Kiersten Rogers, a sophomore from Fairview Heights, Illinois, majoring in animal sciences, served as a Summer Welcome Leader.
Q: How did you get interested in being a Summer Welcome leader?
A: I loved my own Summer Welcome experience, and so the moment I got on campus, I was trying to figure out how I could get the position and make incoming freshmen truly fall in love with Mizzou and get them excited to be here in the fall.
Q: What was your favorite or most rewarding part of your work this summer?
A: The most rewarding part of my summer has been making students feel truly seen and cared about. I feel so much joy when they tell me they had a good day and can not wait to get here in the fall, or when they just had so much fun. I think that’s the best because it’s literally the end goal of the job.
Q: What was the most challenging part of this summer or your biggest learning experience?
A: The most challenging part of the summer was waking up, honestly. We had a 7:30 morning meeting every day, so I was waking up at 6:30 a.m. every day, and that got pretty tough when I wasn’t going to sleep until 1 or 2 in the morning. But I wouldn’t have traded it for anything!
Q: How has your time in CAFNR prepared you to be a good Summer Welcome Leader?
A: CAFNR is the best college, obviously (I’m in it). Truly being in CAFNR and socializing with new people is a skill I think I can always improve on, and going to class and different events that the college hosts helped me a lot with small talk, as well as questions about the college when summer came around. It was also super fun to be one of three summer welcome leaders in the college, so when students had questions, other leaders would always send them to me especially if they were in animal sciences
Q: What advice would you give another CAFNR student who was interested in becoming a Summer Welcome Leader?
A: My advice to any CAFNR students who would like to be a summer welcome leader is to APPLY APPLY APPLY. Everyone said it would be the best summer of my life, and it honestly was. I had so much fun, and it was just so fulfilling. I made so many lifelong friendships that I would not have made otherwise, and I got paid while doing it!