A diverse and talented group, URI’s tour guides represent the University to prospective students and their families.
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URI’s Best Ambassadors
By Shane Donaldson ’99Photo by Nora Lewis
For many potential students and their families, they represent the face of the University of Rhode Island, and they have proven to be the school’s best ambassadors.
They are the student employees of the URI Tour Guide program. Armed with facts and figures about the school, they answer questions about topics ranging from building names to the square mileage of the Quad. More importantly, they give prospective students and their parents a sense of what it’s like to be a student at URI.
Tour guide Kat Anderson, now a junior, has exchanged email addresses with some visitors, keeping contact with them as they conduct their school search. “When I was looking at schools, my tour guides would make or break whether or not I wanted to look further into a school,” Anderson said. “I’m not necessarily trying to sell the school. I am passionate about URI and happy to be here, but people have to decide for themselves if this is right for them. I just tell them to have fun with the visits.”
The guides are a diverse group. Admissions Advisor Nancy Strickin looks for well-rounded students when putting together her team of 30-plus guides. According to Stricklin, more than 80 students apply each year for the program. Students must at least be entering their sophomore year, and even those who are already tour guides must re-apply and be re-interviewed each year.
“Jobs in the tour guide program are highly competitive,” Stricklin said. “Potential students and parents can get information from flyers and the Web, but the tour guides make everything real for them. We look for enthusiastic students who have had positive experiences here.”
Momodou Jobe certainly fits the bill. A native of Gambia, the smallest country in Africa, Jobe attended high school in Providence and is now a senior at URI. Jobe often uses stories of his own background to break the ice, helping settle nerves of those working through the stress of deciding on a school.
“When you are willing to open up about yourself and your own experiences, it often helps others relate to you and feel more comfortable,” Jobe said. “As a tour guide, you want to be able to speak from the heart and be honest. That will show through for people, and it helps them figure out if this is the right place for them. I enjoy hearing the stories the visitors share as much as I enjoy helping them learn about this school.”
While it is not a prerequisite, many of the students working in the program are active in other areas of student life. Anderson, for example, is a member of the Union Board and holds campus jobs with the Clearing House for Volunteers and the Ryan Center Box Office.
“It’s a tremendous help to be active on campus,” said Jobe, who is a member of the Student Senate, the treasurer of URI’s model U.N., and the former president of Sigma Pi fraternity. “When people come for a tour, they are very interested in the academics of the school, but they also are attracted to other social and extra-curricular aspects. If I don’t know an answer to a question, I will at least be able to point visitors in the right direction.”
Shane Donaldson is a reporter for The South County Independent.
