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Above: Students and their families check in at Glendon's March Break Gala. |
For the Glendon Recruitment and Liaison team, it is the season for conversion – not the religious kind – rather a time for consolidating all the "yes" and "maybe" replies of the fall season into actual new registrants for September.
Glendon's beautiful landscape, compact size and its warm and welcoming environment are an advantage because the environment creates an excellent first impression. Maximizing the unique beauty of the Glendon campus, the Recruitment team has worked for the past several months to offer visitors an informative and comprehensive program in the 2005 March Break Gala open house.
Under the leadership of Recruitment and Liaison director Tobi Strohan, Isabelle Creusot and her colleagues Léa Bertrand, Dave Leavitt, Isabelle Côté and Carol Yorkden-Chamberlain worked hard to anticipate prospective students' questions and to present Glendon at its best and most welcoming.
Sunday, March 13, was a bright, snowy day and the Glendon campus was transformed into a winter wonderland. By the time visitors started drifting in, as early as 8am for the advertised 9am start, everything and everyone was ready and the cheerful Latin rhythms played by the student-run Glendon Musical Ensemble provided just the right ambiance for launching the day.
Visitors were welcomed with a continental breakfast and then directed to one of three presentations, offered in rotation, so that everyone could attend all three. It was their choice whether they wanted information about admissions and enrolment first, or about finances and residence. They could also attend a mock lecture on the topic of "TV: Love It or Hate It?". Questions and comments were encouraged from the audience, in an attempt to offer a glimpse of what a university lecture is all about. A warmly welcomed surprise visitor, York University President and Vice-Chancellor Lorna R. Marsden dropped in and heard the debate. She expressed her admiration for the interesting ideas that were discussed, as well as for the success of the event. Glendon's Principal Kenneth McRoberts and associate principals Françoise Boudreau and Louise Lewin were also on hand to greet the visitors.
The informative workshops were complemented by campus tours offered throughout the day and led by well-trained and knowledgeable student ambassadors. Prospective students and their families could actually visit a residence room and all residence facilities, and ask questions from students currently living there. They could also visit classrooms, the theatre and other student locations.
Right: Visitors filled Glendon's spacious dining hall for the information fair.
The day culminated in an Information Fair in Glendon's spacious and bright dining hall, where tables were set up for academic departments and student services. The new, visible signs made navigation easy for the visitors. The tables were laden with brochures and information and staffed by professors, current students and student service personnel, all eager to respond to questions and concerns.
An unprecedented number of reservations produced 385 visitors, the highest number ever for a March Break event at Glendon, complementing another peak: last November's landmark Fall Campus Day with over 400 visitors.
The buzz during the day was all positive. Smiling faces, immediate response from the team to any questions, and an entirely smooth process where everything worked and everyone was pleased – confirmed the excellence of the model for this event.
When asked by a team member how they rated the day, a family replied as they were leaving, "We have visited four universities to date. There is no question, Glendon is number one on our list. And not only because of this wonderful day – the most informative and most fun of all – but because of what it reveals about the substance of this institution: the dedication of those who work here and the range and relevance of the courses offered."
This article was submitted to YFile by Glendon's communications officer Marika Kemeny.