What are you passionate about?
This is the golden question my friends. Because in that moment, the face of every tour guide, faculty member, staff member, student, parent, and alumni lights up.
Furman is a community filled with a variety of students (athletes, artists, writers, dancers, actors, foodies, adventurers, hikers, nerds, bookworms, and advocates) and they love to tell you about Furman – but what they love most is telling you what they’re passionate about. I give tours three times a week and this past summer I gave hundreds of tours as I interned this past summer. I got a variety of questions from a variety of prospective students and eager parents but no better conversation is fostered then when a family asks me what I’m passionate about.
It gives me the option to tell you my personal Furman story. One time I had just one family on my tour and it was the best. I was dreading it before we went out because I was wondering if they were going to talk to me or was this going to be 45 minutes of Nathan just talking to 5 people who were tired from their road trip who are wondering what’s for lunch? But everything changed when the mom asked me “What are you passionate about?”
I was able to tell them I grew up loving community theater and was able to pursue that at Furman by auditioning for and originating a role for the department’s fall show “Pomp & Circumstance” in 2013 by Furman Alum Randall David Cook. And I’m not even pursuing an acting degree – but it’s where I met some awesome faculty and made some of my closest friends at Furman. I told them about my love to cook and how I try to make it out to Culinary Club events when I get the chance as my escape from the the business of college. I was able to talk about the two organizations closest to my heart -FUSAB (the student activities board) and FCC (Furman Creative Collaborative, which puts on TEDxFurmanU). These two organizations gave me a home on campus and allowed me head up Homecoming 2014 and TEDxFurmanU 2015.
I brought up some of my favorite classes, trips, and late night adventures with my friends at college. I talked about my dreams for my future after Furman and my goals for while I’m here.
So I encourage you to go ahead and ask a Furman Students or anyone associated with the school – what are they passionate about and you will get more than you bargained for and get a better understanding of what Furman is made up of. Also take this question with you to other schools and see what that might entail.
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