Choate Admission seeks to improve the Gold Key Tour Program with additional student leaders.
Gold Key Ambassadors, Choate’s team of tour guides, are often an applicant’s first impression of our school. To prospective students, their tour guide is the face of Choate. A Gold Key member’s presentation of the campus and all it offers can be largely influential in a student’s decision to pursue his or her education here. For this reason, faculty advisers to the Gold Key Ambassadors are constantly developing and improving the program, and this year, they have decided to make some big changes.
The most notable changes to Gold Key have been in its leadership. In an attempt to increase the group of 150 students’ efficiency, they have chosen to have a greater number of leaders. Ms. Cynthia Stahura, Assistant Director of Admissions and one of the faculty overseers of Gold Key, said, “In the past, we’ve had two seniors and two juniors that have been our leaders. For 150 people, it didn’t feel effective. So we decided to increase the number of leaders.” This added leadership has lent itself to “increased communication and consistency of messaging,” according to Ms. Stahura.
The larger group of leaders has also allowed for the formation of mentee groups within Gold Key. The various leaders are in charge of a smaller group of tour guides. “Every leader has about ten to twelve students under their leadership. So every time we have a meeting and we give them information about something within the school, messaging, or key things to focus on during tours, they can take that back to their groups,” explained Ms. Stahura. The goal of the mentee groups is to have each and every tour guide learn new skills and improve his or her touring style.
There has also been a push to accept more juniors as Gold Key leaders, ensuring strong student guidance for the future of the program. When these juniors become seniors, they will already know the ropes, ready to assist a new round of members. Ms. Stahura said, “This year, we have half seniors and half juniors for our leaders. That way, every year we have a group of leaders who have some experience.” By making this change, each tour guide can learn from a leader with experience, therefore increasing the quality of the tours.
In order to more efficiently inform the tour guides about other Choate happenings, Gold Key has started inviting guests to speak at its monthly meetings. At their first meeting, the group heard from Mr. Joe Scanio, the director of the Kohler Environmental Center, about activities there. Members have also heard from Director of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Keith Hinderlie about recent activities in his office. They hope to hear from college counseling and other areas of campus to broaden their horizons. The information tour guides learn from these speakers expands their knowledge of Choate, allowing them to answer questions about the many realms of campus.
Although the role of Gold Key Ambassadors is extremely important, it should also be fun. To give members a token to commemorate their hard work, Gold Key will now be giving its members personalized Gold Key gear, such as L.L. Bean fleeces. In addition, the faculty in charge of this program have started a little friendly competition amongst the students. Ms. Stahura explained, “All of our tour guides are either on the blue or gold team. Anytime they sign up for Saturday morning tours or do some sort of extra thing, their team gets points. At the end of every term we have a treat of some kind for the team with more points.” This game helps raise the tour guides’ spirit and enthusiasm for participating in Gold Key.
Ms. Stahura believes these changes are being gratefully accepted by returning members of the group. “I think the leaders are enjoying having that extra responsibility and ownership, and leading effectively within the Gold Key group,” she said.
