It seems like it was just last year (because it was) that I arrived on campus as an admitted student and prospective scholarship recipient for the Explore USC program. I remember being floored by USC’s beautiful campus and comparing it to Disneyland!

One year later, I’m only slightly less bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I’m now a diversity representative in Multicultural Coffee Hours and Experience panels for the central Office of Admission and an Admissions Ambassador for Annenberg. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, I also work within Annenberg Admissions to organize and coordinate Explore USC 2015 proceedings: student-host icebreaker activities, panels, hosting reminders, crisis management– you name it.

Some say it’s looney for me to be as involved in the admissions process as I am, and believe me, I agree. I’ve had a highly questionable amount of caffeine in the past few hours to keep me going.. but I just love doing it! It’s so rewarding to be able to answer the same pressing questions about campus life from this year’s Explore families that my family and I had last year. And to be able to sit down with students, look them in the eyes and tell them: “We want you here. You belong here!” That’s priceless.

Read Also: The 5 Ways You Identified Explore USC Students

Exhausted but excited,