Road Trip: Atlanta

MY Armstrong Experience

A couple of weeks ago following Treasure Savannah I wrote about two students I met that day who represented some of what is best about Armstrong.  This week I'd like to introduce you to two other individuals, prospective students this time, who also reflected back to me some things that are good to know about Armstrong.

I met these two young women at our annual recruiting reception in Atlanta last week.  They were among more than 65 students who traveled from at least a half dozen surrounding counties to learn more about Armstrong.  I encountered the first young woman at the sign-in table.  She excitedly told me that she was already accepted at Armstrong and was eager to begin studying Education here next fall.  She added that she had "never considered anywhere else."  It's nice to hear that we are a student's first choice, let alone their only choice.

An entirely different conversation ensued with another high school student that evening.  This young woman and her mother had only heard of Armstrong within the past week, having learned of our existence from a friend whose sister is attending graduate school here.  However, they were impressed by what they had learned about us and were thrilled that our open house happened to be occuring in Atlanta at just the right time.  I don't know if this student will end up a Pirate, but in a week's time we had gone from unknown entity to prime candidate.

It was my pleasure to meet many other students and parents that evening.  Some of them were sold on Armstrong before they stepped into the room, but more than 20 filled out applications for the fist time.  All of them, I daresay, left the building with a positive impression of our university.  But it's worth remembering that these impressions began to form before they came to the reception.  Interactons with our admissions staff, faculty, current and former students, faculty, even just our web site, had set the stage for their considering Armstrong.  For that student who had heard about us only the week before, it was the positive experience of a friend and her feeling strongly enough about that experience to recommend Armstrong to others that made the difference.  I wonder how many of you reading this were among those who helped that graduate student to feel so good about her time here.  I wonder how many times you will have opportunities to have a similar impact this week.

Have a great week, and don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Carey