From prospective students to Red Dragons, the role of a tour guide on campus can influence the decision of many future students.
SUNY Cortland welcomes over 10,000 visitors per year, and it’s the tour guide’s job to paint the picture of what it is like to be a student at SUNY Cortland and introduce to the prospective students all the benefits that the school will bring to them and the fun aspects of being a Red Dragon.
The admissions office hires new tour guides every semester, as positions open with the graduation of current guides. The office offers different opportunities for prospective students to tour the school, from mini open houses to open houses and school and group tours.
With so many visitors per year, the admissions office at SUNY Cortland has the responsibility of choosing the most appropriate candidates and training them for the job as tour guides.
Paige Critella, the senior admissions advisor at SUNY Cortland, explains that it’s part of her job to do the hiring and training of the tour guides, and that it’s highly important to have good tour guides that will be involved and effectively offer important information regarding the school.
“I always ask when I interview people, ‘why do you want this position?’ because I know how important it is to have a good tour guide; they are the people who will, at the end of the day, influence the visitors to make their final decision,” said Critella. “We want to hire students that have diverse perspectives, who are from different areas and are involved in different clubs and organizations around campus, providing different approaches, stories and outcomes of what is it like here at Cortland.”
Because the visitors walk around school with a tour guide, it’s the tour guide’s job to show all the good aspects of the school and share their experiences with them so they can envision themselves as a Red Dragon too.
“A college campus tour is a time for visitors to interact with tour guides and ask their questions, learn more about the campus and the majors,” said Critella.
However, informing the academic aspect of the school is not the only thing that matters, but also showing students’ engagement with school social and recreative life and their love for it.
“Often, the visitors want to know more about the experience of going to Cortland, whether it’s our athletics, our clubs, or everybody wearing SUNY Cortland merch,” said Critella. “They are looking for a sense of belonging, a sense of loving it here and envisioning themselves being on campus with the experience they want out of it. They ask themselves ‘is this a place I feel like it’s home for the next four years?’ and it’s our job to show them that yes, it could absolutely be.”
The information these families listen to during the tour is not the only thing that will influence their decision. According to Claire Engel, a student at SUNY Cortland majoring in Sports Menagement with a Minor in Communications, who works as a tour guide, the weather could be greatly influential too, to both sides of the tour.
“The weather can definitely impact how “enjoyable” giving a tour is. It isn’t fun to walk around in the snow with severe wind or in the summer when there is high humidity, and the sun is out, said Claire. “I feel it can change a tour because the weather can change the view of the perspective of students on our campus. One of the ways is through current student behavior. In the summer you may see students outside chatting whereas in the winter you are less likely to see students at all.”
Angel, however, declared to find the job enjoyable and beneficial for her student life, regardless of the weather obstacle.
“By becoming a tour guide I have gotten more involved in our school community as I am to know what is going on throughout campus. I need to be knowledgeable in different clubs and organizations on campus, different majors and other aspects of campus life that impact student life,” said Engel.
“The tour guides work a three hour shift a day, but they also gain new silks with their jobs. They are gaining interpersonal skills, public speaking skills, learning time management and organization. They are probably the most active students on this campus, and it’s a lot on your plate but you learn to balance it. The point of the job is that you have it because you love Cortland,” said Critella.
The admissions office hires new tour guides every semester, as positions open with the graduation of current guides.