The road trip: It’s become something of a rite of passage. For recent college graduates, it’s a celebration of hard-earned independence, of sticking with it and having choices. It’s their last hurrah before reporting to the next station in life, before that independence turns into routine and those choices become responsibilities. It’s a lesson in self-reliance and self-confidence, a promise of good things ahead.
And, as the College’s Road Runners will tell you, good things are around every corner when you’re out there on the open road. And that means good things are on the horizon for the College, too.
Selected by the Office of Admissions to travel from state to state, recruiting the best of the best, these young alumni are making the most of their road trips, reflecting on their experience at the College and building a geographically diverse class of freshmen for the next academic year.
“The idea behind the Road Runner program is to expand our reach, introduce ourselves to high schools in states we hadn’t gone to before and build our student body from across the country,” says admissions counselor Seaton Brown ’09, who served as the guinea pig for the program in 2009, holding information sessions and one-on-one interviews at schools in Ala., Tenn., N.J. and on Long Island. The following year, the program brought on three more Road Runners to cover even more territory; last semester, a total of five Road Runners visited 47 states between September and November. “They become the College’s very own road warriors.”
Take Ashley Montano ’11, for example: During her three months on the road, she covered nine states, flew 2,237 miles, drove 3,376 miles and spent 57 nights in hotels. And, between all that travel, she managed to attend 14 college fairs and complete 126 high school visits.
“It’s a lifestyle and it’s something you have to adapt to,” says Montano. “I learned a lot of logistics, how to plan and pace myself. I also learned about relationship building, because a lot of it is customer service, too.”
And customer service means knowing your customer – knowing where the College’s popularity will translate into specific questions about the application process and campus life (Tenn., N.J., Ohio) and where it still needs introduction (Idaho, Ore., Okla., Colo., Ark., Miss.).
“In New England they love to hear about the weather, the food. They’re interested in marine biology, historic preservation, tourism management. Out West, they’re intrigued by our history. They want to know what it’s like to live in Charleston, how conservative the student body is. Basically: Will I fit in?” says admissions counselor Grant Cutler ’10, who covered New England, Ind. and Mich. in 2010 and returned in 2011, this time adding eastern Canada, Colo. and Ore. to his itinerary. “I won the sweeps: I literally went from Portland, Ore., to Portland, Maine, in one week.”
The perk, of course, is that the Road Runners are out there seeing the country– something they otherwise might never have the opportunity to do. “I had never been to any of the places I went, so I made it a point to do one touristy thing in each city. Every city has something it’s proud of, so that’s what I’d do,” says Montano, noting that she toured everything from the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to the first Wal-Mart in Bentonville, Ark. “I took full advantage of every experience.”
Closer to home, Takeshia Brown ’10, whose territory included private schools in N.C. and underprivileged schools in S.C., also took full advantage of the Road Runners experience. A first-generation college student herself, Brown helped several first-generation applicants through the admissions process, which made it even sweeter to see those students on campus the following fall.
“It makes me feel so good,” she says. “I mean, I had a hand in something that’s going to impact someone’s entire life, someone’s entire future.”
Not to mention the future of the College, which is now pulling applicants from every single state – more and more every year – bringing in a more qualified, more diverse student population.
“It’s a great way to give back to the institution, especially for young alumni who aren’t in a position yet to give money,” says Brown, who now serves as the residence hall director at the College’s Buist Rivers Residence Hall while pursuing a master’s in college counseling and student affairs. “The College of Charleston experience adds so much to our lives. Why would you not want to let people know about all the great things happening here – show your gratitude by encouraging other people to get that experience?”
“It’s that cycle of becoming part of the network that makes this place so special: You come to college here, you become part of that network and you give back,” adds Montano. “It speaks to the strong sense of community on campus.”
Taking that sense of community on the road shows that personal contact that the College is known for, too. Besides, it shows just how enthusiastic these alumni are.
“Having recent graduates serve as our Road Runners helps prospective applicants get a feel for the deep sense of pride our alumni hold in the institution,” says admissions counselor Devan Crowe ’10, who traveled through S.C., Ohio and Ga. “It’s a very cool thing to be able to talk to high school seniors as an alumna and just tell them all the wonderful things about the College. They trust me because I went through it!”
Because the Road Runners are not far removed from the undergraduate experience, their enthusiasm is fresh (and invariably contagious), and they have the working knowledge to answer students’ questions about student life with informed honesty.
“In my mind, we’re not really there to sell the College,” says Montano. “At every school, I told them, ‘Yes, CofC is great, but we don’t want you to get there and be unhappy because you don’t belong. That doesn’t do anybody any good. We want you to come see if it’s a good fit.’”
“It’s a special kind of student who wants to come to the College,” Takeshia Brown agrees. “It’s the students who want to explore a little, keep their options open. Just because of the nature of the liberal arts education, the College is the best choice if you want to make your own path. At the College, we can help you find your own way – your own, unique way.”
And just ask the Road Runners: Once you’ve found your own way at the College, you can go just about anywhere.