Christine Bowman '93, associate director of admission, first came to Southwestern in 1989 as an undergraduate student. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Southwestern. I really grew, both intellectually and socially," she notes. "My relationships with my Southwestern classmates are very deep. There is an intellectual connection that we made that was much more than just parties, dances and hanging out." Bowman earned a B.A. in political science with a business minor. She then attended Texas Tech University where she began working on her master's degree in public administration.

While a senior at Southwestern, Bowman worked as a telecounselor for the admissions office, and in 1994, Bowman was encouraged by her former supervisor at Southwestern to apply for the coordinator of campus visitation position. At the time, this position involved managing the Students Helping the Admission Recruiting Process (SHARP) organization, all campus visitation days and the telecounseling program. "I felt that Southwestern gave so much to me and by serving in the admission office, I would be able to give back some of that time and energy," she says.

Bowman is now an associate director of admission and works with transfer students and high school students from central Texas. "In this job, I serve two roles--admitting students to Southwestern and counseling students to choose the best college," says Bowman. "Helping students choose the right college is something I am very interested in. I believe in higher education, and I have always wanted to make sure that students have access to a good high school education as well as a good college education--no matter where they attend."

As part of the student recruitment process, Bowman makes high school visits and attends college fairs. She also works to form relationships with high school guidance counselors, and to guide and educate parents and students on conducting an effective college search. Bowman explains, "Even though students and families may not ultimately pick Southwestern, I believe my professional experience has taught me how to prepare families to conduct an educated college search, and I try to share this knowledge with the local community."

Bowman, as both a Southwestern student and a staff member, has had the opportunity to see her relationships with students and faculty members grow. "I am continually amazed to see students, faculty and staff interact, grow and learn from each other. It seems that I learn from each person I interact with on this campus and, in that respect, I feel like I am experiencing a life-long education," says Bowman.

She also takes on several leadership positions within the University, serving as the liaison for the Upward Bound Scholarship program and as the staff representative on the Annual Giving Board. "Giving back to the University is important because I believe in giving to the next generation of Southwestern students and faculty." Recently, Bowman also coordinated a campus blood drive to help Hurricane Katrina victims.

An alumna of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Bowman supports the chapter in their activities and fundraisers. She also assists both the men's and women's lacrosse teams. For the past nine years, her husband, Bill Bowman '92, has been the coach of the men's lacrosse team. Bowman notes, "With the men's lacrosse team, I feel I have 30 additional sons--they are great guys and they eat a lot of pasta."

Bowman and her family recently moved from Round Rock to Georgetown. She has two children, a daughter Savannah, 6, and a son Elijah, 3. When not working or volunteering at Southwestern, she volunteers for her children's school. "My mom always supported my school activities, and I want to be able to do the same for my kids," Bowman says.