“Excellence Unveiled at UNC with Chancellor Lee Roberts” is a series on 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Each episode shines a light on members of the Carolina community and the outstanding work they do. Listen to the full episode below, or read the complete transcript.
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In the ninth installment of Excellence Unveiled, listen to Rhonda Beatty, director of the UNC Visitors Center, about the work, effort and expertise that goes into creating an interactive, world-class experience for visitors whether they’re coming to Carolina for the first time or returning for a trip down memory lane.
There is no typical day at the UNC Visitors Center. We come in every morning ready to greet all of our guests and orient them to the University and talk about Carolina and share with them all the great things that happen on our campus every day. And inevitably, something either changes, and we pivot. But what I can say for sure is every day working at the University and doing this work, for me, is always a really great day.
I was drawn to this position as director of the UNC Visitors Center really out of my deep love for the University. As an alumna, three generations of Tar Heels in my family — my mother, me and our daughter —talking about Carolina is really one of my favorite things to do. We have a front row seat to what’s happening at the University and a lot of the really amazing things that are happening with students and faculty and staff, with research and innovation and all of the great community service that’s happening and how we connect with the community. And a lot of times people just don’t know about that. You have to tell people the really amazing things that are happening, and we get to do that.
So, the UNC Visitors Center started in Morehead Planetarium in the lobby, just a desk. We had maybe six student tour guides, a director and two managers. And when we left that space and came to our new space at 134 E. Franklin Street, it gave us an opportunity to really re-imagine what do we want that guest experience to be like. How do we want to introduce Carolina to them? Because everyone who comes to the University usually is coming for the very first time. So, it’s that moment of first impressions and we want to make sure they get the experience that they’re going to walk away and really remember Carolina and have that emotional connection that we all feel to it. Let’s be honest, the students are the secret to our success in being able to interact with the students and see the University every day through their eyes and share with guests how amazing Carolina is to them so that they can feel how special the University is, and I absolutely love my job.
We ask them, “So what brings you to Carolina?” And whatever they say to us, we want to fulfill that need, and this new space gives us an opportunity to do that. Our students are the secret to that. They’re behind the desk sharing all those interactives, giving the great information that we can share with them to help them learn about our University and get them on their way so they can enjoy their time with us.
The most rewarding thing through my eyes when guests come in is seeing their faces light up as they’re talking to our students about our University. This is a University, and it’s for students. So, having students be that first impression is intentional and it’s important, because people want to know, “What’s it like to be a student here? What are your classes like? What’s the dining hall like?” And our students get to have that interaction and talk to them about their experience.
Our main services that we offer are our Sense of Place tour. It’s a really popular tour, and we have lots of iterations, so that when people come in, depending on how much time they have or the way they want to experience campus, will determine what tour they have with those students.
Rhonda Beatty (photo via UNC)
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