I came to visit the campus two years ago, and had a tour guide that was so knowledgable about the university and all it had to offer me that six months later I found myself in attendance here. It was more than just a tour, it was my "ah-ha" moment. My first thought was, "why can't everyone be this informative? Why can't every university be straight-forward about scholarship options and involvement opportunities? Why did I never know any of this information?" It was at that point that I realized, everyone deserves to know what all their options are. And with everything inside of me, I wanted to be the person to tell everyone.
And so I did.
For my EDGE project I've spent the last year meeting students both on and off campus as a Presidential Ambassador. I've been sharing everything I know about the university, scholarships, travel abroad, leadership opportunities, and just the college life in general with every high school student that I came in contact with. I traveled the state of Utah, parts of Nevada, and even went to Alaska to share my knowledge and help high school seniors figure out their next step.
When I was doing off-campus visits I would help students figure out where they wanted to attend school, how they were going to pay for it, and what opportunities they would have if they came to Southern Utah University. Of course, it was frustrating when students had little to no interest in college, however there were definitely moments that made up for that. Towards the end of my project, we began giving out scholarships on the spot to high school qualifying seniors that would bring their transcripts and test scores to our events. The look that students get on their face when we tell them that they have a scholarship at SUU is so rewarding it makes up for everyone that wasn't so willing to give college a chance.
When I am on campus, I am constantly giving campus tours, sending emails and post cards to students and, and relaying information to high school counselors about up coming events and opportunities that their students have at SUU. But of course, you can't tell them about an event without a little proof that our events the BEST THINGS EVER!
It is such a rewarding feeling knowing that you are the reason a student is able to know what they're doing, where they're going, and helping them pay for it. As much credit as I would love to take for this, I could not have done it alone. I work on a team of 60 Ambassadors under the watch of two great advisors. They are the reason I am here.
So, one year, four college fairs, ten high school visits, and countless campus tours and overnight events later, I am proud to say that I know I made an impact on someone, somewhere.
