Admission Ambassadors

            Here at ETSU, I am an Admissions Ambassador, which means I give college tours to prospective students. I have to admit, I really really enjoy doing it. Every Thursday at 1:30, I suit up in my bright yellow ambassador shirt and khaki pants and head to the Welcome Center where I take high schoolers, parents, transfer students, and whoever else that signed up for a tour around campus explaining buildings, events, and overall why ETSU is a great school.

            What I think is so cool about being able to do this is that I have an impact on people. That student who is trying to find the college for them—I am influencing that. What I do and say could shape the rest of their life. College is where they will make lifelong friends, really grow and figure themselves out as a person, and also get their degree, which will then shape their career and job for the rest if their life. The fact that I have an effect on their decision, be it they go to ETSU or somewhere else, blows my mind.

            To become an Ambassador, I had to write a paragraph about a word I came up with using the words “ETSU Admissions Ambassador”. I wrote about the word “Roots”, and how a person’s roots in college affect their whole life. Along with the paragraph, I had to do an interview. The interview questions were pretty typical until the last one, which my interviewer said was going to make or break my interview. The question was, “If you were an ingredient in a cake, what would you be?” It made sense that it was considered an important question, especially because on tours you never know what the people will ask, and you need to be able to answer without questioning it. I answered with, “Sugar, because that’s what makes it sweet, and without sugar, cake would just be weird bread.”

One of the details that I like about the Ambassador program is that it is purely volunteer. We get no money or any other incentive other than a free ambassador t-shirt, which is our uniform. We make the choice to spend three to four hours each week of our time to be able to do this. The fact there’s no real incentive other than feeling enjoyment makes only the people that want to do it show up--meaning people will care and try to make the tour as informative and helpful as they can. So many people quit after the first meeting because they didn’t think it was worth their time. However, I believe it is totally worth my time. It makes me proud to be a Buccaneer and hopefully help inspire a couple others to be the same along the way.

Billy Currington Concert

As part of East Tennessee University’s “Welcome Week” that helps all of us freshmen find ways to get more involved on campus, a concert is held on Friday night to celebrate making it through our first week of classes. This year’s artist was a country singer named Billy Currington. I was very excited to hear about the concert, partly because all the students got free tickets, and partly because it was going to be my very first concert.

            Once Friday evening came, I grouped up with some friends and headed over. The line to get in wrapped around to the back parking lot and ended on the sidewalk on the main road. We finally made it in, and I was amazed at how a huge stage like that could be set up in the span of a day. People crowded and pushed and shoved their way through one another trying to find the perfect spot, but once the music started, everyone stopped moving so much and enjoyed.

            I personally am not a huge fan of country music, but I really enjoyed the concert overall. While I was impressed by the music, especially the cover they did of Walk the Moon’s Shut Up and Dance with Me, I was more interested in the things that you wouldn’t really think about. For example, I watched the people running on and off stage to take pictures, get Mr. Currington’s guitar and go back and get the next one ready and back to him, or to escort someone off the stage. All of those workers had to be pretty spot on to be in the right place at the right time, and it made me wonder if they had practiced this. I was also intrigued by the lights with all the different colors, their movements, the smoke, and different styles from swaying to strobe. I’m guessing that all of the lights were programmed to move and change that way beforehand, which would have probably been pretty complicated to set up. The people in charge of setting the lights would have had to know which songs Mr. Currington was playing and how long they lasted and what mood the lights should give and what colors would work best and how they should move and when the smoke machine should be turned on and how long that should be turned on and then program the lights to do all of that. Lots of work, but the lights were probably my favorite part. It also shocked me with of the intensity of the music; it was so loud the ground was vibrating. I could only imagine how loud it was on stage, and that lead me to another question of how the performers deal with that and also how well built the speakers must be made to be able to handle that sort of output. All of the different elements and complicated bits and pieces of the setup process made me more appreciative of the concert as a whole.

           Overall, it was fun to see how happy everyone was as they cheered, sang, and danced along with the songs. I had a great time, and I know my friends and all the other fans that came had a great time as well. It was an awesome experience, and I look forward to what ETSU has in store for us next!

What I Brought From Home

            Today in class, my professor asked us a rather odd question: “What did you bring from home with you to college, and what does it say about you?” At first, I thought of pretty typical things like clothing, a toothbrush, a box of ramen noodles, but as I pondered, I realized he that wasn’t the sort of answer he was looking for. What did I, a freshman, bring to college, a new place five hours from home where I knew nobody and had only been to twice? I found I had brought a lot more with me than I thought.

I brought my cello, mandolin, and ukulele, which help show my creativity and love of music. I brought pictures of my family and friends to help remind me of all the wonderful and supportive people I am blessed to have in my life. I brought my puns, which help me laugh and cheer up. I brought a mixture of excitement, fear, a sense of adventure, and hopeful outlook. But, more than anything, I brought running. 

I have been running since I was young, but I didn’t really start enjoying it until high school. I ran track, cross country, half marathons, and full marathons. I run twice a day, everyday. Running is such a major part of my life. It isn’t just about being in shape, though. Running is associated with so many of the best parts of my life.

Running is how I met my best friend and so many other great encouraging people, has helped fix my relationship with my dad, is my stress reliever, fills me with so much joy and a sense of accomplishment. I am a very insecure person; I worry so much about what people think about me, but while I am running is the one place for me when I feel like I am not being judged. Yeah, I may be slow, but I’m out running. Yeah, I may be sweaty and breathing heavy and wearing stupid looking clothes, but I am out there trying. Yeah, I’m not the fastest or the prettiest or the skinniest or the strongest, but I am out there, suffering making myself faster and making myself happier with my body and making myself stronger one step at a time.                                                                                                            

Running gives so much insight about me. It reminds me I am strong when I feel small. It shows my stubbornness and determination to push forward even when I am in pain, as well as that I am hard working. I think the fact that I am willing to wake up an hour earlier than I need to and sacrifice sacred sleep so I can go run shows my dedication. While I am out on the road, I can think, process information, sort out the stress in my life. Exercising has shaped what I want to do in life and made me pursue Exercise Science as my major to be a personal trainer and want to assist in other people’s journey to become stronger and more confident with themselves.

It brings me back to the question my professor asked: “What did you bring from home with you to college, and what does it say about you?” For me, I brought the thing in my life helps me deal with everything that goes on, what makes me feel the confident and comfortable with myself, what makes me feel free. I brought running.