The Penn State Alumni Association has been a longtime supporter of the Alumni
Admissions Volunteer initiative providing not only monetary support to maintain
and grow this worthwhile program, but also promoting it to the University’s
out-of-state alumni as a valuable volunteer activity. But just what is the Alumni
Admissions Volunteer program and how can alumni—in Pennsylvania or out-of-state—get
involved?
Through the Alumni Admissions Volunteer program, more than 800 alumni volunteers
of varying ages and backgrounds help spread Penn State pride to prospective
students outside of Pennsylvania. Alumni Admissions Volunteers assist the Undergraduate
Admissions Office in recruiting qualified students for Penn State. It is the
"personal touch" by alumni volunteers that often encourages a student
to apply to Penn State and accept an offer of admission. This personal touch
occurs through traditional college fairs or through LionsROAR (Reaching Out
And Recruiting) phone calls. Alumni Volunteers call students who have been offered
admission to congratulate them and to share their own experiences as Penn State
students and graduates.
Although it is somewhat difficult to directly tie a college fair or a phone
call to a student’s ultimate enrollment, this year’s incoming first-year
class included students from 46 states. Alumni Admissions Volunteers assisted
in covering 771 college fairs around the nation in 2005. It always helps to
have more people hear the Penn State story first hand from alumni.
Due to the success of these out-of-state efforts, Alumni Admissions Volunteer
pilot programs are being replicated in three areas of Pennsylvania to positively
impact a student’s decision to attend Penn State. More than 1,000 students
have been offered admission from York, New Kensington, and Delaware County areas,
and alumni from these areas have been asked to participate in LionsROAR and
call prospective students to offer their congratulations and share their own
Penn State experiences.
This new pilot program has signed up 35 Alumni Admissions Volunteers. But the
Office of Undergraduate Admissions needs many more alumni to volunteer, especially
since Penn State hopes to expand the Alumni Admissions Volunteers program to
all areas of the Commonwealth.
To learn more about the program, visit www.psu.edu/admissions/volunteers. To
become an Alumni Admissions Volunteer, contact Cathy M. Schwab, senior associate
director of recruitment and coordinator of alumni programs, at czs9@psu.edu
or by calling 800-706-9602.
