by Becca Mattingley, MA postgraduate
As a School Ambassador I work on Open Days and Offer Holder Days helping out our lecturers and staff by greeting prospective students and their parents and answering any questions they may have about studying history at the University of Lincoln. I became a School Ambassador in the second year of my undergraduate degree. I remembered how important the School Ambassadors were when I first came to visit the University of Lincoln – especially in informing me about life at university and the history course – and I wanted to be able to provide the same insights to prospective students. Open Days are held at the start of the year through until March, after which Offer Holder Days are held instead, which is when a student has been offered a place by the University.
Open days are designed for prospective students to speak to current students and lecturers about the School of History, the course, and what experiences to expect as a student. It is their opportunity to have their questions about life at university and what studying history is all about answered by people who have already experienced it. Another part of being a Student Ambassador is contributing to the presentations given by lecturers on the Open Day to both prospective students and parents. This provides the students with further insight into the modules that are on offer and information on the various assessments that are introduced across the course. Open Days give visitors a taste of what life is like at the University of Lincoln and in the School of History and Heritage, and having current students present for prospective students to speak to and get information from is therefore vital.
Offer Holder Days take place between March and May and are slightly different to Open Days, as the prospective students who visit have already received an offer from the University. These are key as the students gets to participate in a taster seminar and experience the differences between A Level and College education compared with University education. As a School Ambassador you accompany the groups to the sample seminars, helping the lecturer with the activities while acting as a reassuring presence as someone who has been through this before and discussing with the students their thoughts about studying history at the University of Lincoln.
School Ambassadors help enthuse new prospective students on Open Days and Offer Holder Days. They are available to answer any questions or respond to concerns that prospective students or their parents might have and are there as students who have already been through the process of applying to and finding a university. They are there to both reassure and encourage future students, and to discuss their love of history and university life, offering guidance based on their own experience at the University of Lincoln.