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right...on to the post...
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Want to leave a mark on your university? How about being the very first impression that a visitor gets?
Don't sweat it. You'll be well prepared.
As mentioned in my first post, I've spent part of this semester training to be an Admissions Ambassador. Ambassadors represent Carolina by giving tours, helping out with admissions events, and participating in phone-a-thons.
I applied to be an ambassador mostly on a whim. I helped out in the summer, checking people in for tours, and decided to apply, really because I loved the idea of telling a group of strangers how great our school is. A new group of people to impress every week!
It's only after eight hours of training, shadowing five different tours, and a 24-hour retreat that I've realized how important we are as ambassadors. Does that sound egotistic? Maybe, but it's true.
Think about how important this time in your life is. You're in the process of applying for your future. Wherever you choose to go to college will determine who your friends will be, what experiences you'll have, and will be made up of moments that you look back on countless times throughout your life.
As ambassadors, we're that first impression of our school, and we might be the deciding factor for a potential student unable to make up their mind. We are the faces of our University, and that's a pretty significant responsibility.
Training is filled with learning fun facts about Carolina, practicing all of the important things to talk about on tours, but most of all, building a collection of personal stories to share with visitors.
The current ambassadors have told us so many stories about their tours: the people they meet, the places they come from, and the hilarious questions that they've received. But the best stories I've heard are the ones where an Ambassador has changed someone's life. On so many occasions have high-school students visited our University, dragged here by a well-meaning parent who just wants to make sure they "consider all of their options." They come quiet, sour-faced, and determined to hate us. They've already made their decision. But, after a walk through the Pit during lunch time, laughing at the superstition Carolina students have about the Old Well, staring wide-eyed at the architecture of Wilson library, and stepping through the piles of autumn leaves that litter the bricks, they slowly unwind. Their arms un-cross, they ask questions, and they start to think that this might be the place for them after all. All of the ambassadors seem to have had a moment like this...The moment at the end of their tour, when the student who arrived ambivalent and haughty, walks shyly up to them and says, "Thank you so much. I can really see myself here." Through their charisma, kindness, and welcoming spirit, they've left their mark on a future student.
I was going to make this post just about what training to be an Ambassador is like, but I'm okay with the direction it went instead....
To paraphrase what some of the ambassadors say at the end of their tours, I'll conclude with this: I don't know if Carolina is the right school for you. I would love to convince you that it is, but the heart of the matter is that maybe you feel like you belong somewhere else. Go where you feel most at home. Don't let anyone make the decision but you. You are intelligent, bright, and full of potential. Don't waste that somewhere where you feel like you should be- spend it somewhere you want to be. And when you get there, and you realize how happy you are, consider being an ambassador for your university. There's nothing quite like sharing stories with strangers, and you'll have plenty of wonderful stories to share.
As always, please do not hesitate to post a question, or send me an e-mail at jkreizma@unc.edu
And now for some pictures!
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| Campus in the Fall. So pretty, right? |
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| The Ambassador retreat was at Quaker Lake! Also beautiful. |
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| Admissions Ambassadors at retreat! |
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