Better contact: Student ambassadors, callers hired

Home News Better contact: Student ambassadors, callers hired

Admissions added 40 students to its ambassador squad and 27 to its new call team.
With 30 senior student ambassadors graduating this semester, leaving 42 remaining, admissions is preparing for their departure by training the new employees. There will be 112 total ambassadors for this semester, Assistant Director of On-Campus Recruiting John Papciak said. Come fall, the team will return to its “target number” of 82 student ambassadors.
“[It’s] a large crew all focused on getting in touch with our prospective students, advancing the message of the college,” Papciak said. “I’m trying to prevent everyone from leaving and then scrambling last minute. We are looking at admissions in the future; we’re expecting more people on campus, so more opportunities for ambassadors as we grow our program.”
While the call team already existed, Papciak said it was lacking.
“We’re trying to get into touch with as many people as possible,” Papciak said. “We have excellent counselors, but it’s hard to reach out to every student who inquires about Hillsdale. My team makes that more possible. It fills a gap in communication. It facilitates a relationship at a deeper level. With the student callers, we like to reach out to prospective students and make sure they feel like they’ve had enough contact with admissions.”
The callers introduce prospectives to the college, follow up on inquiries, encourage juniors to visit campus, and check in on the decision process.
Papciak said he’ll hire again for the call team mid-spring.
Looking toward the future, admissions will offer a new rotational internship program that the team is currently testing.
“[It’s] basically experiencing parts of admissions, every couple of months shadowing us,” Papciak said.
For the students involved in admissions, the job can be very rewarding.
Sophomore Shelby Nies said she’s desired to be a student ambassador since she visited campus. Now her dream is fulfilled.
“I liked the personal interaction with people and the fact they were able to share their passion for Hillsdale with whomever was visiting,” Nies said. “It’s good experience for sharing the love for your institution, and it’ll be nice to have contacts with people who come as freshmen so you can invest in them better. Spending time with people really influenced my decision [to attend Hillsdale].”
Junior Colin Wilson said he enjoys being a camp counselor and saw student ambassadors as a similar position.
“[Counseling] is helpful now for organizing your schedule and making sure the kids are where they need to be when they need to be there,” Wilson said. “I’m getting back into the same mentality of being there for their needs and not my own.”
In addition, Wilson said he hopes to develop workplace skills with the job.
“If you have a bad student ambassador when you’re a prospective student, that could color your image, and on the other side, it could make the difference,” Wilson said. “If the ambassador acted blasé, why would the prospective care? The amount of faith placed in ambassadors will look good when I’m applying for other jobs because the college trusted you with their image. Also, walking backwards is a really important skill to have.”
During his first weekend on the job, Wilson said he enjoyed connecting to students with similar interests.
“My student and another are both interested in bluegrass music, so we had a jam session, and it was cool to see them in their element and relate to people that are different from you,” Wilson said.
Working for admissions allows the students to grow and helps the college grow in its communication capabilities.
“It’s no mystery to the campus there’ve been some changes here,” Papciak said. “We’re refocusing our efforts a bit. We’re excited to bring in some dynamic students.”