Posted 10:20 p.m. Thursday, May 26, 2011
Ask senior Chelsea Haase why she picked UW-La Crosse and she’ll tell you it was the squirrels. Those furry, cute, little creatures playfully chased one another up trees and all over campus on her first visit.
[caption id="attachment_3172" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Chelsea Haase graduated from UW-L May 14"]
[/caption]Ask recent graduate Chelsea Haase why she picked UW-La Crosse and she’ll tell you it was the squirrels.
Those furry, cute, little creatures playfully chased one another up trees and all over campus on her first visit.
“The squirrels are so friendly they made me feel like I’d have friends here too,” she explains.
Haase, a former campus tour guide, says campus visitors always laughed when she told that one. But it turns out the joke is based on truth. Haase, like the squirrels, worked hard and played hard at UW-L — and made a lot of friends in the process.
Haase was a member of many campus groups including vice president of the Residence Hall Association Council and secretary of student senate. As a Vangaurd, she regularly shared the UW-L experience with others by giving campus tours and participating in panel discussions and other campus events.
“She gives honest answers to questions and has a lot of knowledge about campus — not just facts and figures — She represents campus and the personality behind it,” notes Joshua Rybaski, communication coordinator / Vanguard advisor for the Admissions Office.
This May, Haase received the Kent Grimslid Memorial Award for her exceptional service as a Vanguard.
As she walked backwards on the sidewalks leading groups of parents and college- bound students, she typically noticed some nerves. Some students wouldn't make eye contact. Others hid behind their parents. She liked to help them relax with some laughs.
As they rounded the campus Cashier’s Office, she noted bills are electronic so they can easily be forwarded to parents. As she took them under Hoeschler Tower, she told them how she liked to stand under the legendary romantic spot every Friday and Saturday night with a rose “waiting for that special someone.”
In the residence halls, she told visitors to prepare for a “live college experience” because she never knew what fellow students would say or do. One time a dry erase board on a student residence hall room had a picture of male genitalia. Haase quickly covered with, “Biology is our most popular major here. You can just tell students really care about anatomy.”
When Haase finished tours she usually felt like she was “walking on a cloud — especially when they laugh at my jokes,” she notes. But it was even better when she knew she helped answer questions and make prospective students and their parents feel more comfortable about college.
“College can be a very scary thing,” she explains. “I like to get people more excited about it.”
Before her May 14 graduation, Haase walked the campus one last time. As she passed landmarks of her tour, she thought of how difficult it would be to say goodbye – to the Hoeschler Tower, the residence halls – even the squirrels.
[/caption]Ask recent graduate Chelsea Haase why she picked UW-La Crosse and she’ll tell you it was the squirrels.
Those furry, cute, little creatures playfully chased one another up trees and all over campus on her first visit.
“The squirrels are so friendly they made me feel like I’d have friends here too,” she explains.
Haase, a former campus tour guide, says campus visitors always laughed when she told that one. But it turns out the joke is based on truth. Haase, like the squirrels, worked hard and played hard at UW-L — and made a lot of friends in the process.
Haase was a member of many campus groups including vice president of the Residence Hall Association Council and secretary of student senate. As a Vangaurd, she regularly shared the UW-L experience with others by giving campus tours and participating in panel discussions and other campus events.
“She gives honest answers to questions and has a lot of knowledge about campus — not just facts and figures — She represents campus and the personality behind it,” notes Joshua Rybaski, communication coordinator / Vanguard advisor for the Admissions Office.
This May, Haase received the Kent Grimslid Memorial Award for her exceptional service as a Vanguard.
As she walked backwards on the sidewalks leading groups of parents and college- bound students, she typically noticed some nerves. Some students wouldn't make eye contact. Others hid behind their parents. She liked to help them relax with some laughs.
As they rounded the campus Cashier’s Office, she noted bills are electronic so they can easily be forwarded to parents. As she took them under Hoeschler Tower, she told them how she liked to stand under the legendary romantic spot every Friday and Saturday night with a rose “waiting for that special someone.”
In the residence halls, she told visitors to prepare for a “live college experience” because she never knew what fellow students would say or do. One time a dry erase board on a student residence hall room had a picture of male genitalia. Haase quickly covered with, “Biology is our most popular major here. You can just tell students really care about anatomy.”
When Haase finished tours she usually felt like she was “walking on a cloud — especially when they laugh at my jokes,” she notes. But it was even better when she knew she helped answer questions and make prospective students and their parents feel more comfortable about college.
“College can be a very scary thing,” she explains. “I like to get people more excited about it.”
Before her May 14 graduation, Haase walked the campus one last time. As she passed landmarks of her tour, she thought of how difficult it would be to say goodbye – to the Hoeschler Tower, the residence halls – even the squirrels.