HAILEY HOWELL / FEATURE EDITOR

Jim Bonner is the current associate director of admissions at USD, but he has worked in a few different positions to get where he is today. After attending high school in the San Francisco Bay Area and applying to three universities, Jim Bonner decided he wanted to move to San Diego and attend USD. 

“It was when I took a tour of USD … along with receiving a merit scholarship, [that] enticed me to enroll and take a chance,” Bonner said. “I think it was the best decision that I’ve made.” 

Bonner pursued his Bachelor of Arts degree in both business administration and Spanish. Additionally, during his time as an undergraduate student, he started working in the admissions office as a work-study based student. However, he had no intention of working on a college campus after graduation. Bonner continued his education at USD and earned his Masters in Leadership Studies in higher education, ultimately pursuing a career in the business field after college. 

“I went into mortgage lending upon graduating USD and quickly learned within two years that just wasn’t my jam,” Bonner said. “At the time between 2003 and 2005 when I did that, it was a very big and booming market. However, that market led to the Great Recession of 2008, and I saw all the behind the scenes of how it led to that. There was a lot of unethical practices and fraud that was happening in the industry, and my values did not align with that coming from a USD education.” 

Bonner knew that he wanted a change of pace from working in the subprime mortgage industry. He had great memories of being a student employee, so when the opportunity to work as an admissions counselor at USD presented itself, he decided to pursue a professional career in that direction. Bonner explained that the job had different requirements depending on the season, so it wasn’t always the same focus all the time – which is one reason why he loves the position. 

“In the fall … We are on the road visiting high schools and making presentations multiple times a day – about four high schools a day followed by a college fair at night,” Bonner said. “That’s pretty much our flow until November, which is when we start to transition to reading applications. From March and April, we transition to what we call ‘event yield season’ so for all the admitted students, we have a lot of programs that we put on to have them come to campus and see if USD’s the right place for them.” 

After working as an admissions counselor at USD for five years, Bonner decided that he wanted to experience a different side of admissions besides recruitment. A position for the associate director of operations at USD opened up, whose job is to focus on the data and operations behind admissions. He explained that the position required different responsibilities and focuses from his previous admissions experience.

“It’s making sure the data systems are all synced up so when students apply, that data information can flow into our database and we can provide our evaluation system for all of our counselors to be able to read and evaluate applications effectively,” Bonner said. “It’s all about the reporting, not only within our office, but to the USD campus as well about new students who are coming in to keep all of the departments informed … that component really intrigued me because I had never had that experience before, and that has helped kind of grow my career in enrollment as well.” 

Eventually, in 2014, Bonner was recruited to work for the College Board, a non-profit organization with the goal of expanding access to higher education, even though he wasn’t originally planning to leave USD. 

“A position became available on their higher education services team, and the sole responsibility of that work was to work with other colleges and universities in the Western region,” Bonner said. “That allowed me to travel more and visit college offices and enrollment offices from Montana to Arizona to Alaska to Hawaii … It allowed me to understand and grow my understanding of enrollment as a larger national landscape and combat unique issues that each college faces.” 

Bonner hiking in Hawaii on Koko Head Crater. Photo courtesy of Jim Bonner

After working for the College Board and as an independent contractor, Bonner returned to USD in the summer of 2021 to take on the responsibility of the associate director of admissions.

“It was taking what I learned in the last seven years with the College Board and learning from other colleges and universities, and how could I take those new ideas to help grow what I already know USD has the potential for, so that’s really been my goal the last three years,” Bonner said. “I still have, obviously, counseling responsibilities, and I still recruit and read applications for my territory [Hawaii], but I also now manage all of the admission counselors on the team … I also manage all of our student tour guides, so I oversee that process as the front of the house and our graduate assistants who work in the office as well.”

He explained that the admissions faculty faces challenges, but he loves working in this field and helping shape USD’s future classes. 

“It was a challenging year in admissions with the FAFSA simplification – it hurt a lot of students on the national level,” Bonner said. “That was a challenge that we had to work through, as well as the Supreme Court ruling where race and ethnicity is no longer allowed to be used in admissions. We are facing multiple challenges this year, but I think we navigated them pretty well. We should be welcoming one of the more diverse classes that we’ve had at USD this fall which is incredible … I’m very grateful for the work I do and the position I’m in.”

Bonner has decided to stick around in San Diego, as he feels it is relatively close to everything and has great weather. When he isn’t in the office, he spends his time working in his garden and doing freelance photography.

Bonner at the peak of Iron Mountain in San Diego. Photo courtesy of Jim Bonner

“Typically my time is spent collecting eggs from our nine chickens and taking care of the veggie garden and 20-plus fruit trees in the yard,” Bonner shared. “I am also a freelance photographer specializing in real estate and family photography, which keeps me busy on the weekends.” 

Bonner says to anyone who’s interested in a career in this field to start in the admissions office as a student worker through working as a tour guide, student intern or student ambassador. 

“Through these roles, student workers are able to meet a wide range of prospective students and families and grow in their communication skills, confidence and ability to build on those soft skills that are so essential in the workforce,” Bonner said. “Admissions counselors get to travel, connect with families all over the country, and the work, while incredibly challenging, is equally incredibly rewarding.”

Jim Bonner has worked in many different admissions positions and has a well- rounded experience in leadership positions. He enjoys working with students and getting to know what the USD student body loves so that he can share with prospective students. Bonner prides himself on being able to call San Diego his home.

Bonner at the National Association of College Admissions Counselors with fellow session panelists. Photo courtesy of Jim Bonner