Meet the people who probably helped you.
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- Judith Todd – Liasion Officer
Once again it is the time of the year for the open day. I still remember being guided around the university and its campus, wondering what my course would be like and the time that I spent here
At the time I didn’t think about the students who were guiding me around, though I appreciated their insight and kindness. These student ambassadors are responsible for being one of the first pieces of the university that any potential students will encounter and as such their role is very important.
But what else do these roles involve? I spoke to Judith Todd, School and College liaison officer and Sophie Poulter, one of the student ambassadors, to see what the role involves, how they got involved in the first place and what they think of their jobs.
Story 1.
As part of her role as School and College liaison officer, Judith Todd isresponsible for organising the open days. ‘Part of my role does involve organizing campus visits and open days.’
‘I work on initially recruiting and then training and working for us, also any ad hoc work that comes up. Most of it is paid but some of the work is voluntary.’
I was surprised and impressed to hear that six ambassadors were able to deal with the whole of the Brampton Road campus, as it is swarming with visitors today. Across the university as a whole there are 30 ambassadors working.
‘The role of student ambassador involves promoting the university, open day is one of the busiest. Giving tours, meeting people, directing them, registering them as well. They answer questions about life as a student at the university. Outside of open days there are also campus visits where children as young as nine or ten visit the university for workshops.’
‘They wouldn’t do the work if they did not enjoy it. It is a lot of work, hard work. Though sometimes they do get to go away. Drive the university cars if they can drive. There are a wide variety of jobs.’
Story 2.
Sophie Coulter is one of the student ambassadors who was working on the day. ‘Its been quite busy, its hard when its busy. Its like directing traffic as well as doing the tour’ she explains. ‘It is fun when its busy though, you have to be on your toes and really throw yourself into it, really believe in selling the university.’
Sophie is a third year Creative Writing student. This is her second year as an ambassador.
She says while working open days is one of the main parts of the role, there are other parts to it. ‘Schools do come in to work with either the Graphics department or media. I have helped with that. Also a media roadshow which involves going to different schools and putting on a live show for a select number of students.’ The media roadshow is coordinated by Aimhigher and gives school children a chance to see the university.
She would definitely recommend becoming involved to others. ‘The skills you learn being an ambassador, confidence, speaking in front of large groups of people, learning to deal with potential students with a smile and enthusiasm. Also the skills are valued in the real world and look good on your CV. ‘
‘Its not for the faint hearted though, it can be overwhelming with all the people. Its rewarding and fun and the friends you make are the type you would like to keep.’
