The assistant director of graduate admissions has climbed a ladder of success at the school and assumed a leadership role after starting as a temporary employee nine years ago.
If Nataki Drones’ career trajectory looks familiar to her supervisor, Sheena Jackson, MS, it’s because Jackson has climbed the same ladder. Like Jackson, Drones started out as a temporary employee in 2016 and has made her mark in the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s (UMSON) Office of Student and Academic Services.
Drones is now the assistant director of graduate admissions, helping to oversee the admissions process for the school’s Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Science in Nursing programs. She was hired full time in 2017 as an admissions coordinator and received a promotion to her current role in 2022.
“Nataki’s journey is a testament to what’s possible when talent, opportunity, and perseverance align,” said Jackson, UMSON’s director of admissions and student scholarships. “Starting as a temporary employee and growing into a leadership role while pursuing her education, she embodies the very spirit of the University of Maryland, Baltimore [UMB]: one of service, excellence, and personal advancement. She is a leader, a mentor, a problem solver, and, above all, a respected member of the UMB community who is always focused on how she can help others succeed.”
Jackson and her UMSON colleagues continued to sing Drones’ praises during a videoconference Sept. 4, when UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, surprised Drones with news that she had been selected as the University’s Employee of the Month of August.
“I have heard many great things about the work you do for UMB and that your co-workers at the School of Nursing think so highly of you,” Jarrell told Drones. “You started as a temporary employee, and look at where you are now. You’ve just done a terrific job.”
Jackson said Drones embodies UMB’s core values — Respect and Integrity, Well-Being and Sustainability, Equity and Justice, and Innovation and Discovery — and praised her for maintaining a 3.5 grade-point average as she works toward a master’s degree in higher education administration from Morgan State University.
“In every aspect of her role, Nataki reflects and reinforces the University’s core values, not just in theory, but in practice,” said Jackson, who was recognized as UMB’s Employee of the Month in February 2019. “Her efforts strengthen the School of Nursing, support student success, and contribute to a more inclusive and collaborative UMB community.
“I have seen her bloom into a wonderful professional and a wonderful young woman that we are all lucky to work with,” Jackson added. “When she started here, she wanted to pursue work in the information technology field, but she changed her path. I appreciate her dedication and the way that she’s grown into such an amazing employee.”
Drones said her goal is to make the admissions process run smoothly for the student applicants and the faculty who ultimately decide who will be admitted.
“I am sort of the glue between the students and the faculty,” Drones said. “I answer a lot of the program-specific questions, help with the admissions process, and get students all the way to being admitted and enrolled. For the faculty, I make sure files are correct and that they have the students’ transcripts and basically everything they need to make their admission decisions.
“I like the connections I make with the students and being able to hear their stories and figure out how I can help them get to the next step of their life,” she added. “I want the process to be as easy and painless as possible so that the students — and the faculty — can meet their goals.”
Drones graduated from Notre Dame of Maryland University with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and is on track to receive her master’s degree in spring 2026. She then hopes to pursue a PhD, also at Morgan State.
She said she was blindsided by winning the Employee of the Month Award, which includes a certificate, letter of commendation, and $250 in her next paycheck as rewards for the recognition. She thanked Jackson and her admissions office colleagues for their support.
“I really appreciate Sheena and the way she has been with me at every point of my journey at UMB,” Drones said. “She’s always been in my corner by mentoring, teaching, and training me every step of the way.
“I was honestly shocked by winning this award,” Drones said. “It was the last thing that I could have ever assumed was going to happen in that Zoom meeting, but I appreciate the honor and I appreciate my team. I hope to continue to do good work, and hopefully more of us in the admissions office will be recognized for the work that we do.”