Ambassador Program entices prospective students
■ The orientation workers
ease the fears of those
interested in the University
with phone calls and tours
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
When prospective University
students ask Amy Farley what col
lege life is all about, the junior ed
ucation major said she tells it like
it is.
Farley is one of 20 students in
volved in the Ambassador Pro
gram — a new orientation program
that focuses on establishing con
nections between current and po
tential students.
“It’s a huge thing to know that a
student who goes here cares and
wants to share that with others,”
said Farley, who has been an am
bassador since the program began
in winter term 2000.
Ambassadors, who are responsi
ble for calling students admitted to
the University, as well as giving
daily campus tours, are able to give
students straightforward, honest
answers to their questions based on
their own experiences at the Uni
versity, Farley said.
And that, she said, is something
that cannot be found between the
pages of a glossy admissions book
let.
“It’s really easy to throw away
letters and pieces of mail,” she said.
“But when you actually talk to
someone, it makes a difference.”
Laura Connell, director of Stu
dent Orientation Programs, said she
began the Ambassador Program last
year by combining two existing stu
dent orientation programs — a
small telephone campaign and a
volunteer-run campus tour pro
gram.
Ambassador positions, which are
paid, include the responsibilities of
the previous positions and more,
Connell said. Ambassadors are in
volved with orientation activities
throughout the year, including
Week of Welcome, Duck Preview,
Duck Days, fall college fairs and
winter Oregon nights.
While the Ambassador Program
began as a pilot program, Connell
said she now has no doubts that it
is a success.
“It’s been very, very well re
ceived,” Connell said.
So well received, in fact, that this
year the Ambassador Program was
put in charge of Duck Days, a series
of spring recruitment events which
in the past have been handled by
the Office of Admissions.
Bryan Orthel, one of two student
directors of the Ambassador Pro
gram, said Duck Days play an im
portant role in recruitment because
they are primarily attended by high
school seniors, many of whom are
seriously considering enrolling in
the University.
Attendance at this year’s Duck
Days, which ended in April, was
nearly double that of the previous
year. Orthel said this is because of a
combination of factors, such as this
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year’s increased effort on recruit
ment across campus. But, he
added, he would like to think that
the Ambassador Program had
something to do with the high at
tendance as well.
“I think we do have a significant
impact on people coming to the
University of Oregon,” Orthel said.
Orthel was quick to give credit
for this to the work of the students
involved in the program. In addi
tion to the effort they put into spe
cial events like Duck Days, he said,
ambassadors make about 500 calls
weekly to students admitted to the
University, and they give tours to
about 60 to 70 people every day.
The ambassadors are a special
group, he said, because they exem
plify all the qualities the orienta
tion staff would like to project to
new students; dedication, motiva
tion and, of course, a certain
amount of “Duck pride.”
Junior Nelly Ganesan, one of this
year’s ambassadors, said one of the
strengths of the program is that it al
lows high school seniors to devel
op a relationship with a University
student before they attend. Often,
she said, ambassadors will meet the
students at orientation events that
they have talked to on the phone.
Ganesan said she still remembers
the call she received from a student
after being admitted to the Univer
sity. The conversation, she said,
helped calm the student’s fears
about coming to college.
“It makes a big difference to have
a [current] student’s perspective,”
she said.
Next year, in an effort to increase
diversity on campus, the Ambas
sador Program will add five new
positions, Connell said, adding that
these students will work exclusive
ly to recruit students of color.
Students interested in becoming
ambassadors for the 2001-2002
school year can pick up an applica
tion at the Student Orientation Pro
grams office in Room 372 Oregon
Hall. The deadline to apply is May
11.
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