The Genesis by Quinton McArthur

Inspired by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Theme Song

Now this is the story all about how
My life got flipped turned upside down
And I’d like to take a minute just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I became the Assistant Director for Minority Recruitment at MIT…..which is in Kendall Square (I know, I know….give me a break, my title is long and I’m not a rapper)

In Piscataway New Jersey born and raised
In the backyard is where I spent most of my days
Chillin’ out maxin’ taking life real slow
Just playing Whiffle ball with my little bro

When I finished 12th grade and finally understood
I had to get out of my neighborhood
I got into one little school and my folks were real proud
I told them I was moving to Atlanta to attend Morehouse

The first degree was fun so I did it again
So I earned a master’s at UMD and now I’m a Terrapin
If anything, I can say that this experience was rare
But I learned a whole lot and I have more knowledge to share

I walked up to MIT on July 7th, 2008
Made sure my shoes were shiny and my tie was straight
Looked at my office, I was finally there
To sit at my desk as the Assistant Director for Minority Recruitment (I told you that I’m an admissions counselor, not a rapper)

Check 1, Check 2…..Is this thing on?

Hello blogosphere! So, now that you have read the abridged Fresh Prince inspired version of my autobiography, allow me to reintroduce myself and give you a slightly less abridged version of my story. My name is Quinton McArthur and I am the Assistant Director for Minority Recruitment. I work in the MIT Office of Admissions and I am a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park for a master’s degree, Morehouse College for a bachelor’s degree, Piscataway High School for my high school diploma, and Theodore Schor Middle School for fun (We had a ceremony, but no degree).

After I finished Morehouse, I landed a really sweet job working in college admissions at Rowan University in my home state of New Jersey. I worked for RU for three years and I realized that I wanted to learn more about higher education and the field of college admissions. So I packed my bags and headed to College Park, Maryland where I worked with college access organizations, educational policy organizations, and research teams while completing a master’s degree at the University of Maryland. Shortly after I finished my degree, I returned to college admissions in a full time capacity.

Over the course of my career, I have worked with many different types of students (urban kids from Los Angeles, rural kids from West Virginia, affluent kids from Bethesda, and kids of every type of background from New Jersey). I look forward to lending advice to all of you through your college application and search processes. This blog will pay particular attention to issues of concern that are most typically associated with Black, Latino/a, and Native American students. Does this mean that students of other backgrounds can’t participate in this forum? Absolutely not! I welcome all students to the table to learn more about MIT and participate in the conversation.

With that said, away we go….