Admitted Student Visitation Day – Proves to Be Exciting and Rewarding

My name is Gracelynn Woods, and I am a freshman double majoring in Paper Science and Chemical Engineering.  Recently, I became an Ambassador within the College of Natural Resources. Monday, February 10th was the college’s annual Admitted Student Visitation Day, and it was my first opportunity to officially represent the college as an Ambassador.  The day, meant to give admitted students a chance to get to know the college and university so that they can know if NC State is the place for them, is both extremely exciting and rewarding.  

The day began for the Ambassadors at 7:15 in the morning when we arrived at Talley Student Union to begin getting everything prepared.  With a surprisingly few number of mishaps, we got everything set up and were ready for the students and parents to arrive. They started filing in around 7:30, and we were off!

A Day to Showcase PSE

Greeting the families as they waited to register, I was reminded that I was in their shoes just a year ago.  Although I was unable to attend my Admitted Student Visitation Day, I do remember the nervous excitement that accompanied receiving and considering my college acceptances.  Choosing the right university to spend the next four years of my life seemed like one of the scariest choices I could ever make, and I am thankful that I now have an opportunity to support students while they are making their own decisions.  Although this was an event solely for the College of Natural Resources, invitations were also sent out to students who have been accepted into Chemical Engineering and Engineering Undeclared. This is extremely important because a lot of the students in our Paper Science and Engineering (PSE) program initially began as Chemical Engineering students.  During the casual meet and greet time, I met and spoke with a few prospective students who were originally planning on studying Chemical Engineering but were excited to learn about PSE. 

After this meet and greet time, the morning officially began for the students with an informal fair to introduce the different majors available in the college as well as the different living and learning villages on campus.  After that, students split apart based on their prospective majors and attended a welcome that served as a kick off for the day followed by individual program schedules to introduce their departments and majors. Jennifer Piercy led the prospective PSE students, and they had a day packed full of fun activities!

Paper Labs, Facilities and PSE 201 oh my…

Ultimately, students are able to learn what our major has to offer.  They toured the paper labs and facilities, and even sat in on PSE 201!  PSE 201 is the introduction survey course that covers the entire process of making paper from the raw material, to the final product, and it also happens to be the class that freshmen are currently taking.  The prospective students were able to experience what a real paper science engineering course is like, and you could see their excitement as they listened to Dr.Byrd talk about the amazing paper industry. After class, a few of my classmates took the visiting students to lunch.  This was a great opportunity for these students to ask questions, from current students, without the embarrassment of  parents and professors listening.

All in all, Admitted Students Visitation Day was a success!  Questions were answered for  prospective students, nerves were calmed for parents, and a better understanding of what the future would be like at NC State was clearly conveyed.  But most importantly, we got to meet a group of students who will, hopefully, join our Wolfpack in less than a year!

By guest blogger Gracelyn Woods