President's Welcome


Welcome to the Pennsylvania Association for College Admission Counseling’s website. It is our goal for you to find PACAC to be a valuable resource in your work. PACAC provides professional development, networking, education, and opportunity for professionals to collaborate and find community. Whether you are a longtime member of our association, new to the profession, or just visiting and seeking resources, we hope that you find this website helpful.

I am honored and humbled to serve as PACAC’s president for the 2023-24 academic year. As my term as PACAC’s president begins there is no shortage of change on the horizon. Less than two days after my term began, the Supreme Court ruled the use of race in college admission  to be unlawful. We know changes are coming to the FAFSA, and that it will launch later in the upcoming school year than usual. Our profession continues to navigate the ongoing conversation, which questions the value of postsecondary pathways. There will certainly be additional change and challenges that we will wrestle with in the year ahead.

I encourage you to remember that with every change and challenge comes opportunity. Decisions like that of the Supreme Court offer us a moment to pause, reflect, and to evaluate; how we have been serving our profession, and the students we work with, up until now. Where is the opportunity for us to improve how we support students? Where is the opportunity for us to collaborate across our profession?

PACAC is here to help you explore these questions, and to support you as we navigate the future. PACAC’s membership is growing, and we believe in the power of a diverse membership. The more diverse our membership is the greater our diversity of thought will be – in each of our committee meetings, at each of our professional development events, and in the feedback we hear from you. This diversity of thought is a precursor to our success – success as individuals, as an organization, and as a society.

If you are not a current member, please take a moment to explore the benefits of membership. For newer professionals, we hope you look to PACAC for opportunities to grow and learn. If you are a supervisor, we encourage you to use PACAC as a way to develop the members of your team, and to give back to our profession yourself. If you need assistance to afford the cost of membership, please consider using our Counselor Assistance Program to request a grant.

If you have any questions, or are interested in getting involved, please feel free to reach out to one of our Officers, Directors, Committee Chairs, or At-Large Delegates

By working together, our profession is stronger. 

Hillen Grason Jr.
President
[email protected]