During the summer, Colgate University’s campus is quite different from the bustling scene it is during the school year. When students leave for summer, the vibe up the hill is quiet and peaceful, according to senior and Admission Ambassador Elsa O’Brien. Admission ambassadors are one of the few groups of students who stay on campus over the summer.
“I love Colgate with all its good chaos during the academic year. And I also equally love Colgate when it’s so quiet and peaceful over the summer,” O’Brien said.
Admission ambassadors’ responsibilities over the summer include welcoming prospective students, leading tours and assisting with administrative projects at the Office of Admission. Ambassadors are usually the first to introduce potential applicants or accepted students to Colgate’s campus.
“As an admission ambassador, my job is to make prospective students and their families just as excited about Colgate as I am,” O’Brien said. “For the most part, this involves leading tours that are personalized to what families want to learn about.”
Senior George Wilson also worked as an admission ambassador this past summer and similarly spoke to the importance of encouraging students to connect individually with the activities and resources Colgate has to offer.
“Most of being an admissions ambassador is showing prospective students around campus with the goal of tying their interests and wants to different elements of Colgate,” Wilson said.
Aside from serving as indispensable parts of Colgate’s Office of Admission, each ambassador finds something rewarding in the work they do with students.
“I have always loved giving others the same help and guidance in their college search process that I received. My favorite stories from the work today are from prospective students that I toured who are now first and second years at Colgate. Just yesterday at the [Involvement Fair], I got to see the guy I gave my first tour ever to who is now a student,” Wilson said.
Because O’Brien was applying to college during the COVID-19 pandemic, she was only able to learn about Colgate online before arriving as a first-year. She described the fulfillment of witnessing students fall in love with Colgate.
“You can see the second a student realizes that Colgate is their place,” O’Brien said. “It’s so hard to describe, and it sounds cheesy, but their eyes just genuinely light up, and there’s a sense of happiness that they just can’t hide. I never got to tour, as I applied during the pandemic, but I remember having that experience when I was looking at Colgate’s website and realized, ‘Oh, this is the place for me.’ And it is really heartwarming to see some students — many of whom could be admitted in the class that takes the place of mine — have that same reaction. It’s a full circle moment, and I can’t wait to hear about the things the Class of 2029 accomplishes here.”
Making the decision to spend the summer on campus came easily to senior Mikayla Cairns, who also worked as an admission ambassador.
“This was the third summer I spent on campus, so it wasn’t a hard decision for me to come to. I love the weather and the vibe of both the students who stay on campus as well as the town during the summer, so if I didn’t work here again this summer I probably would have missed it,” Cairns said.
Outside of working as an admission ambassador, Wilson, Cairns and O’Brien shared how they took time to explore Hamilton, N.Y., and the area surrounding in a way they would not during the school year.
“It really gives you an opportunity to take in nature, talk to administrators and professors more casually and have time to explore Hamilton and Central New York,” O’Brien said. “After work, I would sometimes wander into buildings to see if anyone I knew was there and would find myself in an hour-long conversation with my professor or a supervisor. It’s a bit harder for anyone to have the time for that over the academic year, and I really enjoy it.”
“My friends and I would take canoes and kayaks out on Lake Moraine regularly and explore the greater area in a way that we do not during the school year,” Wilson said. “There are a lot of hidden-gem stores and beautiful locations around us!”
Throughout their summer on campus, admission ambassadors served a crucial role for the Colgate community and its prospective students while also soaking in all that the campus has to offer over the summer.
