I’m not exaggerating when I say I love prospies. Since the beginning of the year, I have always been excited for them to come to campus. I was ecstatic for the two massive visit days because I knew how they felt. I attended a Thumbs-Up Day myself, so I understand the awe and awkwardness of being a prospie on that day. I’ve been there. Now that I’m a student at Kenyon seeing visit days from the other side, I get jumpy and hyper from excitement on the evenings that prospies arrive.
I am very passionate about the things I love, and Kenyon is certainly something I care about deeply. All of the prospies I have interacted with are so eager and excited to be here and find out more, and I love talking to them about Kenyon and everything I love about it. Even the negative experiences I have encountered here have left some sort of positive impact on me as a person. That might have to do with being an optimist, but I think it also relates to the power of experience on my ability to navigate life at Kenyon (and hopefully beyond).
Now, I’m not an overnight prospie host, though many of my friends are. I’m often asked to prospie-sit when my friends have a meeting or a dinner, and I’m happy to oblige. It’s like I have a prospie myself and they get to interact with one more student about their experience here.
I also had the pleasure of speaking on a student panel during the second Thumbs-Up Visit Day. I filled in last minute when someone else (a girl I happened to know from one of my classes) couldn’t make it last minute, and it was an unbelievable experience. I was nervous and rambling, but I had a lot of fun. I got to share with them what my Kenyon experience has been thus far and how I am rising to the numerous challenges Kenyon poses.
As I spoke, I kept thinking what it meant to speak to this group of prospies. All of these students have been admitted. They are visiting Kenyon with the potential to join us at this college we call home. They are here visiting as they make the same decision that I faced when I came to Thumbs-Up as a prospie last year. They’re thinking, as I did: Where should I spend my next four years of my education… and of my life? Visit Days and student panels like the one I was on are these students endeavoring to answer that question, and we get to help them in whatever way we can.
We may all be in the same, secluded location of rural Ohio, but all of our experiences are different. We all have something unique to offer to prospective students, and I enjoy being one of those people who helps them along the road. It makes me feel as though I am participating in something bigger than myself, beyond my experiences into a grander scheme of life taking its course. It is the ultimate reward, and I love being in tune with it.