When President Witt first came to The University of Alabama, he set out to increase the size of the student body and the number of high-caliber students in enrollment. To accomplish this task, the University enlisted the help of its top recruiters: students.
Allison Verhine, the coordinator of student recruitment of the Honors College, said University of Alabama students, not administrators or officials, are the most effective recruiters. University students connect with prospective students on a more personal level than others do.
“Our student speakers are the most convincing people to recruit the future students of The University of Alabama,” Verhine said. “They are honest and genuinely love the University, and that’s what seals the deal.”
Verhine said the University identifies current students who are easy to talk to, comfortable talking to large crowds, are passionate about the University and want to share that passion with others. On recruitment trips, UA students typically speak at receptions where prospective students and their families are invited to learn more about the University and to ask any questions they might have about admissions, campus life or other topics, Verhine said.
Verhine said the easiest way to recruit students is to get them to Tuscaloosa and have them tour the campus.
“My mantra is, if I can convince somebody to get to this campus, then they will fall in love with the beauty of it,” Verhine said. “As a University employee, it’s my job to do this, so recruits expect it. To counteract this, we use current students as a means of showing other students what they have done on campus and try to get them down to Tuscaloosa to visit.”
Lauren Hardison, a junior majoring in finance from Dallas, Texas, traveled with the University to her hometown last February to speak at a University reception for prospective students. Hardison said she was asked to help with the recruitment event because of her background and her experiences at the University.
“I think I was selected because they want to pick students that have had a positive experience at UA, and also because they want to choose students that are involved with lots of different things on campus,” Hardison said. “Being from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area was a big factor in going to recruit in the area too, because I know what the transition from the area to UA looks like and can answer questions about that process.”
As a part of her recruitment trip, Hardison spoke at two receptions, one in Ft. Worth and one in Dallas. With the two events combined, Hardison spoke about her experiences at Alabama to over 1,400 people.
Cindy Wright, the Dallas-Ft. Worth University recruiter, asked Hardison to speak in Dallas and Ft. Worth as a part of “Texas Week,” a week where University of Alabama admissions host receptions for prospective students across Texas. Hardison said she was asked to fly on the University’s jet with former University president Robert Witt.
“I was supposed to fly on the private jet to Dallas, but President Witt had to back out of the Ft. Worth dinner last minute,” Hardison said. “Instead, the University flew me on a domestic flight out of Birmingham and reimbursed me for the plane ticket and for gas to and from the airport.”
Verhine said the University has been pushing out-of-state recruitment particularly hard recently but still maintains a strong focus on recruiting students in Alabama.
Katie Moss, a sophomore from Huntsville, Ala., traveled with the University to a recruitment reception in Huntsville earlier this semester. She agreed current UA students are the best people to have at recruitment events to talk to prospective students.
“Because of the lack of age difference, prospective students find it easier to talk to us and are more honest with us about their college decision,” Moss said. “As a recruiter, it’s also easier for me to relate to them because I was going through the same thing just a few years ago.”
