Sara Eismont to depart from the Masters community
Currently the Associate Director of Admissions, Sara Eismont has also served as an advisor to seven juniors and a dorm parent at Cushing. For her contribution to the dorm community, she was invited as a speaker to the latest Community brunch, organized by the Cushing Dorm.
May 30, 2023
After five years of working at Masters, Associate Director of Admissions Sara Ann Eismont is leaving the school to explore other roles and responsibilities beyond the school community. Known for her energetic personality and easily-recognizable laugh, Eismont has become an important part of Masters community, working as an admissions officer, an advisor to the class of 2024 and a co-director of Cushing Dorm.
“She’s a ray of sunshine that has brought upon us advice, learning and crafts – a lot of crafts on the weekends,” Cushing resident Amaris Asiedu ‘23 said. “She’s helped me with a lot of stuff by letting me ask questions and not minimizing what I’ve been through or what I’m asking her for. I think she really knows how to empathize with students and doesn’t look down on us [as kids].”
Eismont joined Masters as an admissions associate in 2018, just six months after she graduated from Wesleyan University. In high school, she participated in CITYterm, Masters’ semester residential program focused on NYC’s history, literature, and urban environment. As an admissions officer, Eismont became responsible primarily for CITYterm admissions and, after moving to campus in 2019, became a CITYterm dorm parent.
“My first impression [of Masters] was that there was a lot of excitement, a lot of joy around learning, a lot of things going on all the time,” Eismont said. She later added, “As someone who is a very enthusiastic person working in a very enthusiastic community, I would say it’s really inspiring to see how passionate people are here about the things they care about.”
Eismont has always wanted to work in education and was also interested in returning to Masters where she once studied. The work in admissions entailed two things she is passionate about: meeting new people and forming relationships with them.
Director of Middle School Admission, Abbe Montaldo, has worked with Eismont since the latter joined the school. She said, “[Eismont] has been a really strong asset to our team. I’m going to miss her terribly because she’s always willing to jump in and help if someone on the team needs an interview covered or a file read. I call her ‘sparkles’ because she is always so upbeat, positive and kind to everyone.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the suspension and eventual termination of the CITYterm program, Eismont became part of the Activities Team for two years, helping to organize trips and events for boarding students. Last academic year, she also became an advisor for seven students from the Class of 2024.
“My favorite part of working in Masters has to be working with the students and their families, and getting to see students grow and try new things and just kind of seeing them surprise themselves with all that they can do,” Eismont said.
This academic year, Eismont has taken up a new role: Co-Director of Cushing Dorm. As a supportive and enthusiastic dorm parent, she has earned the love of many boarders.
Kade Bartlett ‘26, who lives in Cushing, said, “Ms. Eismont is a really outgoing person, who makes you feel welcome whenever you’re around her. I remember at the beginning of the year, she always came up with new ideas for games to bring us together. Even if some of us were not into it at first, we would always get into it with the energy that she brought.”
This year, Cushing became the school’s first gender expansive dorm. Helping to lead the community through such a historic change has been Eismont’s proudest achievement from her Masters career.
“Cushing this year has been this new adventure we’ve all been on together, and it’s been a lot of figuring things out,” Eismont said. “And I think I’m really proud of how we’ve navigated building the first gender expansive dorm here. And I know that I’m leaving that in a really good place, and we have amazing students who are part of this community and amazing proctors for next year.”
Throughout her work at Masters, Eismont has tried many different responsibilities: from running receptions for prospective families to being an AP test coordinator to chaperoning boarders at Knicks games. She said she is excited to take all that she has learned here to whatever her new role would be.
“I have learned from Masters that you do nothing alone,” Eismont said. “And that you know, there’s that saying, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.’ So I think I have learned, the more people you know, and the more people that you can figure out how to collaborate with in general, the better.”
After Masters, Eismont plans to try new roles, while still staying in education. Having worked in admissions for five years, she is looking forward to being more centrally located within the school community.
“I think all institutions are imperfect, including schools, and I’m excited to work within an imperfect institution to hopefully make it a little bit better,” Eismont said. “And I think education is really hard because you’re constantly up against all of society’s issues. But I think it’s the greatest pivot we have for social change.”
