James Atkins
Senior Associate Director of College Counseling
James joins the college counseling office at Milton with 15 years of experience in higher education enrollment and communications. A proud midwesterner, he earned degrees in Interpersonal Communication Studies and Organizational and Professional Communication Development from Ball State University.
After launching his career in the admissions office at his alma mater, James seized an opportunity to join the higher education team at Daniel J. Edelman, a global PR firm, where he worked with several top universities to launch social campaigns around their initiatives. He later returned to the enrollment profession at Rice University, where as Deputy Director of Admission, Enrollment Marketing and Communications, his responsibilities included overseeing the interviewer program, large on-campus events for prospective and admitted students, managing the daily schedule for application review, establishing the enrollment division’s social media presence, and evaluating applications for all of New England, including Milton! Rice students also chose him to serve as a Resident Associate there, living in a residential college and supporting students’ overall development with fun activities and delicious (truly!) homemade snacks for their study breaks.
Most recently, James served as Associate Director of College Counseling at Phillips Exeter Academy, where he guided a diverse group of counselees toward their college dreams. As a first-generation student himself, he is particularly interested in issues of college access, affordability and inclusion. He is especially passionate about providing families with positive frameworks for difficult conversations around the college application process. His favorite conversations, though, are the ones with students themselves—about their unique stories, how they’ll present their candidacy to colleges, and about which colleges will meet their goals.
He is a musician, a foodie, a Jeep enthusiast and a big fan of all things related to RuPaul’s Drag Race. In the 2024–2025 school year, he will reside in Forbes House with Josie Jones, his rescue mutt from Houston.
