Alumna Georgia Drewes stepped into the role of director of admissions after more than 12 years working at Newman.
The path back to Newman
Drewes completed her master’s in theology at Newman in 2012, and returned to campus to apply to a role in Campus Ministry, something she had been involved in closely as a student.
“I came back and interviewed for that and didn’t get it,” she said. “But then I came down the hall because I had some friends working in admissions and they were like, ‘you should interview because we have a job open.’ I interviewed and I got it two days later.”
Originally hired as an admissions counselor, she moved up several positions over the years before landing her current title in November.
“I wasn’t planning on admissions, but it was nice to be back at my alma mater,” she said.
Her promotion followed a vacancy in the director of admissions position and her work alongside Vice President of Enrollment Management Michael Probus, who joined Newman in 2024.
“It’s nice that our VP sees my value on the team and decided to name me director,” Drewes said. “We’d already been working pretty closely together on some initiatives this year, so it’s been nice to have the title to go with it.”
Probus said Drewes’ experience and leadership made her a strong choice for the position, seeing her mentor staff, improve the admissions process and strengthen communication across campus.
“Georgia’s promotion is very well deserved,” he said. “She has a rare ability to balance care for people with operational excellence. What truly sets Georgia apart is her deep institutional knowledge of Newman and her ability to identify systemic gaps that others might miss.”
During her time in the admissions office, Drewes took on responsibilities beyond traditional recruiting. After only six months as an admissions counselor, a staff member who worked closely with international students left the university, and Drewes volunteered to take on the responsibility.
“Now I’ve been working with international students for 12 years,” she said. “It’s a really specialized skillset that you have to have because you’re working with admissions, proof of finances and immigration documents so students can get a visa.”
Once a bowler always a bowler
During her time as a student, Drewes earned a name for herself as a national champion on Newman’s bowling team, winning a collegiate singles title the first year it was ever televised on CBS College Sports.
“That’s how people at Newman identify me sometimes when they’re introducing me to other people,” she said.
She still bowls to this day, meeting with friends once a week as well as watching her seven and two-year-old children in their own youth bowling leagues.
“He doesn’t even need the ramp,” she said of her youngest. “He hates it. He just chucks it down the lane.”
Bowling at Newman was also the doorway to meeting her husband, Chris.
“He bowled at Wichita State University (WSU), and back in the day, WSU and Newman used to save money by sharing the same charter bus to different tournaments. So I met him through that,” she said.
The two met in 2007 and have been married since 2011.
Drewes said that although she did not originally plan to work in admissions, she sees now that it aligns with what she always wanted to do.
“I didn’t know how long I would stay when I initially applied for the job, but I always knew, even just doing theology, that I wanted to go into some type of helping profession, whether it was parish work or working in a nonprofit,” she said. “And this felt like a helping profession to me.”
Apply to Newman
Experience a super-charged student support and success program designed to help you thrive in a rapidly changing world.
