The Dalhousie Tiger doesn’t travel off campus often, but when he does, it causes a scene similar to Beyonce appearing on Bloor Street: both bring out a multitude of excited teens (and camera phones) and are rarely seen wearing pants.
The Tiger was a huge hit on the streets of Toronto last weekend, accompanied by a photographer and two members of the Dalhousie recruitment team. Armed with business cards and Dalhousie-inspired signage, the entourage spent two days encouraging Ontario high school students to consider an east-coast education.
“Currently, almost a quarter of Dalhousie’s population hails from Ontario,” explains Adam Robertson, acting director of recruitment at Dalhousie. “With 120,000 people in attendance at the Ontario Universities’ Fair (OUF), we wanted to have a presence, but stand apart from the crowd and maintain Dalhousie’s distinctly east-coast feel.”
Prospective students, parents, alumni, teachers and the occasional Toronto Blue Jays fan posed with the Dalhousie Tiger and different signs, highlighting just some of the reasons to go to Dalhousie. Dal’s on-the-ground team uploaded photos to the Dalhousie University Facebook page and encouraged attendees to like, tag and share with their friends online – which is exactly what hundreds of Torontonians did.
The timing of OUF was perfect – with recruiters already in the Toronto area, Dalhousie opted for a more experiential approach, delivering Dal-specific details and four-fingered high-fives on Front St.
While our Tiger has now returned to campus, the Dalhousie recruitment team is just getting started. With the fall recruitment season spanning from September to late November, Dal recruiters spend up to four weeks on the road at a time as they visit hundreds of different high schools worldwide.
“Eating, sleeping and hydrating are essential to living on the road,” says Robertson.
As for how he and his team stays positive? “When you get to meet and help students who are a great match for Dalhousie, there’s really no better feeling.”
Below are just some of the photos from the trip. To see more, visit Dalhousie's Facebook Page.
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