Who's Who in Admission

Meet the Office


Admission Team
From left to right: Mike Payne, Coco Parham, Palmer Straughn, and James Garland

 

CONTACT US

 
TOLL-FREE
1-800-422-3212
ADMISSION OFFICE FAX
828-209-0003
Palmer Straughn
Director of Admission and Financial Aid
828-684-6232 ext. 118
pstraughn@christschool.org
Mike Payne
Associate Director of Admission
828-684-6232 ext. 117
mpayne@christschool.org
Coco Parham
Admission Office Manager
828-684-6232 ext. 106
cparham@christschool.org
James Garland '10
Assistant Director of Admission
828-684-6232 ext. 162
jgarland@christschool.org
 

 

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Admission Staff

Point guards are the glue that holds any good basketball team together.

Associate Director of Admissions Erasto Hatchett has always led from the front and has strengthened the Admissions Department with his depth of educational knowledge and experience.

Mr. Hatchett grew up playing basketball in one of the hotbeds for the sport (Lexington, Ky.) and was a point guard at the college level for Johnson C. Smith University. He knew then how to motivate and make teammates better, lessons which he carried into roles in administration, admissions, teaching, coaching, and as a case manager at schools in Charlotte and Raleigh the past 22 years.

Prior to coming here, Mr. Hatchett was Athletic Director, head basketball coach, and a physical education teacher at Charlotte’s Northside Christian Academy from 2016 to 2022, and prior to that was Assistant Director of Admissions at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh from 2010 to 2016.

In addition to his role in Admissions, Mr. Hatchett has been an assistant coach for Greenie basketball.

He has been married for 21 years to his wife, Tiffany, and they have two daughters, Aaliyah and Madison. Mr. Hatchett’s hobbies include basketball, naturally, as well as pickleball, table tennis and barbering.

Bradley Lidberg brings prior knowledge of Christ School and a competitive fire from his athletic background to his new role as Assistant Director of Admission. 

Mr. Lidberg graduated from North Dakota State University with a B.S. in Sport Management and then received his master's in Sports and Recreation Management from the University of Iowa in 2022. A year later, he bolstered the Greenie football coaching staff as Special Teams & Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends Coach. 

Mr. Lidberg's playing career at Concordia College lasted from 2015 to 2017. 

 

Entering her 20th year, Coco Parham P'13 continues to be a fixture and welcoming presence as an Office Manager. 

Mrs. Parham has been in Admissions for seven years now and previously worked for 13 years in the College Guidance Office as an administrative assistant and testing coordinator.

Mrs. Parham graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a B.A. in 1987. Her hobbies include hiking, reading, and watching a great movie. She prides herself on being an animal advocate and has volunteered in the past with the Asheville Humane Society.

Mrs. Parham is married to Christ School Associate Athletic Director Duncan Parham. They have two children, Ellsworth ’13 and Emma.

Enrollment and overall interest in Christ School continue to hit peak levels with Palmer Straughn as Director of Admission. 

Mr. Straughn worked in college admissions for 13 years before coming to Christ School in 2017. 

A seasoned fly fisherman and backpacker, Mr. Straughn could not have picked a better school to continue his work in admissions and fuel two of his greatest passions. Christ School’s location offers world-class fly fishing and some of the Southeast’s best hiking. After heading up the Outdoor Program at Wofford College, Mr. Straughn graduated with a B.A. in History in 2004 and began as an Admission Counselor at Lees-McRae College. Mr. Straughn would go on to advance to Associate Director of Admission and Senior Associate Director of Admission at Wofford. 

Mr. Straughn co-presented “Navigating the NCAA and Admission” at the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) Drive-in Workshop (2015) and followed that effort the next year by co-presenting “Application Case Studies.” At the SACAC’s annual conference in 2014, Mr. Straughn co-presented “Not Just a Small School: The Benefits of a Liberal Arts College.”

Mr. Straughn and his wife, Sara, live on campus.