Between the Devil and Dr. Seuss: A Passion for Service to Students

When students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, first encounter debt-management counselor Carolyn Pritchett, she's wearing a hardhat, T-shirt and toolbelt. She wears the attire at orientation sessions to illustrate for students the array of tools available to them for managing their finances and education debt.

The last time UMB students typically see Pritchett, she's dressed as the devil with the word "Default" emblazoned on her forehead. Her exit-counseling message is clear: Fail to repay your student loans and you'll have a devil of a time.

In between, Pritchett is devoted to assisting students with personal-finance issues, and with organizing an annual event that commemorates the birthday of the late children's author Dr. Seuss and encourages inner-city elementary-school students to read and pursue education.

"Students are my first priority," Pritchett says. Although her official work schedule calls for four 10-hour days, she's often at the office after hours to help students through the financial challenges they encounter as they pursue higher education.

"I take student calls at home. I do joint counseling with students and their spouses. I work with our graduates, with students not currently attending the university, and I assist other schools," Pritchett reports. "Students need to have someone they can turn to for answers and know that person will be available when they need help. That's me."

The case for quality debt-management counseling
Pritchett came to the debt-management-counseling job three years ago after serving in UMB's student-accounts office since 1981. She reports that the university had established the debt-management-counseling position a few years earlier when the school's cohort default rate rose above 2 percent. Although UMB has recorded a default rate of less than 1 percent in recent years, Pritchett says debt-management counseling is vital.

"Considering the amount that students invest in their education, any school that does not see fit to offer quality debt-management counseling really is being unfair to its students," Pritchett said.

Pritchett is equally adamant about the importance of face-to-face counseling. Although she agrees that online loan-counseling services can provide students with "the verbiage," Pritchett notes that students need the "visuals" and the "step-by-step" guidance that only an in-person counseling session can provide effectively.

She notes that personal attention to students is especially important at a school like UMB, which serves a large population of graduate and professional students. "Medical students need help understanding how they're going to eat and how they're going to have a roof over their heads during residency," Pritchett says. "Law students need advice about how to manage during their clerkships."

A 'pit bull for students'
Pritchett's passion for student service has earned her the title "pit bull for students" from Cissy VanSickle, UMB's director of financial aid. Pritchett is just as passionate about a special outreach program that UMB hosts each March for third-grade students from an inner-city Baltimore elementary school. She spends the better part of a year working with UMB colleagues to generate donations and arrange participants for the Dr. Seuss Celebration Party. The event brings about 100 elementary-school students to campus for a half day. During the celebration, local celebrities read to the students. The students hear presentations about various careers. In addition, the children mingle with characters, including the Cat in the Hat, McGruff the Crime Dog and the Baltimore Ravens mascot, Poe. The students also are treated to lunch and individual goody bags. The event kicks off a book drive to benefit a local elementary school.

Pritchett's passion for debt management and outreach in service to students has won recognition from her colleagues at UMB. She received the 2003 Community Service Award for the Academic Affairs division of the university.