Pat MacKinnon has Welcomed a Generation of Lawrentians to Campus

By the time most people arrive at the Lawrenceville Admission Office, visit coordinator Pat MacKinnon has already been there for an hour, preparing for the day’s visitors. Welcome signs are posted, and local treats are ready to be enjoyed. From her post behind the front desk — though she rarely stays behind it for long —“Mrs. Mac” greets every visitor with a smile and the same assurance she’s offered for 18 years: You belong here.

“I like to come out and greet people personally,” MacKinnon said. “A mom once told me she couldn’t believe I came out from behind my desk. But that’s just common courtesy. A hello, a smile, a cup of cider or hot chocolate — it helps people relax.”

MacKinnon joined Lawrenceville in 2006 for what she thought would be a short-term role helping families find their way around campus. All these years later, she has helped more than 2,700 families a year do just that. She coordinates visit schedules, pairs prospective families with Lawrenceville student tour guides, and works closely with admission officers to make every visit run smoothly. But her real job, she’ll tell you, is matchmaking — connecting people not just to the right guide, but to the right experience.

“I look at their interests,” she explained. “If I can match a swimmer with a swimmer, or a boarder with a boarder, that’s ideal. Sometimes they come from the same school or hometown. I love when that happens. It makes the visit more personal.”

It’s this personalization, according to Co-Head Tour Guide Chloe Lee ’26, that makes MacKinnon “wonderful at greeting our families and making sure they’re comfortable and welcome from the moment they walk onto campus. … Because Mrs. Mac is so warm, friendly, and inviting, she fills her role as Lawrenceville’s first impression perfectly.”

Her desk, covered with photos of past tour guides, is a scrapbook of those connections. She remembers their names, their faces, even where they sat during their first visit. “I had a student come back years later and say, ‘You got me apple cider when I was so nervous for my interview.’ They still remember that,” she said. “That’s what makes my job special.”

Those small things have left a big impression. “A mother once told me, ‘I love how you take care of the kids who are already here. That’s why I’m sending my child to Lawrenceville,’” MacKinnon recalled. “That one almost made me cry.”

Over nearly two decades, MacKinnon has seen those nervous faces grow into confident students, leaders, and alumni. She recalls one student who lingered at the end of his visit years ago. “I told him, ‘If you come to Lawrenceville, you’re going to be president of the School someday,’” she said.

Three years later, Nick Fenton ’13 was elected by peers as president of his class and is now serving as associate director and associate fellow in the Center for Strategic and International Studies Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program. From the day of his admission interview through graduation, Fenton said, MacKinnon was “always so supportive of my endeavors. … I know I’m not the only Lawrenceville alum who can say that whenever I saw Mrs. Mac on campus, she always greeted me with a big smile and an encouraging word. She’s the perfect example of the kind of person who makes Lawrenceville such a special place.”

MacKinnon’s favorite part of the job, she said, is seeing the way Lawrentians grow. “You watch a student come in as a scared freshman, and then they’re leading tours, mentoring younger kids, coming back after graduation. That’s everything to me.”

Ask her what makes Lawrenceville special, and she doesn’t hesitate. “It’s the community,” she said. “It’s not just about pressure or performance. Once you’re here, you’re part of a family. And when you come back — even years later — you still are.”