As an RA in Oak Hall I am in charge of helping the freshman classes through their first year of college. Along with this, comes hosting tours of the building on special occasions. When doing tours you have a very short amount of time to explain how the building works, what your role is as an RA, and try to "sell" UNCP to these potential Braves. However, when doing a tour it is very easy to fall into only explaining how the building works but as a seasoned RA I think in doing this, you are missing out on a great opportunity to show people what it really means to be a Brave.
Step one to making a memorable tour is asking the family where they are from. Even though there is a possibility you will never see these people again, get to know them in case they soon become your residents.
Step two is to ask about their interests. If you come to college and only leave your room to eat and go to class, you will have a miserable experience so while giving the tour you can plant a seed that will make this student have a fulfilling time at UNCP. Ask them if they are involved at their high school, if they are in any clubs. If this is the case we probably have something similar here and as an RA you can tell them about those amazing opportunities.
Finally, try and remember their face. These families do not expect you to remember them at all but if you at least remember their face then if they end up as your residents you can say "hey, I remember when you toured here." This makes them feel like they matter, because, well, they do matter.
During Covid-19, UNCP posted some virtual tours of residence halls at UNCP. I have attached those in case you are curious what the inside of these facilities look like. Tours are an important part of a high school students journey to college so making it effective and memorable is very important.
