After driving for hours, the time has finally come. You can barely contain your excitement as you pull off into the parking lot. You get out of the car, walk towards the building with your family, and are greeted with a smiling face. The first impression of any college is always the Office of Admissions.
One of the many jobs offered to students on Olivet’s campus is in Admissions as a student Admissions Ambassador. The hiring process begins in the spring and can last through the summer. With the impact of COVID-19, the hiring process was moved online, but was still just as extensive.
Makenzie Sherwood, a current student ambassador, shared about the five levels of the hiring process, which consisted of two applications and three different interviews. About five to ten students are sifted out of the hundreds of applicants for the job each year, Sherwood being one of them.
The pandemic has brought challenges within the university as well as just about every other college in the U.S. With the combination of closure of campuses in the spring of 2020, loss of incoming funds, and restrictions such as special capacities, many college students have either lost their jobs or been denied a job throughout the year. The Chronicle for Higher Education published an article about student employment during the pandemic. It said larger universities, such as the University of Ohio, made an effort to try to get students jobs where they could work remotely. For some, it worked out, but unfortunately for others, there were not successful in finding a replacement job.
This can cause a problem, as the article stated, for students who rely on their campus job to help them financially stay in school. This is the same situation for some students at Olivet. There have been budget cuts in almost all departments which makes it difficult to keep the same size staff.
Admissions was a little pickier about who they hired last spring as well as this spring. Olivet Admissions was unable to provide student staff with remote work because the job relies so heavily on the in-person aspect. They did offer a select number of student staff to stay over the summer months to continue working for admissions. No in-person tours or visits were taking place, but the students did the office work normally completed throughout the year.
Coming back onto campus was quite the change for everyone; new protocols and rules dictated what students could do and how many students could participate. Although Admissions could not adjust for students to work remotely, there have been many changes made to ensure the safety of staff and guests. On top of following the regular protocols set out by the CDC, there have been changed to the day-to-day operations and events of Admissions to get around the challenges COVID has presented.
When it comes to making college decisions, there are thousands of factors that play in, depending on the individual. Generation Z (or Gen Z for short) are the ones currently visiting and attending college now, so it would be in the best interest of admissions centers at all universities in the US to play to this generation’s wants and requirements when it comes to college decisions.
The article, “The Impact of Campus Facilities on the Recruitment of Students in Higher Education,” states that Gen Z has been impacted by “wars, terrorism, violence, and insecurity” and these events have shaped how they were raised by their parents as well as how they view the world. Parents were overprotective growing up which instilled a need for security and the disheartening events in society inspired the generation to evoke change.
Olivet’s rules and regulations have had a positive impact on Gen Z students coming into college. Cases have stayed low compared to the number of students on campus, according to Olivet’s live COVID updates, with only a .33% positive test rate in the spring semester.
When asked if visitor moral had gone down, Admissions Ambassador, Braxten Cook stated, “it was almost the opposite of what was expected.” Students are more comfortable with the enforcement of COVID regulations and excited to be on a campus that is almost normal. Gen Z students who are searching for safety and security have found that at Olivet.
The interviews in the below video give the perspective of three admissions student workers on Olivet and how the school and admissions is handling the current situation.
These ambassadors have an interesting life outside of Admissions. To get to know some of the students guests may encounter while on their visit, below are introductions to the three students interviewed.
Makenzie Sherwood is a junior at Olivet studying Children’s and Pastoral Ministry. A fun fact about her is that she was the top archer in her state in seventh grade, ranking 15th in the country.
Brenna Johnson is a sophomore and has worked for admissions since August of 2020. Not many may know this about her, but Johnson hopes to be the owner of a tiny house when she graduates.
Braxsten Cook is a graduating senior this year in his third year working for admissions. Cook is from a small town in Missouri. The population at Olivet alone is larger than the population in Cook’s hometown
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