Nothing is more nerve-wracking and exciting than starting a new chapter of life. As a second semester Senior who is coming to terms with packing up after four incredible years to start a job in the “real world”, I know that all too well! No transition is more significant and challenging than when incoming college students leave their hometown and high school to head to their new university. Navigating the college admissions process is challenging in itself, all while coming to terms with leaving home for the first time. While I will shout my love for Bentley from the rooftops, I struggled a lot with that transition.
As an Admission Fellow in the Office of Undergraduate Admission, I am responsible for interviewing students, typically high school juniors and seniors, who are interested in applying to and potentially attending Bentley. An interview is incredibly helpful for understanding the personality and character of a person – we gain a full picture by conversing an applicant in real time that an application does not always provide. As an applicant, it’s a time to show your personality, interests, passions, and explain why these values align with our academic offerings and culture. It is their time to shine!!!
While there is no better feeling than when a student knocks an interview out of the park, it’s not always that easy. When the pressure is on, it can be a challenge for applicants to be themselves and effectively represent their capabilities and feelings. I decided to work in the Office of Undergraduate Admission and become an Admission Fellow because I know just how hard this process can be. I did not interview with any colleges because I was too nervous and overwhelmed by the Admission process – it’s a lot! If a student is brave enough to come to a university of interest, speak about their experiences and promote themselves, they deserve to have a seamless experience where they are made comfortable, have conversation that flows naturally, and feel confident. With every interview that I conduct, I remind myself of that motivation. And with every interview I conduct, I realize how lucky I am to attend a university where students are trusted to take on impactful, exciting roles on campus.
While I signed on as an Admission Fellow to conduct interviews and help out perspective students, I didn’t realize that there was so much more to this role. I’ve been a student panelist on several Academic Exploration Panels. Before students go out on tour, they are sometimes offered the chance to hear students speak about their Bentley experiences. It was almost embarrassing how excited I was to speak about my passion for our community, studying abroad in Australia, being a Management Major and working at Dell post-graduation. It’s in moments like this that I realize how proud I am to be a Bentley student.
No day makes me more proud than Accepted Students Day. While starting my day at 7am hurts a bit, it’s so worth it when we have our morning meeting and Ambassadors and Admission Fellows are buzzing with excitement. We welcome 2000+ people and hundreds of admitted students who are fascinated by our community, looking for confirmation that it is the university that they should spend their next four years. At this years Accepted Students Day, I was walking through Smith, conversing with an accepted student. After our conversation, she told me that she was heading up to LaCava to submit her enrollment deposit. After spending the day at Bentley and seeing our community in action, she had decided that she could see herself thriving as a Falcon. That is why I do what I do. Experiences like this highlight why working in the Office of Undergraduate Admission has been such a special opportunity for me. If you have a passion for our community and need a place to let it shine, head to UGA and you’ll find so many Bentley students and perspective students who feel the same way that you do.