Hometown Hawks recruiter Sarah Cucullu has her presentation down.
She tells high school students all about the great things ULM has to offer. Then, she adds, “Also, there are palm trees and the weather is usually above 60 degrees.”
“Bam, sold!” Cucullu said. That’s the one that really gets the Alaskan students.
Cucullu, born and raised in Wasilla, Alaska, has loved every minute of her two years here at ULM. Now, she participates in the Hometown Hawks program to share her experience with high school students back in Alaska.
Fifty other members travel back to their hometowns in New Jersey, Texas and Arkansas, among others, and cover the six recruiting zones of Louisiana.
These volunteer students return to their high schools to meet with guidance counselors, give presentations and sit at their old cafeteria lunch tables to talk to graduating seniors.
Hometown Hawks adviser Therese Barron said that these recruiters are very effective because they are able to talk to students on a peer level. “I definitely noticed a difference in my recruiting visits when I brought students back and their peers recognized them,” Barron said.
This year, the Hometown Hawks have started a new tradition of setting up tailgating tents at local high school football games where they hand out Warhawk fans.
Members also participate in Bayou Jamb and Browse on the Bayou, two events held on ULM’s campus for high school students, and over winter break they return home to recruit.
“These recruiters not only represent ULM to their hometown high schools but also the teachers, counselors and community,” Barron said. “This is a great way to get ULM’s name out there.”
Cucullu said she is especially excited to use ULM’s virtual tour as a new recruiting tool this winter to get Alaskan students to consider becoming Warhawks. “Our university offers so many opportunities for out of state students,” Cucullu said. “Not enough people realize how awesome it is. I want to dazzle these guys.”
Barron is looking for more students who are as enthusiastic as Cucullu to join the Hometown Hawks. Although the program has been around for years, Barron said it fizzled out in 2010, and it was only reestablished last fall. However, Barron said that she is very pleased with the way people have responded to the program over the past year.
Office of Recruitment and Admissions faculty member Kelsea McCrary stressed that these recruiters truly do make a difference.
“As a local student from Prairie View Academy in Bastrop, I would’ve loved to see alumni from my high school standing at the entrance to our football field talking about the experiences they were having in college,” McCrary said. “An education at ULM is like none other, and there’s no better way to communicate that than with Hometown Hawks heading back to their high schools to see old friends.”
