Milena Velez

Milena has over thirteen years of experience in enrollment management in a variety of roles and with diverse student populations. As a former international student herself, she began her career as Coordinator of International Recruitment at Knox College. Over the next decade, she served in progressive roles across the Midwest and the South as a senior admissions counselor at Lake Erie College, Assistant Director of Graduate and Transfer Admission at the University of Findlay, and Director of Admission at Newberry College. During that time, Milena developed communication plans, strategies, and content for different target audiences and revamped institutional processes on a number of occasions, including creating a module-based comprehensive training and on-boarding program for new admission counselors. As a professional, Milena believes that it is the mission and goal of enrollment managers to provide students from all backgrounds with the higher education experience they need and to support them in the unique ways they need to be supported throughout that experience. She is confident that this mission is best served through collaboration across the industry, especially when it comes to raising the next generation of admissions counselors. Milena has served as an OACAC Summer Institute Mentor, as well as a member of the OACAC Articulation Committee and a Site Chair. Milena received her Bachelor’s degree in creative writing and politics from Oberlin College, her Master of Business Administration from Lake Erie College, and her Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing from the University of Findlay. Born and raised in Bulgaria, Milena currently calls South Carolina her home. She lives just north of Columbia, SC, with her husband, Joel, and their daughter, Stella. When not hiking with the family or conducting science experiments with Stella, Milena enjoys a good long run or a good long book, followed by a nice cup of tea.