Upon entering the Admissions Office’s entryway, smiling faces shine down on you from a neat array of photographs on the wall. These friendly looking faces are this year’s 21 senior interviewers.

Though the title suggests that they only interview prospective University students senior interviewers have a job that demands much more.

“[Senior interviewers] provide current student perspectives in group information sessions, greet families in the reception area, answer phones, enter data, participate on panels, occasionally lead tours and carry out other duties,” said Associate Dean of Admissions Amin Abdul-Malik ’96, who heads the senior interviewer program.

Current senior interviewer Phelele Fakudze ’07 elaborated.

“We talk a lot to people over the phone and in person to make sure we give them a broad enough range of Wesleyan experiences for them to be able to decide if Wes is the place for them,” she said. “In that way, senior interviewers do a lot of advocating.”

To become a “Marketer of Wes,” as Fakudze calls the position, candidates must submit an application, which includes transcripts, resumes, essays, and peer and faculty references.

In addition to the written application, prospective interviewers must also undergo group interviews in which they present on a chosen topic and then respond to questions on it. The applicants are then narrowed down, until only the finalists are invited back for an individual interview with a dean and a serving senior interviewer.

“Among the things we look for in candidates, in no particular order: strong public speaking skills, breadth and depth of involvement in the community, compelling personal qualities, healthy enthusiasm for Wes, and diversity broadly defined,” Abdul-Malik said.

“The process to become a senior interviewer was pretty intensive,” said newly selected senior interviewer Emily Malkin ’08.

Though Fakudze agreed, she noted that the process isn’t a competition.

“It is a little intense, but everyone is friendly and easy going,” she said. “It’s not a cutthroat process at all.”

Although the senior interviewers are selected individually, they make up a group of ambassadors, according to Fakudze.

“You’re part of an incredible team that is shaping every incoming freshman class,” she said.

Interviewers are selected in the spring of their junior year, and begin work almost immediately in the fall of their senior year, with minimal training.

“The deans and current senior interviewers offer some helpful tips and advice, but to be honest, the best training is practice,” said current senior interviewer Jeff Kessner ’07.

Despite a lack of formal training, Fakudze noted that the job itself has certainly contributed to her own education.

“I’ve grown as a person, by being a better public speaker and a better advocate,” she said. “I can probably walk into a grad school interview right now with more confidence than I could if I didn’t do the job.”

From early June to mid-December, senior interviewers conduct the majority of on-campus interviewers with prospective students.

“The best part is definitely interviewing high school seniors,” Kessner said. “Sometimes it’s a challenge to get them to open up, but once they do, I’m often blown away by their accomplishments.”

These interviews make an enormous impact on the makeup of future classes.

“The written evaluations that senior interviewers submit are considered in the context of the rest of the prospective students’ application and help inform admissions decisions,” Abdul-Malik said.

The opportunity to influence the future campus community inspired Fakudze to apply for the position.

“As an African international student, it’s been a growing interest for me to see more Africans and more international students, in general, on campus,” she said. “Being a part of the senior interviewer team allowed me to engage with these students and be a real relatable face they can identify with.”

Kessner agreed.

“It’s really cool that current students have the opportunity to help shape the future of the university,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want the job?”