Returning to In-Person Work
Joe shares their experience giving tours and interacting with prospective students and families after a year of virtual work.
Joe shares their experience giving tours and interacting with prospective students and families after a year of virtual work.
The First Steps
I walk into Scoville Hall with a hot latte, a cinnamon raisin bagel, and a heart full of hope. Being a Summer Admissions Fellow marks my return to in-person work, and it is equal parts disconcerting and exciting. Walking into a building unmasked and standing with five others in a room is a transition that won’t feel easy for a while. But as these thoughts run through my head, I jump into the hustle and bustle of office life. Today is the first day of in-person tours at Carleton since the start of the pandemic, and Scoville is busy preparing for incoming prospective students. After downing my (first) cup of coffee, I get to work.
Setting Up
I join the other fellows to grab check-in materials and introduce ourselves to office staff. I longingly eye the cookies meant for visitors, then tear myself away to continue setting up. A piece of my heart breaks as Ben, another fellow, takes the cookies off to the Dacie Moses House. But I tell myself to stay strong. Cookies will come another day.
Luckily, my next task deals with food, albeit in name only. Darius (another Summer Admissions Fellow) and I grab sandwich boards labeled with arrows and “Carleton Admissions” in large font to place at various spots along the tour route. But the boards are heavy and I am weak, which leaves one transportation option… Golf carts! This is by far the biggest perk of being an Admissions Fellow. After loading the boards onto the cart, I hop in the back to make sure there are no board-tastrophes for our first tour. Then we are off! I feel like a golden retriever as the wind blows my hair back and I watch campus fly by at a speedy 10 miles per hour.
Riding Around Campus
We make pit stops at various locations around campus, starting outside Burton Hall then looping around to Cassat Hall, the Weitz Center for Creativity, and finally Dacie Moses House (I hear the cookies speak to me, but their sugary siren call is no match for my puppy-like joyride). We loop back around to Scoville and I walk back into the office, invigorated by the wind and the beautiful Carleton campus. From here, I wait with the other fellows as the information session wraps up in the Chapel. We chat about our weekends and the rush of driving the golf carts. Before we know it, it is 9:25. The fellows leading tours head over to the Chapel to meet with the students and families while I stay on the couch in the living room of Scoville. I grab another cup of coffee, open my laptop, and take a deep breath. Day one of in-person work is turning out pretty well.
Joe is a rising junior at Carleton from Chicago, IL. They plan on majoring in either Sociology/Anthropology or Computer Science, and enjoys studying public health, Spanish, and gender and sexuality. Outside of class, Joe is an RA on campus, and you can find them singing in Exit 69 A Cappella, doing makeup in their room, or drinking excessive amounts of coffee in Sayles. Meet the other Bloggers!