OPINION: Why being a tour guide changed my whole Stonehill experience

By Camila Zuluaga Rodriguez

When I first got the tour guide job, I couldn’t imagine what it would look like for me to talk in front of so many people every week. I didn’t like public speaking, and I knew no one at the admissions office. However, my nerves quickly disappeared as I kept showing up for my shifts day after day. Looking back, I can see how much being part of this amazing team changed my whole Stonehill experience.

When I first came to Stonehill, I had a team that quickly helped me find a group of people with whom I fit in. As amazing as this was and still is, I was letting a lot of experiences and people pass right in front of my eyes, and when I started the tour-guide position, my view of Stonehill rapidly shifted. 

The school wasn’t just about tennis and reading, but it was students being friends with staff and having more commitments outside the classroom than actual classes. I would hear many of my co-workers talking about how much the different involvements they had on campus had helped them grow as a person and succeed outside the classroom. Hearing them talk about this inspired me to try new things, to learn more about campus and all of those who made it part of them. Not long after, I had found a spot in “The Summit”, Stonehill’s student-run newspaper, and I had gone back to one of my childhood hobbies, dance club. Through these and many other involvements, I met new people, but I also learned more about those I had seen in passing or talked to during class.

After working during the summer before my junior year at admissions, I met many of the people who were once co-workers and who I can now call friends. The impact of my co-workers and friends on me was immense, and their trust and belief in my abilities inspired me to push myself every day, whether during tours or in any other activity I was involved in. I gained confidence in my public speaking skills and became better at approaching others.  

Day by day, I kept learning more about the amazing resources and community that Stonehill had, and seeing all of my friends serving as Orientation Leaders inspired me to join the Orientation program. I never thought I would have joined Orientation, but there I was the summer before my senior year. This was the most rewarding experience I ever had during my time at Stonehill, and it wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn't become a tour guide and met all those who motivated me to apply.

Orientation gave me more friends than I had met in my whole life. I was working in a team with 70+ students, and each had qualities that made the team better every day. Meeting each one of them made me grow as a person. Learning from our differences and enjoying the company of the amazing people who attended Stonehill were other ways I continued to value my time at school. Eventually, my small group of friends became a small conversation on my way to class. Thanks to many of them, I was also able to appreciate how much you can do in such a short time: being a good tour guide, the president of Best Buddies, a member of SAA, a student with a job on campus and an internship, an athlete, or an RA. Thanks to many of them, I saw how small efforts could make a place such a great community.

Being a tour guide was the door to all of these experiences and lessons. It was also what pushed me out of my comfort zone to try new things and meet new people, which makes this place better. As I always say on my tour: “Stonehill is a great place to be in, because there will always be people to inspire you to try new things and to support you, and there will always be someone who wants to see you succeed”.