Preview for next year’s Preview Day, maybe?

So, a couple of months ago I ended up writing a preview for Preview Day post. I was super excited for the real thing, which happened on Saturday, April 2- one day after April Fool’s Day! I never got to attend a Preview Day since mine was scheduled for mid-March of 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

This year, I got the opportunity to represent both the Women’s Ambassadors (WA) and Aerospace Engineering Student Advisory Board (AESAB). In the morning, I worked at the aerospace engineering booth as a student representative, answering questions from families about the department, course load, and the various tracks. Around 10:30, I switched over to represent the Women’s Ambassadors at the activities showcase, and I was done around 1:30.

I arrived at 7:30 at the Lehman building (one of our College of Engineering buildings) and helped move the handouts over to the second floor of the Student Union. Aerospace engineering is one of the largest departments on campus, so we had two tables to spread everything out on. The department was giving a lot of cool stuff away- wristlet lanyards, bags, sunglasses, candy airplanes, and a bunch of informational papers.

The first two and a half hours from 8 AM to 10:30 AM were really fast-paced. At 9 and 10 AM, the department held briefings and a question-and-answer panel for future Eagles and their families, so the crowd died down a bit but people still came up to talk to us. The bulk majority of questions that I got were about the flowcharts, tracks, and what they meant. Put simply, the tracks don’t separate until the end of sophomore year, and then you have to choose between the Aeronautics/Jet Propulsion or Astronautics/Rocket Propulsion paths. Then, you have until senior year to pick your final track- Aeronautics, Jet Propulsion, Astronautics, or Rocket Propulsion.

After working for the aerospace engineering department, I went over to work the activities fair for the Women’s Ambassadors. I ended up printing a QR code of our Instagram to display at the table and helped one of the admissions counselors set our free stuff up. We had lanyards, pens, sunglasses, and T-shirts to give away. I wasn’t by myself- another girl named Alexa joined me.

Working at the Women’s Ambassadors booth was similar to working at the aerospace engineering one. Most of the questions I answered were about the WA organization, other female-only organizations, and other general university life questions.

A few of my friends worked at various times on Preview Day, and I ended up getting one of them to get me the Starbucks on the table. The two hours for WA came and went, and then I was done for the day. However, other Women’s Ambassadors were still working in various volunteer positions- some were directing traffic, some were handing out T-shirts, but a lot of us were free. So we ended up meeting for a group picture!

After the group picture, I ended up heading back to my dorm for lunch. Preview Day is super fun, but it’s also pretty busy! Over 700 admitted students and their families showed up, and I was happy to meet everyone. One student even walked up to the Women’s Ambassador booth, having met one of the Women’s Ambassadors at an accepted student reception. I’m super excited for my last two accepted student receptions at the end of the month in San Francisco and Seattle. I hope to see you there, and if not, maybe at ERAU in the fall!