As a freshman, I have still been getting used to a lot of what I do as a Student Ambassador for COM. I have given a few tours and written a few blog posts, but each day still teaches me new lessons about the job I am so fortunate to do. However, a few days ago, I got my first taste of what it feels like to help someone as a COM Ambassador. I got my first wave of satisfaction about what I was able to offer prospective students, and I was reminded why I was passionate about presenting COM, a college, program, and community I love, in the most positive light possible.
It was Winter Visit Day, a university-wide event filled with special programming for prospective students and families to demonstrate what Boston University has to offer. I arrived at COM Student Services, as I do every Friday at 12:50, knowing that this tour might be slightly bigger than those I’d already had. Most of the few tours I had given thus far had one or two students and their parents – nothing too overwhelming. But as I walked in on this particular Friday, a crowd was already forming around the usually lonesome desk. Students, siblings, and parents stood waiting to see the building and hear about the program, and it was my job to help them fall in love with it the way I had.
Wow, I thought to myself as I snapped my nametag to my shirt and greeted the other touring Ambassador, Lauren Haslett, a senior Advertising major. Lauren had given me tons of tips about touring before, but with a huge group like this on our hands, I knew today was the day to really turn her advice into action.
As the tour progressed, I found myself making personal connections with students and their families over common interests, backgrounds, and goals. One student wanted to get involved in student theatre, so I jumped on the opportunity to tell her about my experiences with student groups like BU On Broadway and Stage Troupe, as well as the acting opportunities on some of the shows on BU’s television channel, BUTV10. Another student was interested in Film & Television Production, like me, and just as I had been, he was apprehensive about whether he would struggle in the program without having lots of previous experience with film. I saw the nervousness in his face melt away as I told him about the opportunities to learn everything there is to know about filming, editing, and other aspects of the field before even getting into a Production class, but the curriculum is also set up in a way that would expose him to everything he did not yet know without setting him behind other students.
As I connected with students on a personal level, Laura did the same. She told prospective students interested in advertising about her experience, and even about how she had just been hired for a fabulous job after graduation. The size of the tour was not big enough to keep us from sharing our passion for COM, and a few days later, I knew we had succeeded.
An email showed up in my inbox from one of the prospective students on the tour. The student spent paragraphs expressing appreciation for our insight and enthusiasm, and he even highlighted specific moments where we had hooked him to the idea of BU COM. I beamed as I read and I could barely contain my excitement. It seemed Lauren and I had made a true difference in this high school student’s life, and perhaps we had helped him better pave the way toward the future he wanted to obtain.
I now understand firsthand the impact I can have as a COM Ambassador. It took less than a semester for me to confidently call COM my home, and the ability to share my passion with others is a gift I am so grateful for. I cannot wait to help as many other prospective students find their way in the complicated college process, and I hope my tour this coming Friday is even bigger than the last.