Job Description: Student will lead K-12 students during their sponsored field trips to OSU, provide campus tours and work with the Precollege Programs Coordinator to organize activities for the groups. Schedule permitting assistance with the actual visit to OSU will be required.  When there are no groups, the student will do light office work assisting the Office of Precollege Programs and other youth outreach programs.

Duties and responsibilities include:

• Providing campus tours to visiting school and community groups, escorting groups to activities/presentations and answering applicable questions.
• Acting as an ambassador and representative for both OSU and Precollege Programs.
• Working in the office, creating information packets for groups, assisting with advertising opportunities, helping with mailings and other organizational tasks.
• Assisting other precollege programs at events and in the office.
• Being flexible to do a variety of tasks that may arise, with a schedule that might change week-to-week.

Job Qualifications: Must have experience working with youth, especially middle school students, and have demonstrated leadership skills and the ability to lead large groups.  Students should be able to effectively communicate with K-12 students, as well as teachers and faculty.  Should be self-directed and motivated individuals who are able to adapt to changing circumstances.  The job also requires extensive walking, familiarity with campus, and a flexible schedule.  Spanish language skills are a plus.

Department: Precollege Programs – Supervisor: Katie Neiert – Dates: Academic Year 2012-13

Please email cover letter describing why you are interested in and qualified for this position. Also attach resume with 2-3 professional references and an unofficial transcript. If chosen for an interview, you will be required to submit your fall class schedule.

Email all materials to katie.neiert@oregonstate.edu by Friday, June 8th.

Kayla Harr, staff writer, says “Throughout the year, middle and high school students visit Oregon State University to tour the campus and learn about living in a college environment. These tours serve to give young students the opportunity to see college in their futures and make OSU stand out in students’ minds when the time comes to select an institution.”

Read the rest of the article that explores the pipeline from middle school visits to high school admissions!

“Our seventh grade class had the opportunity to go to Oregon State University. I was both awestruck and overwhelmed by what I saw as I first stepped off the bus. A horde of scarlet red and mustard-colored yellow leaves filled every tree, and every sidewalk on campus. Every brick of every building a deep red. When you stepped off the bus it was as if you were looking history strait [sic] in the face.”

“We saw lots of different things and buildings, but my favorite was the library. It was a book lovers dream. Nearly 1.4 million books covered the shelves.”

“Oregon State University is a large campus with about 24,000 students. One building that was really cool was the Memorial Union. It had a hall of flags and in the hall of flags there was a flag for every country they have a student from. Also in the Union’s basement they had a bowling alley, lots of video games, and pool tables.”

“I’m bursting with joy, for I can’t wait till I am in college, and am able to go to OSU. I think OSU is a good college for me, and I think I could learn a lot there. I may even be able to follow my dream of becoming what I want to be when I grow up.”

“My experience relates to real life because it seemed like we were about to start college after going everywhere a college student goes and eating in the same cafeteria among some of them.”

Visit the teacher’s site for more entries and photos on Prairie Mountain School’s Campus Field Trip to OSU.

The groups engaged in many of the activities that typical college students do: going to Dixon, going to “class”, visiting the library and the Memorial Union, stocking up on orange-and-black gear, eating lunch in the dining hall and visiting Reser Stadium and Gill Coliseum.

Highlights included “classes” or presentations and activities with undergraduate and graduate students at OSU.  Doug Halamay, a graduate student under Professor Annette von Jouanne, shared information related to the research about harnessing the power of waves, while students from the College of Science explained carbon footprints in an interactive game.  Finally, members of Sigma Delta Omega, the science sorority, led a civil engineering challenge requiring students to build the longest cantilever (essentially one-half of a bridge) out of spaghetti and tape.

The day ended with a bang, when the students were invited by the OSU Women’s Basketball coaches to meet the team and even take part in some fun practice drills.  Thoroughly exhausted, but excited for college, the students and parents boarded the bus for the long drive home.

A 2009 graduate, Lino now works as a Student Services Specialist for TRiO precollege programs at Chemeketa Community College.  He frequently collaborates with the OSU Office of Precollege Programs bringing middle school students that may be low-income and/or potential first-generation college students on Campus Field Trips to engage and inspire them towards higher education.

Read how Lino is “Powered By Orange” and be sure to look for his banner on campus this year!