At some point, every University of Idaho student had their first interaction with a Vandal — Teresa Moote is the person that many potential students will have their first interaction with later this month.
Moote is a student ambassador for the honors program and she will attend the recruitment event Meet the Vandals in Boise Jan. 25.
“I’m a little nervous in the fact that I’ve talked to prospective students here, but I’m basically going to go to talk to me two years ago,” Moote said. “I could say something that might completely change someone’s decision on where they want to go to school and that in turn will completely change what the next four years of their life is going to be.”
Meet the Vandals is a recruiting and informational event for high school juniors and seniors that takes UI on the road. Director of Regional Recruitment Melissa Garrett said events are held in California, Oregon and Washington in the fall to recruit students. In the spring, she said events are held in Idaho and the goal expands to converting students who have been accepted to UI to actually enroll.
Garrett said the best aspect of Meet the Vandals is the in-person connections prospective students and families make with UI faculty and students.
“We’re showing to those students and family members that we came all that way because we want to talk to you,” Garrett said.
Two years ago, Moote attended Meet the Vandals in Boise. She said it sealed the deal for her about the university.
“I think what really got me here was that personal connection,” Moote said. “They came to me and I was able to go and ask questions and they were all right there with the answers and that was a big deciding factor.”
ASUI Senator Catherine Yenne attended Meet the Vandals as a senior in high school and will also be a student ambassador for the honors program in Boise. She said a large part of the event’s strength is the fact that so many administrators, heads of department and organizational representatives make the trip to meet people on their own turf.
“That’s the best way to make the university stand out and show to these students that there really is a home for everyone here, because sometimes that can be hard to see on your own,” Yenne said. “Colleges blur together when you’re a senior in high school and it gets kind of chaotic, so having those one-on-one conversations are really important to make that stand out.”
The event is like a microcosm of the university, with representatives from all the colleges and many programs, Yenne said. She said the community at UI sets it apart from other universities.
“We always talk about the Vandal family and that really is true and I felt like part of the Vandal family at Meet the Vandals, and that really sealed the deal for me.”
Looking forward, Yenne said she is excited to go to Boise, but talking to such a large group of people is somewhat terrifying for her. Once she starts talking to students, however, she said she is confident she’ll forget her nerves.
While her ambassadorial focus is on the honors program, Yenne said she can sell the university in other ways.
“I try to find something the other students are interested in, because there really is something for everyone here,” Yenne said. “I just try to make that connection and make that to be the selling point.”
This is Moote’s first year as an ambassador, but she said she was doing the same kind of duties last year essentially as a volunteer.
“This year they’re like ‘These are the responsibilities of an honor ambassador,’ and I was like ‘Those are all the things I did last year and I loved it,’ and I wanted to do it more often and to have those interactions with students on a regular basis. And that’s fantastic,” Moote said.
Moote said the event will remind her what it was like to be there two years ago.
“I’ll be seeing students who grew up in the same place and wondering the same things and going through the same confusing process and I’ll be able to come and be able to talk to them and clear things up and help them make a decision either way,” Moote said. “I’m really excited for that.”
Jack Olson can be reached at [email protected]