.
"PACAC is the center for the professional development of secondary school counselors," Branch explained. "We organize webinars, workshops and conferences throughout Pennsylvania. We’re also really involved in advocacy at the state and federal levels.”
As a PACAC leader, one of Branch’s many goals is to create trainings designed specifically for students, such as college application workshops. And this March, Branch will attend a four-day program in Washington, D.C., to meet with federal legislators to discuss college access, funding and student success.
“PACAC works to develop the professionals who support the students, but we also need to go directly to the source and help students by creating programming for them, too,” he said.
Throughout his time as a member of PACAC, Branch has served the organization in several ways. Some of his positions have included: member of the executive committee, co-chair of the conference planning committee, member of the professional development committee, and faculty member, director and dean of the PACAC Summer Institute.
“Being a part of this organization has helped me understand the ‘big picture’ in this profession,” Branch said. “To be a really good admission counselor, you need to understand what's going on at the state and national levels.”
A longstanding, accomplished member of the campus community, Branch joined Brandywine in 2007 as a counselor in the admission office. Today, he is helping guide prospective students and their families through the college admission process.
Branch is also a Penn State alumnus and attended the Brandywine campus. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in communications.
“I love working with students and parents to help them navigate through this journey. It's what gets me up in the morning,” he said. “I really enjoy being a source of encouragement for the students during this process.”