Think back to your first impressions of the University as a prospective college student. Maybe you had siblings or friends already here, who gave you your first glimpse of a real college student's life, or maybe you first came on an admissions tour. Then who did you meet? More likely than not, it was an ambassador.
Self-described as "the student arm of the Admissions Office," the Virginia Ambassadors are an autonomous group but they collaborate closely with deans to ensure prospective students receive cohesive and useful information.
The Admissions Office also provides Virginia Ambassadors with prospective students' contact information, enabling them to organize events before students officially apply to the University, Virginia Ambassadors Chair Josh Lesko said.
One such event is the series of online chats held in the fall before and during the applications process. Volunteers for Virginia Ambassadors open a chat room for around two hours in which as many as 200 high school students come with questions.
Most of these questions pertain specifically to the application process at this time, Lesko explained, adding that several deans from the office frequently help out.
Vice Chair for Online Communication Pratik Patel said the chat rooms aim to reach out to prospective students and answer some of the questions about student life that might not be covered in Admissions Office literature.
"The chats began as a major project in 2006, really taking off in 2007," Lesko said. "When I first participated in an online chat [in 2007], before they were a part of Virginia Ambassadors, much of the information being given to prospective was blatantly false."
Lesko then sent an e-mail to a dean in the office and from then on was in charge of the chats, helping to train student volunteers to facilitate the online discussions. Lesko said he subsequently "pitched the idea to Virginia Ambassadors as a new fall program, then began building the supporting Web site."
Since then, Virginia Ambassadors has expanded its online resource to include "Hoos Stories Blog," which Patel created.
At the beginning of the year, students applied to write for the blog, and Patel chose 10, primarily basing his decision on diversity so as to represent students from different backgrounds and with a wide a range of interests.
Everything said in the chats and on the blog comes straight from University students, Patel said.
"The enthusiasm with which students participate in these chats and blogs speaks volumes as to how much they love this school," he added.
The ambassadors are also accessible through "Hoos Got a Question," which is run within the Admissions Office. Prospective students can e-mail a question to the Virginia Ambassadors. Based on content, the questions are given to a University student volunteer, Lesko explained, adding that the program helps to give prospective students a clearer understanding of the University community.
Prospective students can also have their questions answered by an ambassador on Grounds. "Office Hours" is a similar program to "Hoos Got a Question" but is structured like a walk-in question-and-answer clinic, Lesko said. Virginia Ambassadors are available at certain times in the Admissions Offices to answer questions pertaining to issues directly related to student life, he said, instead of the logistical side on which University officials tend to focus.
Student Information Session Leaders, meanwhile, is a program run during the spring semester, mainly targeting already accepted students. This program is more closely moderated by the Admissions Office and works in collaboration with the University Guides. Lesko emphasized that these sessions focus on academics because the guides run tours following the sessions that focus on student life.
There are also opportunities for ambassadors to visit high schools, usually their almae matres, to give students information about the University, Lesko said. This program operates on a much smaller scale than the others, especially because there is some difficulty in coordinating times during which University students can go home. The other option is for students to travel with the Admissions Office as part of its panel discussions at high schools, Patel said.
Most of the ambassadors' efforts may go unnoticed by the majority of current University students. But the group's biggest program of the year usually causes a ruckus each spring, though students may not recognize its orchestrators.
"Days on the Lawn," which has been running for 14 years now, is a Virginia Ambassadors event, though many students who participate are not regular ambassadors.
For five days in April, usually Mondays and Fridays, all admitted incoming students are invited to participate in a variety of programs on Grounds. These programs include the initial Meet & Greet on the Lawn with current students, tours of Grounds with a student buddy, dormitory tours, attending a class or lecture and "Lunch Buddies," Days on the Lawn Co-Chair Valerie Shuping explained.
"The morning reception of the steps of the Rotunda is one of the most memorable parts of the day," Shuping said.
Her co-chair, Sarah Nash, agreed and added that "the first friendly faces really make the difference."
There are many programs offered throughout the day, but there is no set schedule. Prospective students essentially create their own schedule to see whatever facet of University life they would like.
All volunteers are welcome to participate. There is no screening procedure - in part because the ambassadors need as many people as possible to make the days work, but also because they want to expose prospective students to the widest possible range of opinions.
"We want our volunteers to be honest, to not make U.Va. out to be anything it's not," Nash said.
She said it was very important to ensure families were getting accurate information but also for them to see the student body's enthusiasm and love for the school.
"We want a mixture of candor and diplomacy," Schuling said. She noted that it is often when families are talking with actual students that the tougher questions - such as those about drinking and party culture - are asked.
"It really makes a difference if a student is down to choosing between two schools, especially because other schools don't have events like this where all these volunteers are coming out just to talk to you," Nash said.
And that is precisely what Virginia Ambassadors is about. Though it is an organization involved in many programs, it has but one aim: to help prospective students find their place at the University.
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