A Marquis Event

I never attended my own Day for Admitted Students as a prospective student but I have made up for it by attending every Day for Admitted Students since.  As an undergrad, I volunteered to assist with greeting and registration my freshman year, I was an Ask Me Ambassador (someone stationed around campus to assist with directions and questions), a tour guide my junior year, and assisted with the coordination of the day my senior year.  As a professional, I have been on the Day for Admitted Students planning team every year.  This is a day nearly a year in the making.  Even before any applications are submitted for the incoming class, we are booking locations, speakers, and A/V aids to make this day the marquis event that it is.

Something fundamentally strange about the work that I do is that I admit tons of students without ever meeting them.  And unless these students enroll and choose to work with our office in some capacity it is unlikely that I will ever meet those students whose files I have pored over, whose essays I have read, whose transcripts I have reviewed and whose stories have tugged at my heart.  The one exception is Day for Admitted Students.  That day, we invite all newly admitted students and their families to join us on campus to learn more about W&M and what we hope is their future alma mater.  From the opening welcome with W&M’s President, Student Speakers, and even sometimes Chancellor O’Connor herself, to the campus tours, student panels, pre-professional talks, faculty chats and presentations, to the Not Your Garden Variety Block Party in the Sunken Garden, this is a day filled with Tribe Pride, enthusiasm, and joy.  It is truly the most rewarding part of my job to meet those students who will become the future of my alma mater and to assist them in making their final college choice.

This day takes thousands of man hours, hundreds of faculty and administrative speakers, and thousands of student volunteers.  It is one of the best days of the year on campus and one of the best days of my professional life.  Even though I wake up at 5:00am and return home after midnight, I wear a smile on my face from ear to ear for every one of those 19 hours.  So please join us for this year’s event.  It wouldn’t be the same without you.

– Wendy Livingston