“It was never even a consideration not to do admissions once I started,” said senior accounting major Madison Hari as she reflected on her time in the undergraduate admissions office with gratitude and adoration.
As a fellow employee of the admissions office, I can confidently say that all the student workers would say the same thing: our job is unique and special. Both the ambassadors who tour prospective students around campus and the student enrollment counselors get the rewarding job of recruiting students to the school we love so much.
It takes a special kind of person to speak positively and honorably with no smack talking or negative comments about the college you attend. There is a select group of people who can do this job well for three years.
Madison Hari, or lovingly referred to as “Mads,” is one of those special students.
Hari has worked in the undergraduate admissions office as a student worker since her sophomore year. She spent freshmen year getting acclimated to the college life, but as sophomore year approached, she wanted to get plugged in. She heard people say, “you will get out of college what you put in,” and she wanted to invest as much as possible during this short season of life.
“All the ambassadors I saw on campus were people I really looked up to and really respected, so I was like, this is something I would love to be a part of,” said Hari. “I love Union, so I think the opportunity to get to know people and tell them why I love Union just seemed like a fun and easy job to do.”
She started as a student enrollment counselor, but her favorite part was always touring people around campus on preview days, so she stepped into the role of ambassador junior year. She vividly remembers being a prospective student, arriving on campus and watching the students very closely. The college decision-making process is stressful and difficult, so she loves coming alongside high school students in this challenging season of their lives.
“When I was a prospective student, I didn’t really care about the facts and statistics,” said Hari. “So, one of the biggest things I try to do is to give the prospective students on tours stories of what college is really like and make it feel personable.”
Hari told one story of when a family came all the way from China to visit Union. It was the week that COVID-19 shut the world down. They were supposed to visit the University of Tennessee, but the school closed the day before. When they decided to visit Union, Hari was assigned to tour them around campus. Because there was a language barrier, the facts didn’t captivate them. Rather, it was the moving bookshelves in the library. They were soaking in all the cool things about Union that Hari often forgets about.
“I never worry about her not smiling, not having fun, not showing others the joy of Christ when she shows someone around campus and tells the Union story,” said Fran Thomas, events coordinator and boss to all the student workers in admissions. “Over the last 3 years, we are the lucky ones to have witnessed this growth and cheer her on as she engages with every family she encounters. What a gift she has been to us and every family she meets.”
This job not only serves others, but it also serves Hari personally. She has grown in confidence as the leader she is because of how the admissions office equips its student workers with the skills they need. She has also made friendships that wouldn’t exist outside of the admissions office.
Whether you are a student enrollment counselor or student ambassador, working in admissions requires a present mind. This job requires the ability to meet students right where they are and to pause, listen, slow down and be present in the moment. Hari has grown and done all these things with excellence during her three years in the admissions office. She and all the other senior ambassadors will be treasured and missed deeply after graduation.
“It is rewarding to get to know these families. We don’t really know what they are going through, but we have an hour and a half to love on them and make them smile by, you know, saying a quirky joke about the bell tower, or whatever it is,” Hari said. “I think it makes you feel like you have purpose in this job.”
