Head of school Dave Peters and admissions director Thomas Maliszewski ‘13 are preparing for a recruiting trip to Asia from Oct. 13 to Oct. 27. 

Over the course of two weeks, the pair will travel to Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao in China, as well as Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Lily Huang, mother of Eric Hu ‘23, and Helen Chen, mother of Joey Chen ‘19, will assist in giving tours and translating.

“We are predominately there for recruiting,” Maliszewki said. “Our primary goal is to get in contact with prospective students and families and get them to come study at Mount Michael.”

According to Peters, building relationships with these families from different cultures is a vital part of the trip.

“Some of these families will never have the chance to come over [to the U.S.], so it’s nice for them to put a name and a face together,” Peters said.

Aside from recruiting, Peters and Maliszewki also look forward to the opportunity to meet with past and current parents to maintain the relationships they have built.

“We will be visiting Feng Gao in Beijing,” Maliszewski said. “He is on the Mount Michael board and is the father of Tony [Yutong] Gao ‘13. We will also be visiting the parents of Joey Chen ’20, Eric Hu ’23, John Yu ’23 in Shanghai, Jerry Fan ’20 in Qingdao, and Huy Tuan Le ’21 in Ho Chi Minh City.” 

The primary challenge during this recruiting trip is communicating the mission and culture of Mount Michael effectively to all the families.

“We talk to them about our accomplishments and our mission,” Peters said. “We make the point that we are a Benedictine college prep school that can help get them into a college of their choice.”

According to Maliszewki, a major part of selling Mount Michael is also selling Omaha and the American experience.

“Aside from the world-class education, parents want their kids to get immersed into American culture,” Maliszewki said. “We will bring an Omaha magazine and Mount Michael brochure to give visuals to all that this area has to offer.”

This will be Peters’s fourth recruitment trip to Asia, while this will be the first time Maliszewki travels overseas.

“I am really looking forward to seeing these cultures,” Maliszewki said. “It will be totally new and it will be an eye-opening experience for me.”

Aside from the challenges of being away from their families and daily jobs, Peters and Maliszewki are ready to focus their attention on bringing the mission to an entirely different culture and area of the world.

“We want to make Mount Michael a global school,” Maliszewki said. “Our international students share a vital part of our school identity, so if an international family wants to send their kid to the U.S., it should be at Mount Michael.”