By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
After a long day of class and responsibilities, most Baylor students are ready to head home and relax. But there’s no rest for the BEARS, a select few students who are Baylor Experience & Admissions Representatives.
Salem, Ore., junior Kiera White has been a tour guide since the spring semester of her freshman year. Because of her experience, she was promoted to senior BEAR her sophomore year. According to White, senior BEARs act as an “extra bit of leadership” for campus visits.
“In order to become a senior BEAR, you have to work a minimum of two semesters, but the job is usually given to juniors and seniors,” White said. “You have to have shown evidence of leadership skills in the office and a good understanding of what goes on [in the office].”
When White arrives at work, she likes to double check her assignments for the day because as a tour guide, there’s almost always “odd jobs” to complete around the office, she said.
“It could be training new BEARs, giving or driving tours, working at the front desk or other tasks,” White said. “The great thing about being a tour guide is that flexibility.”
While some days are busier than others, White enjoys delivering tours to potential new students and families, and her strategy is to never give the same tour twice.
“I like to focus on what academic or personal interests the prospective students have,” White said. “Like, if a student has an interest or major that we don’t usually go into deep detail about during the tour, I like to find space for it so that they are getting a tour most valuable to them.”
These tours are often a potential student’s first experience with Baylor, which is why it’s important to personalize it as much as you can, according to White.
“A great tour is really based on getting to know the families early on to understand how to connect with them,” White said.
Baylor campus tours are all student-led, and aim to give a full comprehensive tour of all Baylor has to offer, from academic, athletic and campus housing buildings.
Meredith Roberts, associate director of campus visits, explained the wide range of responsibilities a Baylor tour guide encompasses and appreciates the student-first component of working as a tour guide.
“Our BEARs are involved in so many things; there’s so much variety in the office,” Roberts said. “They’re going to class during the day; they might have a chapter or organization meeting. There’s certainly always something going on in their day.”
According to Roberts, there are roughly 160 tour guides working at the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center, where the magic behind campus visits happens. Despite this number, they are always looking to recruit students passionate about what Baylor has to offer.
“We have a certification process for new students coming in as BEARs who are called cubs,” Roberts said. “Typically, [they] slowly give parts of a tour by themselves alongside a senior BEAR. The senior BEARs really help with that training process and getting new BEARs up to speed.”
White said she likes to help new tour guides digest all the new information needed to give a tour.
“You’re given a list of facts that you should be able to communicate while on a tour, and it just gets easier the more you do it,” White said.
According to White, cubs shadow several tours delivered by senior BEARs before they are tasked with giving parts of one on their own, and once you’ve successfully given each section individually and been graded, you can give a full tour by yourself.
“It’s a big celebration in the office when a cub becomes a BEAR,” White said. “You’re given an official name tag and your photo gets sent to the GroupMe as congratulations.”
White says her favorite part about being a tour guide is the community she’s found that are just as passionate about Baylor as she is.
“I’ve met some of my best friends here,” White said. “It’s a really special community where you get to do a job you love, talk about a school you love, with a bunch of friends you love.”
