Becoming an Albertus Tour Guide

I've noticed that more and more often students at Albertus are asking me how to become a tour guide on campus.  It's actually pretty easy to join the program.  You can make an appointment with Jessica Ballas, an alum of the college and a assistant director of the Admissions office who oversees the tour guide program.  Once an appointment is made with her, you interview with her (make sure you dress your best!) and she asks you some questions like why you want to be a tour guide.  If you are chosen, you are now a tour guide and ready for your training! 
I became a tour guide the beginning of my junior year.  I'm really passionate about Albertus and I wanted another way to get involved on campus, tell others how much of a great school Albertus is and get paid for it!  What's better than talking about something you truly enjoy and still being able to get paid for it?  Once I started with the program, I was really nervous.  I don't like speaking in front of large groups of people, so I was nervous to speak in front of group tours.  In training, I received a packet with a lot of information about Albertus that I had to read on my own.  The packet included information on each residence halls, the history of the campus and athletics.  It was interesting to find out information about the campus that I didn't know before!  Did you know that Rosary Hall, the  library on campus was actually a wedding gift from parents to a daughter? Or that Siena Hall had Tiffany jewels encrusted in the building (which are no longer there), or that each of the mansions were actually someone's home before the college purchased them?  You can find all this information out in the packet!  After I read the packet, I was required to "shadow" a tour.  You can shadow as many tours as you feel necessary.  The point of shadowing a tour is so you can see how a real tour goes with someone else.  Every tour is going to be different every time and you can never really expect what will happen but as long as you know your facts, you'll be good to go :) 
I've been a tour guide for a year now, and even though I know a lot about the campus, there's still some things I don't know or don't know how to answer when people ask (like when they ask about a major other than business.)  If you don't know this information, it's OK!  You can let one of the admissions counselors know that they were asking about it, and they can direct the question in the right direction.  It's weird that I hate public speaking, but I actually prefer to do group tours.  I like being able to tell a lot of people about the school and I like being able to tell others how great of a school Albertus is and what we have to offer here. 

Rosary Hall