“Every day was something new,” Locke said. “They were looking for leaders to reimagine admissions at Cornell, and that became my work. I was responsible for the way Cornell approached the recruitment, selection and enrollment of students. I felt like every day was a new challenge, and I thrive in that environment.” 

Locke’s rise at Cornell is even more impressive considering his starting point. He grew up in a Richburg, N.Y., a tiny town whose current population (391 per the 2020 census) is smaller than the enrollment at RE’s middle school (478), and about an eighth of the size of Cornell’s current freshman class. His high school was so small, Locke traveled off campus to take gifted classes, and the school offered no Advanced Placement courses.  

Locke shares with a grin that he was valedictorian of his senior class; the smile is because the class consisted of 22 students (his sister, two years his senior, also was valedictorian). Neither of Locke’s parents attended college but there was never any question that their children would.  

Locke earned an academic scholarship to Alfred University, a private college close to home. As in high school, Locke stood out; he was commencement speaker and won the Alumni Association Outstanding Senior Award. Though he was an exceptional student, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, and an impetuous decision regarding a summer job had an outsized impact on Locke’s future career path. He had to decide between two summer job opportunities: The first was helping catalogue colonial-era correspondence discovered in a local barn between a minister and military figure. The second was giving campus tours. 

Locke did not want to hunker down in a barn doing labor-intensive research when he could be walking around the university grounds entertaining prospective students with fun stories. That stint as a tour guide turned into a one-year job in the Alfred University Admission Office. When he arrived at the University of Vermont for graduate school, he soon found a part-time internship in the financial aid and admission office.

After he finished his Master of Education in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration, Locke landed a full-time job as a scholarship coordinator. Suddenly, he had two degrees (he is currently finishing up his EdD from the University of Pennsylvania) and a growing resume in the areas of admission and enrollment. 

When a family member became ill, Locke desired to move closer to home – at least temporarily – so he applied for an entry-level admission job at Cornell in Ithaca, N.Y., about two hours from Richburg. He spent the next 18 months reading applications, traveling and working long hours. He loved the work.  During that time, he earned a reputation as a stellar employee with a remarkable personal story who adeptly handled a massive workload. In 1999, he was named acting director of the admission office. During the next few years, as he rose to Director of Undergraduate Admission, he learned from mentors about what it meant to create a community of scholars. He was soon tasked with enhancing the office’s selectivity, diversity and focus on the liberal arts, and he got results. 

The lessons he learned during that time have informed his work at RE, and he remains eager to learn from RE’s students and families. 

“I want to spend this year getting to know and understand what is special and unique about Ransom Everglades,” he said. “I want to hear from students and families. My door is open, and I will welcome any conversations. That’s how you learn about a place, that’s how you learn about concerns, and that’s how you improve a process.”