Student Speak

Fall 2007

Name: Michael Carlton
Major: History major/Spanish minor
Year: Senior
Hometown: Taylors, S.C.

You're planning to graduate in May, one year ahead of schedule. How did you do that? I had 25 hours of AP credit after graduating from Greer High School, and I placed in Spanish 209 and did well so I earned credit for two introductory Spanish courses. I had thought about double-majoring, but decided to graduate early instead. I was in the first class of Capstone Scholars, so I'll also be the first of that group to graduate.

But you managed to fit in some study abroad time in your shortened time as an undergraduate, right? I was at the University of Kent in Canterbury, England, for my second year. I took medieval history courses and American history courses--I wanted to get a non-American perspective of our history--and did a lot of traveling while I was there. I visited 10 countries, including France, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Austria. It was kind of ironic because I had never been abroad before and didn't want to go to college too far away from home. Then I went to Europe for my second year of college.

And now you're a peer advisor in the Study Abroad office. I talk to a lot of classes about study abroad. I think a lot of students are starting to realize that studying abroad is almost a necessity, not just something that looks good on a resume. Of course, I tell them about my experiences and some of the things you gain from going to another culture. I do that for about 10 hours a week, and I work in the Student Call Center for University Development another nine hours a week.

What is it like to call total strangers and try to get past their natural resistance to listen to a telephone solicitation? We're not making cold calls--the people we're calling have some degree of affinity for Carolina, and we're just calling to confirm their mailing address. But it's easy to sell the University--I like being here, and we've got a great story to tell about all that's happening on campus. You can tell in five seconds if they're going to speak to you or if they're going to make a gift to Carolina. Some won't give because we lost the game on Saturday or because of something else the University is doing that they don't like. So you've got to learn not to take rejection personally.

How many calls do you make each night? We work in three-hour shifts from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. I probably talk to 100 to 150 people during that time.

I suppose you have some interesting calls every now and then? Sometimes people want to give the student caller money directly. I was talking to a graduate once who, like me, had been a history major and had studied abroad. He normally gave $1,000 to the University every year, and he was offering to give the money to me instead, to use for studying abroad again. I told him thanks, but I couldn't accept it.

What are your plans after graduation? I just had graduate school interviews in the U.K. during fall break. I've been accepted into a program at Cambridge that offers the equivalent of a master's of teaching degree. I'm waiting to hear from some other master's of arts programs.

11/07