The new student-run call center in Michael Schwartz Center has made more than 10,000 phone calls to incoming freshmen in the six weeks since its opening.

“When students are trying to make their final decisions, it’s helpful for them to be able to talk to a current student,” said Mark Ledoux, associate director of the Admissions Office. “They tell students about their experiences at Kent State, what it’s like to be a student here and why they chose Kent State.”

Ledoux said more than 200 students applied to work in the call center and only 33 students were hired. The 33 students have had more than 3,000 conversations with admitted freshmen and their families.

The call center is a joint initiative between the Financial Aid Office and the Admissions Office. From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Financial Aid Office takes incoming calls from current and prospective students. After 5 p.m. the room is used as the Admissions call center until 8 p.m.

Milli Jimenez, senior managerial marketing major, works in the call center. She answers questions about campus life, residence living and academics.

“I get a lot of questions on if I made a lot of friends right away, because they’re really scared of meeting new people,” Jimenez said. “They also want to know where I lived and if I liked it.”

Joy Loper, admissions counselor and call center coordinator, said it’s great to hear current students making connections with new students.

“It’s been an exciting journey,” Loper said. “I love working with the students and hearing the energy in the room on a Sunday night. It’s exciting to hear them talking to students.”

Ledoux said in addition to the new call center, the Admissions Office created a Facebook page for incoming freshmen. Within weeks, the page had more than 1,200 “likes.”

“Before they come on campus the students are already making connections with each other,” Ledoux said. “I saw a message on there today that said ‘I met so many new friends already. I want to meet more people.’”

Loper said the incoming freshmen share their excitement about being accepted to Kent State on the Facebook page .

“One of the things the new students in the class of 2015 have been doing is taking pictures of their Destination Kent State invitations and tagging them,” Loper said. “We were thrilled that they were doing that. It really shows that they are excited and have a lot of energy.”

Contact Christine Morgan at [email protected].