OAR’s Rachel Tatge Shines in CIVSA National Conference Presentation

This May, Rachel Tatge, Assistant Director of Events in OAR, presented at her third annual Collegiate Visitor and Information Services Association (CIVSA) conference in Charlotte, NC. CIVSA is an organization designed for admissions professionals who oversee visits and events and has 631 member institutions. The 2025 conference was the largest yet, with over 700 attendees. Rachel presented on “Pivots and Pitfalls: Successfully Navigating Challenges in Admitted Student Programming” with Kate Bracciano of Marquette University. During her portion of the presentation, Rachel highlighted UW–Madison, OAR, and Future Badger Day, our largest admitted student program. She highlighted some ongoing challenges when it comes to the event — space limitations, parking limitations, and guest experience personalization and customization — and how we have turned those challenges on their head to turn them into opportunities and ultimately successes. There were almost 100 attendees in the room, and Rachel and Kate received glowing feedback, including: “Fantastic session! A lot of details covered and great questions and feedback from the presenters. Wish it could have been longer!” “Loved the comparison of the institutions and involving those in the audience to work on creative solutions to issues.” “I really enjoyed this session. It was interesting to see how two institutions that are relatively close have different issues and different ways to successfully solve problems. It gave me insight on how to look at problems in my smaller school in different ways.” Rachel plans to get more involved with CIVSA throughout the coming year, including serving as a mentor to other members.