In one way or another, almost every prospective Colgate University student interacts with an admission ambassador. Whether it’s with a warm smile as a prospective student walks into the Office of Admission or a tour that leads them to fall in love with Colgate, admission ambassadors are tasked with a goal of ‘selling’ Colgate to prospective students.
Senior Kate Maxwell, a psychology and environmental studies double major from New Jersey, is a devoted member of this team of admission ambassadors. Prospective students are likely to see Maxwell working her favorite part of the job, being the friendly face behind the desk welcoming prospective students — and, sometimes, Colgate University President Brian W. Casey — as they arrive.
“My favorite part of the job is working at the desk,” Maxwell said. “I really like the people in the office. They’re all really friendly […]. It’s really nice to have conversations [with them]. President Casey will also stop by the desk sometimes, which is cool — he feels like a celebrity!”
But Maxwell’s tasks frequently expand beyond the desk of James B. Colgate Hall, as she often leads tours showing prospective students all that Colgate has to offer. Despite thoroughly enjoying her work behind the desk, Maxwell is incredibly appreciative of the work that the Office of Admission does to make tours interesting for all, including herself.
“I feel like the office emphasizes a lot of trying to relate parts of Colgate that you’re showing on the tours to your own experiences,” Maxwell said. “That’s what makes it a little bit easier and much more fun, because you can just talk about things you’ve done at Colgate. It’s definitely fun.”
This effort makes tours more enjoyable for all and helps to showcase the niche activities that Colgate offers at a more personal level. Maxwell’s tours are customized to highlight the ski hill, where she made both social and academic memories over the years.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t talk about that, and it’s a really cool part about Colgate,” Maxwell explained. “I’ll talk about skiing down there with my friends, and then driving up and doing ride swaps. Also, chasing bees with my biology class at eight in the morning in the forest. [I] also tried to hike the forest with my friend, which took four hours, and we didn’t hike the whole thing, but there’s a lot of stuff back there. It’s really cool.”
Though Maxwell enjoys giving tours, she feels it is not difficult to portray Colgate in a positive light.
“The good thing about Colgate is that it’s really not hard to make it look good because it’s just so pretty,” Maxwell said.
As Maxwell prepares to graduate, she reflects on her time as an admission ambassador incredibly fondly.
“I’ve made lots of friends through it and strengthened friendships. It’s also nice to know that I have a community on campus other than classes. I know I can walk into the admissions office and people won’t question why I’m there. It’s a very nice place to be, and I’m very happy for the community.”
Beyond this community, Maxwell is certain to take the skills that she has learned as an ambassador to a future career.
“I think it’s also helped me a lot with public speaking, which used to be a huge fear of mine, [as well as] business skills and conversation skills. I’m going to work in consulting post-grad, so I feel like it definitely had had a big impact.”
