We Are Team Harris
Student ambassador program offers prospective students opportunity to experience Chicago Harris from the perspective of current students.
The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy has launched a student ambassador program that gives current Chicago Harris students an unprecedented role in the school’s recruitment and admission efforts. Team Harris – a diverse group of more than 60 Chicago Harris students – will help develop and execute strategies to engage prospective students throughout the admission cycle.
“This program will offer prospective students with personal advice and first-hand information on Chicago Harris academics, professional expectations, and student life,” said Emilio Granados Franco, a first-year MPP candidate and president of Team Harris. “Our main goal is to ensure that admitted and prospective students make the best decision based on their needs and their desire to become successful policy practitioners.”
Already, Team Harris has been directly involved in an array of outreach activities for the current admission cycle. To better facilitate these efforts, Team Harris recently established a presence across a variety of social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and a Tumblr blog titled “More Than Numbers.” According to Poppy Coleman, a first-year MPP student and secretary of Team Harris, offering prospective students the opportunity to consider Chicago Harris from the perspective of a current student is a unique feature that can help Chicago Harris stand out among other public policy schools.
“When I gave campus tours as an undergrad, and then worked in admissions after graduation, it was clear to me that prospective students want to develop a clear picture of how they will fit (or not fit) into the school - not just facts about the founding and funding,” Coleman said. “I believe enhancing and diversifying the methods of student outreach to prospective students can do that for Chicago Harris.”
Team Harris started as a pilot program during the 2011-2012 academic year. The pilot was deemed a success, paving the way for the program’s formal launch in Fall 2012 with 62 participants (roughly one-fifth of the total Chicago Harris student body) from 18 countries and virtually every policy interest area.
“This is a really exciting program, and unlike what anybody else is doing at the MPP level,” said Jeremy Edwards, Director of Admissions at Chicago Harris. “It makes our own students—who are incredibly bright and motivated—a crucial part of the voice of the institution. A program like Team Harris gives a more accurate temperature-reading of what is occurring here, and will allow the first point of contact by a prospect to be a current student in many cases. We think this is a step in the right direction.”
“I am very excited about the creation of a corps of student ambassadors to help us spread the word about Chicago Harris,” said Lydia Lazar, Associate Dean of Chicago Harris. “These volunteers will help us recruit the very best students, and then – we hope – continue to support the school as active and engaged alumni. We believe that for a prospective student, a current student is a truly credible and informed source for information about what the Chicago Harris experience is all about.”
For more information, visit the Team Harris Homepage.
- Dominick Washington
