Susan Boyle is the dean of admissions and has been at Naropa University since 1998. She came to Naropa from the Friends World Program at Long Island University where she worked in enrollment management for four years. She holds a BA from St. Lawrence University and an MA in education from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her passion lies in working in progressive institutions of higher education that are mission-driven and provide students the opportunity to take risks, think critically and explore not only the outer world but their internal wisdom as well. Susan serves on various university-wide committees as well as shares in the work and responsibility of managing a very busy Office of Admissions.
Amy Kopkin is the associate director of admissions. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in public relations and obtained a MS from Colorado State University where she studied multicultural-based approaches to environmental education. She spent three years as an admissions counselor at Agnes Scott College in Georgia and served as the director of campus life and interim dean of admissions at the American Hebrew Academy in North Carolina. She also has a background in theater, wilderness and outdoor leadership, diversity training, and leading camps for Jewish youth. Amy works with students in the core program from Colorado, the Midwest, the Southeast and Alaska. She also works with students interested in the BFA program in performance, Visual Arts, Music, and Environmental Studies.
Donna McIntyre Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions donna@naropa.edu
Donna McIntyre has been a staff member in the Admissions Office since 1996 and is currently the assistant director of admissions. She is the admissions counselor for the following Master of Arts programs: Contemplative Education, Contemplative Psychotherapy, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Indo-Tibetan Buddhism with Language, Religious Studies, Religious Studies with Language and Somatic Counseling Psychology. She is also the counselor for the Master of Divinity program. She received her MA degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University in 1984, and has been a teacher's assistant in meditation classes at Naropa for many years. She is passionate about and serves as the point person for diversity issues in the Admissions Office.
Kate Levene
Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions Counselor klevene@naropa.edu
Kate Levene is the admissions counselor for Naropa's MFA Theater programs, MFA Writing and Poetics, and the MA in Environmental Leadership. She also works with the BA Writing & Literature and Peace Studies programs. She is originally from northwestern England, where she worked for the University of Manchester before immigrating to the United States in 1996. Kate has strived to maintain her British sense of humor but has, according to her family, acquired an unfortunate mid-Atlantic accent, which she doesn't find funny at all.
Alice DiTullio has been an admissions counselor at Naropa for more than seven years. She works with the Transpersonal Counseling Psychology concentrations: Art Therapy and Wilderness Therapy. She also works with the low-residency Ecopsychology program. Alice graduated from Naropa in May of 1999 with a BA in Contemplative Psychology. She came to Naropa as an older student with a long history of both volunteer and professional experience in the human service field. She has worked with a variety of populations, including children with special needs, Central American refugees and runaway youth. Guiding students toward programs that emphasize self-awareness, solid skills and compassion in the field of psychology is what she finds most satisfying about her work.
Jen grew up in Kentucky, then moved to Chicago after graduating from college to work in the mental health field. She lived there for six years before moving to Boulder to attend Naropa’s Transpersonal Counseling Psychology program. She is currently in her third and final year of the TCP program, and thoroughly enjoys the contemplative piece of her training. Jen has a rich and varied professional background, having worked with the homeless, domestic violence victims, and adults with chronic mental illness. She is now celebrating a different role at Naropa as a part-time Graduate Admissions Counselor. About her work day, she says, "I work with a bunch of great ladies that make my workday fun." Her greatest contributions to the admissions office at Naropa are her sense of humor and her desire to support prospective students along the path toward their own professional and personal goals.
Catherine, who is an undergraduate admissions counselor, hails from Victoria, British Columbia. As an alumna of the BA Contemplative Psychology program, Catherine has working knowledge of the undergraduate program from a student point of view, as well as from an admissions standpoint. She is well versed in all undergraduate and graduate programs, though works primarily with transfer students in the BA Contemplative Psychology, BA Early Childhood Education, BA Traditional Eastern Arts and BA Religious Studies, as well as with undeclared students from the Northeast and many mid Atlantic states. Her passion outside of Naropa is homeopathy.
Leticia Benally is the inquiry coordinator and a student in the Visual Arts program. She is from Boulder, Colorado, but she also calls New Mexico home. Her favorite thing about Boulder is the range of activities available and, of course, the mountains. Letty came to Naropa by way of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the Colorado Art Institute. Her position in the Office of Admissions allows her to engage with a diverse range of people from many different places and cultures. As a student herself, she can identify with much of the excitement and frustration that students often feel. Letty sees Naropa University as a good fit for anyone who is looking for a more community-based learning atmosphere.
Helen Garczynski is the administrative director of admissions. She
is originally from Orange County, California—home of Disneyland, beautiful beaches and Hollywood stars. In addition to California, she has lived near Seattle, Chicago and, more recently, Boston. She values having been exposed to so many different locations, cultures and people. As the administrative director of admissions, she manages the day-to-day operations of the office. She sees her work as helping to create a better future for students. In addition, she has numerous opportunities to learn from her colleagues, build relationships with others on campus and discover how Naropa University changes lives.
Nadine came from the hot and muggy city of Houston to be part of the Naropa Community where she serves as the Event & Visitation Coordinator in the Admissions Office. If you have any questions about on-campus, on the road or any other types of admissions events, she's your point person. If you would like to set up a visit to tour the campus, observe a class, or meet with an admissions counselor, she's also the one to help!
Kris Miller is an office assistant, directly working with reception and communication. She is also a student in the MFA Writing & Poetics department, with a prose concentration. She was raised in Mishawaka, IN, but spent six years in Muncie, IN at Ball State University before arriving in Boulder, CO to attend Naropa University in June 2006. She enjoys her position in the Admissions Office because she can interact with prospective students, her co-workers are great, and no day is exactly the same. Educationally, she comes from a traditional background. But she knows that is why she enjoys being at Naropa so much. She’s had the best of both worlds, a traditional undergrad and an experimental graduate program.
Student Ambassadors
Lauren Zwicky
Student Ambassador
Lauren Zwicky, originally from Orem, UT, is celebrating her second year at Naropa as an undergraduate student, as well as an Admissions Student Ambassador. She loves working for Admissions because everyone is friendly, fun, and super easy to talk to. To all prospective students, she has this advice: "Bring yourself, all of yourself. Naropa is about making your journey into what you want it to be and making a lot of discoveries about yourself along the way, but only if you are willing. I am not completely well-versed in All Things Naropa, but I knew a great deal coming in being a second generation Naropean. I've also learned a ton about the background of the school and the current interworkings of the school during my time in admissions."
Amy Kopkin
Jennifer Kidwell
