{"id":1832,"date":"2015-03-05T09:00:28","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T14:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/?p=1832"},"modified":"2015-03-05T09:00:28","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T14:00:28","slug":"how-to-walk-and-talk-like-a-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/2015\/03\/05\/how-to-walk-and-talk-like-a-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"How to walk and talk like a guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY MARY BURGER – STAFF WRITER<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Every day you can see them, sometimes even battling the elements of ice, rain, and snow. They are impossible to miss with large groups of students and parents tagging along, and if you are close enough, you can hear their conversations full of personal anecdotes and Centre\u2019s history. They are the tour guides, the Centre Ambassadors.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have about thirty trained ambassadors,\u201d Welcome Center Coordinator Alice Kaplan said. \u201cThey don\u2019t all lead tours on a regular basis. We have more in the process of training.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/a>
IAN WILLIAMS | THE CENTO The Centre Ambassadors, otherwise known as campus tour guides, begin a tour on a snowy day outside of Old Centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In order to become a part of Centre Ambassadors, students first fill out a detailed application. From here, Kaplan conducts group interviews with all of the applications, which allows her to get an idea of everyone\u2019s personalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I feel like someone would make a good ambassador, I set them up to shadow a minimum of three tours,\u201d Kaplan said.<\/p>\n

By shadowing three different tours, a prospective guide can learn how to cater a tour to different groups. The prospective guide also then observes different conversational approaches that the permanent ambassadors use. The final step in the process allows the prospective tour guide to lead a tour with a veteran Ambassador following along. The veteran can provide feedback and also help out if necessary along the route.<\/p>\n

While students can begin leading tours at any point during their college career, many begin in their early days at Centre and stick with it for the whole four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really like how it reminds me how fantastic Centre is and how cool all the people here are,\u201d junior and two-year Centre Ambassador Emma Comery said. \u201cSome days, when I’m drowning in coursework, meetings, and emails, Centre is the actual worst. But every Monday I give a tour and I talk about my [study] abroad experience and my on-campus jobs\u00a0and all my favorite professors and I realize again how much I love this place and how it’s the actual best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ambassadors follow an established route, but the exact approach to the conversations can vary person-to-person. While one person may talk about Flex Dollars and the different meal plan options when standing by Sandella\u2019s, others may focus on that conversation in the Campus Center. One conversation topic that especially depends on the student leading the tour is that of The Flame.<\/p>\n

Does one discuss this tradition that involves nudity while surrounded by parents who may not want to picture their child partaking in that particular activity?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I talk about the Flame,\u201d sophomore Valentine Banor said. \u201cIt\u2019s a funny thing to point out on a tour that gets people to laugh. Then again, it can also be awkward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comrey, however, uses discretion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try to read my audience,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it seems like a fun-loving group, I tell them everything. How the Flame was donated by the father of an alum to represent the light of learning that Centre gave his daughter, how it’s now a campus tradition to run from one’s dorm, around the Flame, and back sans-clothing, and how we have incredibly brave campus security who will tackle you even when you’re naked. In general, people love hearing about this piece of Centre culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The most-enjoyable aspect of being a Centre Ambassador is the interactions with prospective students. Oftentimes, especially with smaller groups, conversations flow effortlessly. This can lead to a prospective student\u2019s increased comfort levels in asking different, and sometimes difficult, questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best question I received was, \u2018How do Centre students react about people who think very different when it comes to race, gender, and sexuality?,\u2019\u201d Banor said.<\/p>\n

Depending on the size of the group, questions may range from all sorts of topics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best question is also the worst question, and I get it all the time, which is, \u2018Have\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0ever run The Flame?\u2019 For some reason it’s always\u00a0a dad who asks this and I secretly hate him for the rest of the tour. But a fellow Ambassador gave me advice on how to answer this question, so now I always smile and say,\u00a0\u2018I will neither confirm nor deny,\u2019\u201d Comery said. \u201cThere’s really no downside to being an Ambassador. It’s a great public-speaking experience, a great networking opportunity, and it’s the best feeling ever when you see a first-year student who you once had on your tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you are interested in joining this group of students as an ambassador, lunch host, or overnight host, contact Alice Kaplan in Old Centre.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY MARY BURGER – STAFF WRITER Every day you can see them, sometimes even battling the elements of ice, rain, and snow. They are impossible to miss with large groups of students and parents tagging along, and if you are close enough, you can hear their conversations full of personal anecdotes and Centre\u2019s history. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cento.centre.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}