'FRIENDLY CAMPUS CULTURE'

Dear Editor:

When my best friend and an alumna of UC Davis left a message on my voicemail, "some close friends are shopping college campuses, will you please show them around?" How could I refuse? But after 10 years as staff, I was certainly not a tour guide, and I know very little about admissions or student life. I panicked. I had met one of the visiting families before, after seeing the entire family perform in The Nutcracker, but other than their love of dance and theatre, I didn't know what to expect.

As the morning unfolded, I took my cues from them. At Shields Library, we met Sandra Vella, who immediately offered us an on-the-spot library tour. Sorocco Figeroa of the theatre and dance department encouraged me to introduce my visitors to department chair Peter Lichtenfels, even though it was his first day back to Davis for the fall quarter. His kind attention to their questions was a tour highlight. In the advising office of the College of Engineering, my visitors were received by Lori Avellar, and they got insider tips from engineering student David Schaller. Everywhere we went, they got a warm reception.

Seeing the campus through the eyes of these two enthusiastic high school students, I was bursting with pride for our friendly campus culture. At the end of the day, I felt it was one of my best campus experiences.

As they were leaving, they said, "Thanks, yesterday on the Stanford tour they didn't even take us inside any of the buildings!"

Suanne Klahorst

writer

John Muir Institute of the Environment