By Julie FrenchContributing Writer
Weinberg freshman Mike McGee was accepted to three different schools last year. Northwestern University was not his first choice.
About a month before he got his official NU acceptance letter, though, an NU student called him on the phone to tell him about opportunities for black students and answer any questions he had.
NU suddenly looked a little more appealing.
The student who called McGee was part of the Ambassadors program at NU, a collaboration between the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, black students on campus and the Office of African American Student Affairs. The group formed more than 10 years ago to recruit black students.
Ambassadors members call both prospective and admitted students to answer questions about campus life. They also do outreach at Chicago-area high schools and host students during Discover NU and Preview NU, programs for prospective and admitted students.
“I think (the program) is very effective,” McGee said. “It’s better than just getting a piece of mail from a school. It helps to get an actual person to talk to.”
After that phone call, McGee came to an extended version of Preview NU geared toward minority students, where he was hosted by another Ambassadors member. McGee and others said they decided to enroll after attending the program.
“I really had no idea that there were so many things for the African-American community (here) as opposed to the other school I was planning on going to,” said Funlola Are, a Weinberg freshman.
Ambassadors connects students of similar backgrounds to give prospective students a better idea of the minority experience on the Evanston campus, said Onis Cheathams, an associate director of undergraduate admissions.
“It provides a face and voice for the community and the prospective student,” she said.
Volunteers, who are mainly freshmen and sophomores, “aren’t that far-removed from high school, so they can answer those questions prospective students have,” said SESP senior and Ambassadors volunteer Lauren Walker.
Walker joined Ambassadors her freshman year because she wanted to encourage other black students who also aren’t from the Chicago area to attend NU. Since her freshman year, she said she’s noticed an increase in the number of black students on campus.
The Class of 2010 is 6 percent black, according to preliminary university figures. Five years ago, the freshman class was 5.3 percent black, according to Associate Provost Michael Mills. Although black enrollment has generally increased, officials said it should be higher.
“The numbers aren’t statistically proportionate to general society,” said Shawna Cooper-Gibson, director of African American Student Affairs. According to the United States Census Bureau, blacks make up 12.9 percent of the U.S. population.
The students who do choose to attend Northwestern tend to stay and get involved. McGee is part of the Freshman Advisory Board for the Ambassadors and Are joined For Members Only, the black student alliance, and has participated in African American Student Affairs’ tutoring program.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for the students to become engaged, and I think that’s one of the reasons we have such a high retention rate,” Cooper-Gibson said.
There are similar recruitment groups for other minority groups on campus, as well as ways to keep them involved.
“Northwestern University prides itself on providing its students with a diverse and culturally vibrant atmosphere,” Cheathams said. “The Ambassadors Program is just a spoke on the wheel of many initiatives and efforts across the campus.”
Reach Julie French at [email protected].
