A Walk in a Student’s Shoes

When Joe Zumbo ‘14, Assistant Director of Admissions, began overseeing Dean College’s student ambassador program in 2016, he sat down with the ambassadors and asked for their help. 

“You know more than I know,” he recalls telling them. “You’re the experts here.” 

They attended the classes, built the relationships and knew what it meant to live at Dean. He wanted their perspective to guide the program and shape what prospective students experienced when they visited. 

“For this to work, there needed to be mutual trust,” he says. “I wanted to help them grow, and I needed their help keeping the experience we offered visitors authentic.” 

A decade later, that approach still guides the program. This year, 33 ambassadors lead tours, help with administrative work and support Discover Dean Day, Accepted Students Day and smaller in-person admissions events. They train for those responsibilities but are given plenty of space to bring their own stories and ideas to the work. 

For visitors, a tour becomes a chance to explore Dean with someone who calls it home. 

“It’s an opportunity to literally and figuratively walk in a student’s shoes,” Joe says. “Is this going to be a good fit for me? Am I going to be successful here? Will I thrive here?” 

Discovering What Matters 

Domenica ‘27, a current ambassador and tour captain, remembers asking those questions herself. 

Coming from a small town and a small high school, she assumed a larger college would offer more opportunities. Dean’s versatile dance program interested her, but she worried the campus would feel too small. 

Then she visited and took a dance class. 

“Touring Dean helped me realize that what I valued most in a school wasn’t the size of the campus, but the people,” she says. “I immediately felt like I was part of the community.” 

Now she helps visitors make discoveries of their own. On one memorable tour, a mother and daughter were just beginning their college search. They had questions about studying dance. Domenica walked them through her typical day, explained auditions and campus involvement, and described her relationships with professors and fellow students. 

“What started as something daunting and new ended with a lot of excitement,” she says. “I could feel the shift from the beginning of the tour to the end. It reminded me of my own college search.” 

Joe encourages those conversations. Ambassadors learn the information visitors need, then draw on their experiences to bring it to life. 

“You’re still going to get the same quality and the same information,” he says. “But you’re going to have a different, authentic experience depending on who takes you on tour.” 

A Conversation Beyond the Tour 

Dylana ’26 liked Dean’s campus immediately when she visited for a summer preview day. After her tour, she approached her guide, Madison Harrington, with more questions about musical theater and getting involved beyond the program. 

Madison answered, then offered to show her the Main Stage and Guidrey performance spaces. 

“She made the experience much more personal,” Dylana recalls. “I could really see myself at Dean.” 

Once enrolled, Dylana applied to become an ambassador herself. 

“I knew how important that experience had been to me, especially when I was so stressed about choosing a college,” she says. “I wanted other students to have that opportunity to connect with someone, get their questions answered and figure out whether they could see themselves at Dean.” 

Finding Their Own Confidence 

The ambassador role also gives students experience they can carry into their careers. They speak to groups, listen closely and adapt to different questions and interests. Their work at Ray House and admissions events calls for organization and coordination with students and staff. 

Madison Harrington ’22, now the Executive Assistant and Dance Team Coach at Merrimack College, has carried those lessons into her professional life. 

“Whether we were planning trainings, working events and auditions, or reaching out to prospective students, I learned the importance of collaboration,” she says. “The role required active listening, strong communication and the ability to connect with others. Those are skills I’ve continued to develop throughout my career.” 

Domenica once wondered whether anxiety would keep her from pursuing leadership roles. Working as an ambassador helped change her mind. 

“It taught me that I’m much more confident than I thought,” she says. “It was one of the first leadership roles I took on campus, and since then I’ve grown into many more.” 

She shares that growth during her tours, describing how much she has come out of her shell since freshman year. 

“I hope students leave understanding who I am and how Dean has helped shape me,” she says. 

What to Ask Along the Way 

As a Dean alum himself, Joe knows everyone arrives with a different story. He encourages visitors to ask their guide, “Why did you choose Dean?” 

Then he suggests going a little further: “What’s something about your experience that I wouldn’t know from touring campus for 60 minutes?” 

For Domenica, the answer is the support she has found in the people around her. 

“I’ve never been somewhere I feel more comfortable sharing my thoughts and ideas, because I know they’ll be heard and celebrated,” she says. “Whether I’m working as an ambassador or sitting in a classroom, I know I’m seen as my own individual self.” 

It is something she can describe on a tour, even if she believes students will understand it most fully once they experience it themselves.