On a typical morning on Purdue’s campus, sidewalks bustle with commuting students, faculty members hustle to corner offices and lecture halls, and countless vehicles navigate the morning rush. It’s on these mornings, too, when groups of wide-eyed high schoolers and curious parents embark on walking tours accompanied by a microphone-donning tour guide, showing the ins and outs of Purdue’s 2,500-acre grounds.
These tours are pivotal for many prospective students, providing an informative, up-close view of life at Purdue. However, at the Daniels School of Business, a rich legacy of students is transforming prospective students' experiences at Purdue — one conversation at a time.
The Business Ambassadors program, which dates back to the 1990s, empowers business students to provide value and support for prospective students and their families. From the beginning, the program’s leaders envisioned creating a holistic visiting experience for each student.
Nanci Forney, an early director of Business Ambassadors, knows the value of a business degree from Purdue. She was a business school student herself. “I come from a family that really believes in education. I took some classes when my husband and I first moved to Lafayette, and I had a great professor. That’s why I got the job, because showing off the school is being able to believe in it.”
When Forney took over Business Ambassadors, the program was still in its infancy. However, she saw the importance of allowing students to shape the environment and communicate their unique experiences to prospective students and their families.
“The directing role of Business Ambassadors was created a year before I got it, and there were only three kids in the program when I came,” Forney reflects. “The first few years were amazing because even though the program was small, some of our biggest challenges were identified and solved by talented students who helped grow the program. Oftentimes, my job was to listen.”
Business Ambassadors didn’t stay small, however. As Forney worked with passionate student leaders, the club gained traction and attracted more resources to help prospective students experience Purdue’s tight-knit business community. Emily Butler, a 2018 Purdue graduate and business ambassador, experienced the intangible draw of this community before she arrived on campus in 2014.
“On the day I accepted my official offer, there was a meeting in Indianapolis for prospective students, and that was the first time I met Nanci [Forney] and got to interact with some of the ambassadors,” Butler says. “I thought it seemed like a really cool program, so I wanted to join when I got to campus my freshman year.”
For Butler, the Business Ambassadors program was more than a résumé-booster. After attending various club call-outs, she decided that Business Ambassadors was a community where she could grow deep roots. “Business Ambassadors became my main involvement at Purdue, and I had an interest in helping students understand the culture here. When you’re looking at universities, it’s easy to get caught up in the discourse between colleges, but I really wanted to help students make the best decision and see what Purdue is truly about.”
“We want to instill the feeling that you’re absolutely not alone,” says Business Ambassadors President Aubrey Devries. “We want to give you all the facts and advice and create a real connection with the students so they can make the most informed decision. Ultimately, we’re selling our stories and experiences as Purdue students more than we’re selling the business school.”
As the program continued to develop, student leaders like Butler continued to enhance the prospective student experience through vision meetings, regional events and conversations with curious students and families.
Even as Business Ambassadors evolved through several strategic shifts, one element remained constant: the ambassadors’ passion for Purdue and their dedication to assisting prospective students, ultimately forming the cornerstone for the initiative.
Amanda Hubert, a senior and a Business Ambassador, emphasizes the importance of deep connection with prospective students in her role within the program. “I want to paint a picture for the student to help them envision what their life at Purdue could look like. The structure allows for a lot of one-on-one connection where we can learn each prospective student’s story. From there, I can be authentic to my experience and share things that will be impactful for that student as they’re looking to make their college decision. ”
While student leaders in Business Ambassadors have fostered a thriving environment of deep connection with prospective students, the journey hasn’t been without its share of challenges. Internal and external changes have forced student ambassadors to be adaptive and flexible to serve students and families best as they experience Purdue.
One unique challenge presented to students in Business Ambassadors was the COVID-19 pandemic, which created roadblocks to the traditional method of connecting with students and families. In an environment where face-to-face interaction is pivotal to the college visit experience, student leaders like recent graduate Katarina Nikolovski found new ways to engage with families and forecast a future at Purdue amidst uncertainty.
“I wanted to help students see the greatness of Purdue during COVID,” Nikolovski reflects. “For most prospective students, deciding on college is the biggest decision of their lives, and it’s scary. During COVID, many students were wondering, ‘Am I going to get the college experience that I want?’ It was a question many people were nervous about asking, so we had to address those concerns and comfort families through the decision. I had to learn how to respond to data-driven questions and stay informed on the ups-and-downs so I could most effectively serve families through my experience.”
COVID wasn’t the only change the Business Ambassadors had to navigate. Another shift marked an entirely new identity for business at Purdue — the transition to the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business.
For ambassadors like Mitchell Walbolt, the Daniels School of Business presented an opportunity to reimagine the school’s unique position when interacting with prospective students.
“A big selling point when I joined the ambassadors program was the small class sizes and personalized education compared to other colleges,” Walbolt says. “Once we switched to the Daniels School of Business and made plans for another building, it was announced that enrollment was projected to increase by 60% in the following years, so we had to shift our focus. Namely, the Daniels School being STEM-driven with an analytical curriculum. Businesses seek analytical thinkers and people with experience using data to tell stories. We’ve shifted from emphasizing the physical spaces to the resources we offer, which is a better differentiator.”
While the shift to the Daniels School of Business offered ambassadors like Walbolt the opportunity to emphasize exciting new opportunities, the essence of Business Ambassadors and the culture at Purdue remains unchanged. The legacy of connecting with students and creating a palpable excitement for life at Purdue is paramount for Business Ambassadors, regardless of the year or decade.
“I love being an ambassador so much that I feel the same joy, excitement and passion after every interaction or tour I give,” Hubert says. “Every ambassador can name the person who gave them their tour, and that relationship is usually a large reason for them coming to Purdue. Continuing the ambassador legacy as a student is really special.”
As the Business Ambassadors program evolves, the future is packed with opportunity. Built on a legacy of empathy and passion, ambassadors will continue to combine facts and emotion to paint a landscape of possibility in West Lafayette. For Devries, these possibilities are right around the corner.
“I know that new students are getting more value out of their education than I did when I started four years ago. It’s been fun to see the excitement in people’s eyes and the difference in attitude when I talk about the new opportunities through Daniels. It creates a buzz among prospective students and their families. So hop in now and ride the bandwagon!”
