Colby Pogue, was nervous about his first visit onto the ULM campus.
“I dreaded the idea of encountering intimidating college students,” Pogue, a senior from Patterson High School, in Patterson, Louisiana said.
Pogue and his mother drove four hours to attend the event.
Pogue, like many other nervous high schoolers, flocked to campus Saturday morning to attend “Browse on the Bayou.” The event, ULM’s biggest source of recruitment gives potential students and their families a “Hawkeye’s” point of view of what it’s like to attend the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
The day started early for attendees. An early check-in time at 7:30 a.m. got the party started Saturday. Campus tours began and continued every 10 minutes afterwards.
The official welcome address was at 9 a.m., and a slew of rotating sessions followed.
Future Warhawks weren’t the only ones thrilled to be at Browse on the Bayou. An influx of current students stormed the new Bayou Pointe event center to represent their organizations.
Together, the current generation helped bring in their successors with a warm welcome.
“It was great meeting prospective future Warhawks and getting to talk to them about the great opportunities that CAB and the rest of ULM has to offer. A bonus to this Browse was it being held in the beautiful new Bayou Pointe,” said Harley Singletary, senior history major and CAB Treasurer.
Representatives from every organization on campus gathered at Bayou Pointe. For many of the students, this was their first time touring the new facility.
“I love that I have the opportunity to meet the future students and open their eyes to all the oppurtunities that our university has to offer,” Alexia Wooten, a senior communications major said.
For Josh Usie, a recent graduate and Enrollment Services specialist for CenLa zone, Browse is a special event. Once a young up-and-coming Warhawk, Usie has done everything there is to do at ULM as a student and has now taken it upon himself to help bring in more potential students.
“I thoroughly enjoy being able to show prospective students, along with the recruiting team and students I work alongside, why we are such a great university,” Usie said.
“It was always exciting seeing students come here being a part of PREP, it is just as rewarding being able to do this as a recruiter for this great university,” Usie added.
Pogue, like Josh Usie and many before them, is hopeful for his future at ULM.
“I know that my journey will not be an easy one, but my passion and excitement about becoming a Warhawk will certainly contribute to my success,” Pogue said.
“I intend to become a pre-pharmacy major. I will also be part of the Sound of Today marching band, and I hope to become exposed to a few community service projects. Who knows? Maybe someday, I’ll be part of the Hawkeye staff,” Pogue added at the end of his day browsing the bayou at ULM.
Browse on the Bayou is an event held once a semester to help introduce high school students to the university and its community. The next Browse on the Bayou will be held Fall 2018.