On Monday, Feb. 17, Union University’s Admissions team held Day at the U for prospective students to learn and experience some of the core aspects of the university.
These events are held every spring semester for the purpose of familiarizing high school aged students with the culture of Union.
Check-in for the event began at 8:30 a.m., and students and parents congregated in the Carl Grant Events Center for a worship service at 9:30. At 9:45, President Dub Oliver delivered a word of welcome, and the students were dismissed to go to a “Why UU?” panel. Then the attendees split into two groups to alternate lunches and department visits. The day concluded with a campus tour at 2:00 p.m., and the Student Life Fair at 3:00 p.m.
Lauren Steed, a senior digital media communications major and student ambassador, talked about the involvement of the student admissions workers during Day at the U.
“There are the ambassadors who are the ones who give the tours and eat lunches — so the main ones you probably see. Then we have SECs, and those are student enrollment counselors,” Steed said.
According to Steed, SECs roles are like assistants as they do behind-the scenes work like aiding the ambassadors in contacting the students through texts, emails and handwritten letters.
Noel Moore, a senior journalism major and student ambassador, explained a few of her favorite aspects of being an ambassador, one of them being a chance to see Union from a new perspective.
“Going on tours and seeing people’s faces for the first time when you show them the new wellness center or the library or the bell tower and these beautiful things that you start to take for granted — and then you see them be like ‘wow’ — has really made me appreciate Union a lot more,” Moore said.
Though working in admissions is often rewarding, Moore explained that the task of guiding prospective students is not always easy.
“It’s hard if you had a rough day and you have to give a tour,” Moore said. “But almost always afterwards I feel like I am in a much better headspace.”
“I think the thing that matters most to students is seeing real life students enjoying their time here and wanting to know them,” Moore said. “So, I guess seeing Union as a real place to live, where they could have their home and not just seeing this as something that their parents are taking them to, like, another college visit.”
“You meet people for very short periods of time, but you still can make an impact on them. Even though I will only see you for one day, I probably never will see you again, I still take the time to get to know you as a person,” Steed said. “I love telling stories, and I feel like I’ve experienced a lot and had a lot of opportunities, and I want to encourage other people in this stage of life trying to find a college.”
Upcoming Union preview days include another Day at the U event on Friday, March 14 and Night at the U on Saturday, April 26.
