Miranda Shurer (AE ’02) knows it takes a village, and she’s proud to be a part of hers—the vast, global Illinois Tech alumni network that shares stories about Illinois Tech with prospective students. Shurer volunteers her time as an Admission Ambassador, attending college fairs and events near her Washington, D.C., home, spreading the word about Illinois Tech.
“I’m not the most extroverted person,” Shurer says, admitting that she was somewhat apprehensive about becoming an Admission Ambassador. “But I learned that it’s easy for me to talk about Illinois Tech because I love it so much and I want potential incoming students to share in that love.”
After she graduated Shurer enjoyed the higher-education world so much that she made a career of it, earning her M.Ed. in counseling psychology and working in residence life at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. She has since taken on the role of stay-at-home-mom to raise her two sons and instills in them the importance of higher education.
“It’s almost pure luck that I ended up at Illinois Tech in the first place, and anything that I can do to get the word out to more students is something that I’m happy to do,” she says. “We don’t have the luxury of having dozens of admission officers around the country like big state schools do. We need alumni to help make up the difference. It’s an easy way to give back to our university.”
The commitment of an Admission Ambassador is minimal—the only requirement is that alumni represent the university in a friendly and knowledgeable way while helping prospective students learn more about Illinois Tech. Here are some ways to volunteer:
- Attend any number of admission events throughout the year, as many or as few as possible.
- Refer prospective students to Illinois Tech.
- Communicate with admitted students through phone calls, letters, and emails.
- Attend regional college fairs and visit high schools in your area.
To learn more about becoming an Admission Ambassador in your area, visit https://admissions.iit.edu/undergraduate/alumni.