Prior to making the life-changing decision of where to attend college, many of those who choose, or chose, the University of Puget Sound did so with the help of the school’s student tour guides, who stroll around the beautiful campus with their respective tour groups and divulge interesting, appealing facts about this small, prestigious university.
Student tour guides trained during the first week of classes. Among other activities, training consists of workshops teaching students how to deal with difficult situations, such as uninterested prospective students and awkward questions. Students learned how to handle such situations and answer questions diplomaticaly but honestly. Interviews during the hiring process included a question concerning what they thought the biggest weakness of the school is.
“Something I liked about the training was at the end we all got together to discuss how we saw Puget Sound as a school and presented our own spin on it. By talking to everyone, we got to hear anecdotes about why they liked the school. It kind of made me fall in love with the school all over again,” Kelli Conley, a sophomore and student tour guide at the university. said. “I try to be as honest as I can. If there’s something that needs improvement, we address it and discuss how we plan to improve it as a school. I found personally that I haven’t had any conflict giving an honest appraisal of the school while still showing it in a positive light.”
On the other hand, there are some students who would like to share their input and perspective about the university by working as a tour guide but feel discouraged because they think that being a student tour guide is more about “selling” the school, than sharing their personal experiences. They fear that they will have to stick to a conservative, carefully planned script designed to present the most idyllic version of the university possible.
“I wouldn’t want to be encouraged to give someone a false persona of the school, in the sense that you have to stretch certain truths and highlight certain aspects. I wouldn’t want to influence a prospective’s decision because it’s a personal choice that dictates their future, and my decision to go here isn’t necessarily the decision that they ought to make. It varies from person to person and by their needs and situation,” a current sophomore said.
This is in no way meant to imply that student tour guides lie or that Puget Sound is not the “Harvard of the Northwest,” as student tour guides commonly refer. Student tour guides are given the job of presenting and representing the school to the best of their ability, providing an adequate but positive picture of Puget Sound.
The process of college selection is one that is exciting, daunting and strenuous. For many students, the college campuses they see and the tours they experience are a big influence on the choice they make because it is their initial impression of the school and the students that will become their second home and their peers. Tour guides must follow standards and protocols as to how to present an attractive picture of the school. At the same time, tour guides have the difficult and significant task of presenting the school to prospective students honestly so that they can make the choice that is best for them.