Getting Ready for Ouachita’s World (GROW) does not only mean something for the prospective students who will visit Ouachita but also for the current students who sign up to host a GROW student.
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Over 250 junior and senior high students will come to Ouachita this Thursday and Friday.
“That number will still grow. We invite any students who have expressed interest to Ouachita. Lori Motl, director of admissions counseling said, “Some of them just come to our Web site and see that we have the event GROW going on and some of the students that we have never interacted with.”
This event will be held on Oct. 8-9. This is one of the most important events for Ouachita because GROW was a deciding factor for a large number of Ouachita students about where they would attend school.
“I was a freshman here 20 years ago and 21 years ago I came to this event,” Motl said. “I stayed with the host students and went to classes, we went to Tiger Tunes and that’s why I came to Ouachita.”
Students who volunteer to host “Growers” host one to four students. Some students who have more room can take three to four students. “When I was a freshman, I hosted two ‘Growers’ and they slept in our room,” said Amelia Buckmaster, a senior English major. “I think it’s a great way to share Ouachita with people who don’t know it. I really enjoyed showing them around campus and telling them all things that I learned.”
On the first day of GROW the perspective students will meet their host students and then head to dinner in Walker Conference Center. “We also take them to Tiger Tunes. There is so much excitement there, and they will go to Refuge which will be held in First Baptist Church,” said Motl. “It is such a fantastic time to get a real picture of what being a student of Ouachita is like.”
The parents are also invited to this event, they will have a dinner and meeting with the Dean and Chris Kear to talk about financial aid.
“The students pay $30 to cover the meal and Tiger Tunes ticket. If we have extra Tiger Tunes tickets available we will offer it to the parents. We encourage them to buy a Tiger Tunes ticket at that time,” Motl said.
The students also will take a campus tour and attend the classes that are available at 8, 9 and 10 a.m. “It’s a really a good way for the students to experience Ouachita. They can go to the classroom and meet different professors,” said Carrie Brown, a senior piano performance major. “They also can see the social aspects, the academic side of it and the dorm setting.”
“We want them to lecture or interact with the students. Motl said, “We will give them the list of classes so they can pick the classes that they want.”
GROW is the most effective event for prospective students. “GROW gives the student the opportunity to determine whether Ouachita really is the type of home that they want to stay in for the next four years,” Buckmaster said.
GROW is the only prospective student event that provides students with a “unique” opportunity.
“The opportunity of the students to get to be a part of Tiger Tunes and go to classes and meet the professors and that is such a unique opportunity that they don’t get to offer at any time except GROW,” said Motl.
