Last week, Associate Director of Admissions and Yeshiva alumnus Ryan Hyman left the campus he has called home for almost a decade, after three years of service in the Admissions Office. Following the Yeshiva University National Model United Nations convention, a program supervised by him during his tenure here, Hyman left Yeshiva to join a commercial mortgage brokerage firm in Midtown.

Hyman began his career at Yeshiva as an Office of Admissions work-study. He approached administrators during the 1997 spring semester, hoping for assistance seeking a summer job in the City. After being offered a job in-house, Hyman continued working through the academic year until his May 1998 graduation.

Upon graduating, Hyman was advised to apply for a full-time position in the Admissions Office, thus beginning his career as Associate Director of Admissions. Included in his litany of responsibilities was organizing the Model United Nations convention and the Red Sarachek Basketball Tournament, as well as interviewing applicants for admissions as undergraduates, and conducting national and international recruiting.

The transition from student to administrator proved to be a smooth one for Hyman. "I was able to work well with a number of people to take the initiative and improve many of our programs," claimed Hyman, in reference to his many successes at Yeshiva. He further noted that one of his main goals as a member of the administration was to serve the students' needs. "The only time that our doors are ever closed is when we are conducting interviews. A number of students would come to our office because they knew that they would get help. We were able to point them in the right direction."

Hyman's efforts in the office of admissions will be missed by many. "I'm disappointed that he is leaving, but on the other hand, he's taking advantage of a wonderful growth opportunity," remarked Michael Kranzler, Director of Admissions and friend of Hyman. Echoing Kranzler's sentiment, Director of Enrollment Management John Fisher exclaimed, "Ryan was a wonderful part of the admissions office and I am devastated that he is leaving. It will certainly be a difficult position to fill," he noted.

A number of students had the opportunity to foster special relationships with Hyman, particularly those on the Model United Nations staff. Yeshiva College Junior Shai Barnea, who served as Model United Nations Secretary General, found himself in Hyman's office quite frequently. "We're really going to miss Ryan around here," said Barnea. "I always viewed him as a friend, not an administrator."

Although the Admissions Office is eager to seek out a replacement, they continue to await a green light from Human Resources. "Until that, we will have to be more creative in the way that we allocate our personnel," observed Kranzler. Fisher added that the search process, when it begins, may prove easier than those conducted previously. "When the economy is doing well, we tend to compete with other corporations to get people to stick with a job in admissions, despite their dedication. But with the economy going bad, it may become easier," Fisher opined.

Romanticizing over the past few years, Hyman disclosed the difficulty in leaving his alma matter. "It's difficult to leave a place that's given me so much," Hyman relayed. "I've learned a lot and worked with some fantastic people. This is something I know I will have with me for the rest of my life."

But Hyman added that it is the students that make Yeshiva the wonderful institution that it is today. "I will miss seeing hundreds of students walk around campus; students that I played a role in getting here," he revealed.