On Friday, September 16, Viewpoint’s Assistant Head of School for Enrollment, Laurel Baker Tew, was awarded the William B. Bretnall Award at the 2022 Enrollment Management Association (EMA) Conference in Orlando, Florida. The Bretnall Award is “given each year to a leader and educator who has made significant contributions to the field of admission and enrollment management.”

Head of School Mark McKee was eager to share the significance of this award to both the community of independent school enrollment professionals and to our own Viewpoint community. He said, “It was an honor to be present with hundreds of her colleagues as the EMA celebrated Laurel Baker Tew with the Bretnall Award, honoring a career of distinguished achievement in enrollment management. Laurel’s contributions to Viewpoint are well known—as she has led our admission and enrollment efforts for two decades, helping to strengthen and diversify our student body and our profile in greater Los Angeles. Fewer are aware of her contributions to the industry as a volunteer, having served on the board of EMA, NBOA, the Caroline D Bradley Scholarship, and other national and local efforts that serve independent schools and our students.  And she has also worked as a mentor and teacher, developing the next generation of leadership, through sharing her knowledge generously, giving workshops, and teaching in USC’s CERPP program for enrollment professionals. Laurel’s work at Viewpoint continues to have an impact, made even more meaningful by her family legacy at our School, stretching back before her own enrollment in Kindergarten to her parents’ and family’s engagement with Viewpoint’s founding. Her parents would be proud—and we all are, too.”

When asked about what the award meant to her, Laurel said, “I’m so proud to receive this award, for both myself and for Viewpoint. It is a  tremendous honor, for me, for my trusted Admission partner our Head of School Mark McKee, and for the school I love so much.” 

Laurel added, “The older I get the more I understand how important it is to share what I’ve learned with others. The greatest lesson I was ever taught by my first mentor Joe Allen at USC is something that both Viewpoint School and Mark McKee embody: It’s never Admissions work (plural). It’s Admission work. Singular. One student, one parent, one family, one Admission at a time. Admission (singular) is relational, and is the opposite of Admissions (plural), which is transactional. It’s through committing to Admission work (singular) that we not only get to touch the future of our schools, we get to help shape that future.”