Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
By: Shayne Fujii ʼ89
As a student, Christel McGuigan dreamed of being an accountant. After graduating from Mililani High School, she attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and was well on her way to getting her accounting degree. However, there was something pulling her to teaching. During her time at UH Mānoa, McGuigan studied in Queretaro, Mexico, which had a tremendous impact on her path forward. Shel received a Master’s Degree in Spanish Language and Literature.
Fast forward 20 years, Christel McGuigan is Mid-Pacific’s new Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management. Her journey to our school and this role includes three states and a husband who happens to be a Mid-Pacific alum.
In 2000, McGuigan moved to San Diego to teach Spanish at the Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California. A few years later, she became the school’s first Director of Diversity. In 2009, she moved to Dallas, Texas where she took on a senior leadership role as the Director of Multi-Cultural Programs at Greenhill School. In 2012, she relocated to Seattle, Washington to take on a position as the Director of Equity and Instruction at Lakeside School.
“This role touched every aspect of the school system as it integrated equitable and inclusive practices within student programming, curriculum, instruction, schoolwide professional development, as well as the hiring and retention of employees,” says McGuigan.
In 2017, McGuigan moved back home to Hawai‘i to take on the role of the Assistant Principal for Academics at Mid-Pacific. “I started learning about the school’s mission and vision by reading the Mid-Pacific Today magazine; I told my husband, who is an alum of the school, ‘your school is doing amazing things!’ The school’s approach to education made it clear to me that the values of the school were closely aligned with mine.”
As the school’s new Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management, McGuigan is excited to build and expand the new model of admissions and enrollment management. “I am completely invested in helping this school-wide effort to ensure a healthy and thriving Mid-Pacific community for many years to come!”