Professional Development: Signature Event
July 2019 – Present
After an intense interviewing process in the spring of my freshman year, I was accepted as a University Ambassador. As a member of this program, I lead tours once a week, volunteer during campus-wide welcome events: Fall Open House and the various acceptance days in the spring. I also act as the face of the university for alumni, faculty, and donors. Throughout the semester, I must attend various refresher presentation where we go over what is going on with tours and on campus. These monthly meetings promote professional development and team collaboration.
Upon returning from Italy this past summer, I gave tours every day, twice a day to prospective students and their families. Then, this past semester, I gave tours every Monday morning at 10 am. Unlike the tours I gave over the summer, these were group tours. Group tours are when groups from community organizations or schools come to tour as an entire group. This was a much different experience than the summer because these students were typically younger, 9th grade and younger, and typically didn’t have the choice to come to NCSU for the day. With that being said, it was very challenging trying to engage them throughout the tour and connect with each of them individually. Luckily this upcoming spring semester, I will be giving tours to prospective students and their families, not to groups.
By presenting myself every week to a group of strangers and sharing my passion for the university, I am strengthening my leadership skills and preparing to lead a classroom one day. This commitment also allows me to network with other students, admissions faculty and other faculty with powerful positions. In addition to giving tours every week, I will also be taking a course on professional development and strengthening leadership skills next semester. This class is only open to University Ambassadors. I look forward to seeing how I will continue to grow as a future educator within this program.
