Undergraduate Admissions has added a friendly face to the Cabrini family this past week. Carl Starkey, a highly accomplished lacrosse player from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, became the college’s newest addition to admissions starting on Sept. 16.
Born in Lansing, Mich., Starkey was first exposed to counseling while in high school. Due to the fact that he had a slightly “scattered” high school career, he explains that he “used to go to the guidance office a lot and hang out there.”
This pattern continued as he made his way into St. Olaf where he met a very helpful admissions counselor named Jerry Pope. Their friendship began due to the fact that Pope was “really receptive to [Starkey] and he was someone that [Starkey] stayed in touch with throughout the whole four years.” In fact, it was Pope that first told Starkey that admissions would be a good avenue for him to consider.
Eventually he began working as a student ambassador at St. Olaf. This combined with hosting prospective students through football, basketball and lacrosse proved to him that he had a certain ability to apply himself in admissions.
Because of his extensive lacrosse career, Starkey knew that he was going to play after he finished his years at St. Olaf.
Coincidentally, his career in lacrosse once again proved that he should pursue a future in admissions. “Through coaching and working with a lot of high school kids who were juniors and seniors looking at schools, I sort of filled that guidance counselor role for them.” After sharing this experience with Pope, Starkey was assured once again that admissions would be a good fit for him.
Admissions have not been his only passion, however. As a highly involved student athlete at St. Olaf, Starkey held a strong loyalty to his school. After four years sticking with the same program, he graduated with a degree in biology and religious studies.
After graduating, he then became involved with both the Minnesota Swarm and the Global Players. Each of these are both very well-known lacrosse teams for their travel in Europe.
The Minnesota Swarm is a professional team that traveled to Germany and the Czech Republic where Starkey was a part of the Prague sports club.
The Global Players were a slightly different set up. While the Minnesota Swarm is technically a professional team, the Global Players were mainly a place for athletes to do many things while abroad. In particular, college students would not only play but they would also “help to coach local programs” around Prague and Berlin, where Starkey mainly worked.
His high level of interest and involvement in this rapidly expanding sport helped pave the way for his assisting in the development of the company Redline Lacrosse.
The company started when a fellow player wanted to create the company and needed a hand. Starkey then “helped him to start it up and it has been successful ever since.” When he is not in the Undergraduate Admissions office, he still keeps his involvement in Redline by helping to advise on their production.
An inevitable question that arose during this conversation was how someone who was born in Mich., from Chicago and graduated from a school in Minnesota would hear about such a small school in Radnor, Pa.
A friend of Starkey’s had heard of Cabrini through the college’s lacrosse program and suggested that he take some interest in applying for a job here. Starkey knew that if he found “a school that has a similar feel to St. Olaf, it would be a natural fit and Cabrini was that.” The main draw of Cabrini was that “it’s a small school with a tightknit community.”
Once he got word that there was a job opening in admissions at Cabrini, Starkey contacted the director of admissions Shannon Zottola and asked her about the details regarding the position.
Although he did not have an immense amount of experience in that field, Zottola saw that he had the personality to fit the job. It was merely trusting that Starkey would be able to handle the responsibilities that come with the territory.
To start off his new career, he has been assigned to counsel students in North New Jersey as well as three other counties in Pa.
Judging by the playful banter that occurred amongst Starkey and his fellow counselors, he is adjusting to his position very smoothly and shows a lot of promise for his future with the Cabrini community.
