Kent State University. Home to 24 residence halls with 24 places to eat, 20 sororities and fraternities, 18 sports teams, and countless black squirrels. A campus with over 22,000 undergraduate students yet only a student to faculty ratio of 20:1. And then there are the fun facts. For example, a Kent State architect student designed the math & science building. The red on the outside is made to look like grid paper. The squiggle on top represents the perfect cosine. If you look at it from above, it’s in the shape of a pi sign. And lastly, none of the corners of the building meet in a 90 degree angle. You may be thinking to yourself that you did not even know that until now. But do you know who does? The Kent State Tour Guides.
Think back to that infamous motto that is said about mailmen. An inscription on the James Farley Post Office in New York City reads, “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” The same can be said about a Kent State tour guide. If you were unaware, Kent, Ohio can be a rather chilly place in winter. Students battle sideways rain, ice, snow, and the ever-treacherous wind tunnel. But rarely are classes cancelled. And when a class goes on, so does a tour. And a tour guide still has to sell it like, well, like it’s their job. Literally. The preferred term is to refer to campus as a winter wonderland. Until the wind knocks you over. They’re still not sure how to sell that. But tour guides take their job as seriously as the wind that howls on a February day. They aren’t just selling prospective students on an education, but for most, it will be an entire experience that will have a huge, and hopefully great, impact on their life. It is the job of a tour guide to know things that the general student may be unaware of. Things such as costs, facts about different majors, the class sizes, the atmosphere of the school, and where to get the best food on campus. While many students may think they know these things and probably do, it is up to the tour guide to know the little details. The quirky facts that make the campus not just another school, but the right school for a prospective student. It is the job of a tour guide to share with you the reasons and all the joys that make the student body proud to call Kent State home.
After tours were given, three prospective students were asked if they had been sold on Kent State.
Molly, a senior from Cleveland, Ohio said “I knew Kent had a good fashion school. After seeing it though, I know this is the perfect school for me. I love the college and the fashion building.”
Jake, a junior from Toledo, Ohio said, “This is the first tour I’ve been on, but I really liked it. I definitely want to apply.”
And Anna, a senior from Canton, Ohio said, “I had no idea Kent was such a nice school. I always thought it was just some whatever school that was easy to get into, but I am totally in love.”
Tour guides know that it is not always just the facts of the school, but the way it is portrayed, that can make a huge impact. So, while tour guides know how serious the college decision making process can be, they know that making a tour fun and enjoyable for the entire family can make a student’s decision to join Kent State that much easier.
*Facts brought to you by http://www.kent.edu/about/facts/StudentBody.cfm
Kent, Ohio
Kent State Tour Guides 