Shamir Patel is the devoted Director of Admissions for USC Bovard College. He is an integral member of the Bovard College team, having been a part of the school since its inception.
Shamir sees himself in many of the students, as an immigrant, as a first-generation college grad, and as a master’s student at USC himself. He loves his job, greeting each day as a new opportunity to impact lives for the better. When he’s not supporting the admissions team and applicants to Bovard College, Shamir enjoys being outdoors — hiking, camping, and going to the beach with his wife and their two daughters.
You have such a passion for admissions and your team, what do you enjoy about working for USC Bovard College?
The people here! Working at USC Bovard College provides a daily opportunity to lead, innovate and impact student lives. We have a small, highly motivated team that is focused on our students and their success. Our leadership team is incredibly talented, disciplined, and supportive.
As the Director of Admissions, what does student success mean to you?
Student success at Bovard College means empowering our students with the knowledge and skills that they need to add value to their current and future organizations, which in turn leads to career advancement.
How would you describe USC Bovard College’s student-centered approach to prospective students?
Our personalized, student-centered approach means that our applicants are never alone when navigating our process. We have a dedicated team of highly knowledgeable Admissions Advisors that are available to connect via phone, email, live chat, or one-on-one Zoom meeting.
A personal advisor is assigned to each prospective student to help guide them through our admissions process. We can connect applicants with our Alumni ambassadors, our faculty experts, and we welcome prospective students to our online information sessions, which are held regularly, for each of our programs.
What makes for a good candidate for USC Bovard College programs?
USC Bovard College seeks current and future leaders. Our graduate programs provide the content areas that students need to impact strategy, while developing their leadership capability. Candidates applying to our programs have diverse backgrounds and skillsets. What they have in common is a demonstrated interest in their fields and the ability to leverage our programs to advance their careers.
What should potential students keep in mind, as they prepare to apply to USC Bovard College programs?
The most important thing to remember about our admissions process is that we conduct a comprehensive review of your application. One important component of the application is an applicant’s essay. The essay is an opportunity for students to connect the dots and tie together the other aspects of their application.
Our prompt provides applicants the liberty to tell us their unique story and highlight their strengths. The admissions committee and I look forward to reading these stories and determining how our applicants will be a good fit for our school. Try to avoid being too general and don’t be afraid to share your personal experience while addressing our prompt. Lastly, keep the essay on-topic and concise.
What inspires you in reading through the hundreds or thousands of applications for each program?
We never lose sight of the fact that there is a human behind each of the applications we examine. Reading them is one of my favorite parts of the job, as it provides an opportunity to connect with our applicants, read their stories, and discover how they will benefit from and contribute to our programs.
What is one of the best parts of working in Admissions?
Commencement day is one of my favorite days of the year. We are all incredibly excited to see the faculty and students that fly in from around the globe to celebrate this momentous occasion. For the admissions team, it is incredibly rewarding to cheer on our grads and acknowledge their accomplishments.
What kind of student applies to the MSHRM program?
Human Resources is an evolving profession, and students and professionals alike are attracted to the strategic and leadership focus of our program. Our student body comes from diverse professional backgrounds. From seasoned HR professionals to career changers who express interest in HR, using their past experience to fuel their HR dreams, and recent graduates who demonstrate their intent in the HR field through academic interests, internships, or research applicable to the HR field.
Learn more about the MS in Human Resource Management program.