Prospective students attend Open House
Those who came to campus for Guilford College’s Open House may have heard, “Welcome to Guilford! We hope you have a nice visit!” Or something like, “Please park right here and go this way to get to this building.”
There were many ways you were officially welcomed to Guilford’s campus as prospective students, and that was no different for the hundreds of families who came out on Monday for Guilford College’s last open house of the year.
As stated on Guilford’s website, “While here, you’ll take a tour of campus, meet with current students, faculty, and staff, and enjoy a complimentary, farm-fresh lunch in the Dining Hall. Admission and Financial Aid counselors will also be available to answer your questions about the application and available scholarships.”
The event began at Dana Auditorium, where President Jane Fernandez addressed the numerous families. She welcomed them to the College and gave an overview about what Guilford is about and what to expect from it.
After her speech, the families were sent out to select a student tour guide and see the campus for themselves. On the walking tour, families got to see first-hand the beautiful campus all while getting further information about Guilford from the numerous tour guides.
Along the tour, they learned about buildings and what classes or particular activities happen in each building. Some families asked questions about studying abroad, to which tour guides explained what the Global and Off Campus Initiatives Office has to offer.
Attendees also got to ask questions to students on a panel, who explained what they do on campus and gave an overview of their typical day.
To wrap up the event, all the students and their families went to experience the food for themselves, eating a complimentary meal in the Founders dining hall. After enjoying food from the deli bar, salad bar, grinder station and dessert bar, families left Guilford’s campus with a delectable impression of everything the college has to offer.
Director of Multicultural Experience and Visit Experience Terra Roane was one of the people who helped with the planning and setup of the event. She believed that a collection of people made the open house a possibility, and highlighted the efforts from students that served as tour guides.
“A lot of time and energy is coming from the IT department, the reservations, student worker teams, faculty and staff, the marketing and communications that go behind it all,” said Roane. “But really, the student workers are my hidden gem.”
She believed that while there was plenty of planning going into the open house, it was a success.
“Overall it went great,” said Roane. “We had around fifteen states represented and over 100 families came to campus, which made it almost 300 people and the weather was beautiful so I can’t complain.”
She also explained about how this time the open house was done differently from the past. This year, students were able to actually choose things they were interested in, and families were placed in groups depending on those interests.
“I wanted to force independence and see how the prospective students would perform,” said Roane.
Tanequa Armstrong, a senior and one of the student tour guides reflected on how she reacted to the tour back in high school.
“I was in their shoes four years ago touring around college campuses and trying to see if this is the college for me,” said Armstrong. “So in the end as a tour guide, I just want to be there for them and make the visit the best it can be. I want to make both the student and parents comfortable.”
Some students even told Armstrong that they were grateful for getting the opportunity to come to campus and get a tour rather than staying at home and going onto the website.
“These events are a wonderful opportunity to get an intimate look at Guilford,” according to a statement on the Guilford website. “You’ll get an introduction into life as a Guilfordian, and you’ll leave knowing what it means to be a member of the College community.”
Editor’s note: This story originally was published in Volume 106, Issue 6 of The Guilfordian on Nov. 15 2019.
