On Tour

The first official day of work began with a morning of HR meetings.  I joined two other semi-newbies: Matt, a 2008 alum and a former tour guide, and Laura, who interned in the office last year. Following a lunch at Brown & Brew, I decided to join the afternoon tour.

An admissions tour.  I’ll confess: my expectations were low.  After all, 99% of college counselors could likely step on an unseen campus and do a fairly decent job leading a tour employing the universal tour guide formula:

1)      introduce self (major, year, astrological sign)
2)      make witty remark about walking backwards
3)      thoroughly explain efficiency of the blue light safety system
4)      point out academic building and mention that professors have office hours, distribute cell phone numbers, and return text messages at 3 a.m.

5)      make certain all members of the tour group understand that if there’s not a club for a particular hobbyhorse, all it takes is a friend, a petition, and the funding will follow.

We could go on, but I’ll spare you.

Today, though, was different.  First of all, Alex is a great tour guide.  She shared interesting stories, she could project to the long line of thirty following her, and she easily conveyed her enthusiasm for Tufts University, the community, and for her education.  It reaffirmed that Tufts students are very bright, articulate, and most importantly, far from formulaic.

Alex entertained us with stories of Jumbo (the mascot), the painting of the cannon, sledding down the president’s lawn, and my favorite story about the student who mistakenly left her term paper in the library overnight only to find it the next morning exactly where she left it with corrections on it. But my focus, truth be told, was not on Alex but on my tourmates.  First of all, why was nearly everyone – students and parents alike – wearing flip flops?  Since when have sensible shoes become not-so-sensible?  Is flip-flop culture (or couture?) now a de rigueur element of the college tour? Does the lack of firm soles contribute to the slow, silent shuffle that has become the campus tour?

And it this tour was nearly silent.  Very few folks asked questions, and when they were posed they came from parents.  Why aren’t students asking questions?  Has the joy of college visiting gone?  Shouldn’t dreaming about the future be fun?  How do we as counselors encourage our students to step-it-up (in supportive shoes, of course) and reclaim “the golden walk” for themselves?

Me? I was guilty, too, of reticence. Perhaps it is because I don’t fit the demographic of college tour people. With my receding hairline, I can’t be mistaken for a “non-traditional (-ly aged) student,” and as an unaccompanied major (without shower shoes), well, I just felt awkward asking questions. Hmmm, maybe I’m onto something…..