Student intern represents CEU on recruiting tour

This archived article was written by: Kelsey Knudson

You are a senior year in high school and full of curiosity, dreams, and for most of us, the big decision is where to attend college. We may all look back and remember the Post High School Day when representatives from all higher education institutions from the state came to our high school and talked to us about the opportunities that each had to offer. These representatives all joined together in an organization, which travels to each high school in the state known as the Utah Council. The members of the Utah Council added a new member from Eastern Utah this year, Devin Keller, the admission counselor intern.
Todd Olsen, director of admissions and scholarships selects two students per year to fill the intern position. Keller put his schooling on hold for a semester to represent CEU along with admission counselor, Terry Johnson, as a member of the Utah Council on the High School Tour.
Keller is a Price native and working towards his associate’s degree at Eastern Utah, in hopes to be accepted into the biomedical engineering program at Utah State University. This internship has nothing to do with bioengineers, but because of his experience working with people and representing an organization, he decided to obtain his minor in public relations.
Keller had an enjoyable time on tour and said, “Talking with students about Eastern Utah and helping them with their post high school plans was one of my favorite things about the high school tour. It made me feel important and able to assist them in their decisions because of the knowledge and firsthand experience I had of college.”
Many of us would have a hard time taking a semester off and being on the road all the time, but Keller said he would do it all over again if he could. “It was hard living out of a suitcase for two months and always having to worry about where I was going to stay and when I needed to make reservations. I had a hard time being away from my family and my girl, but over all it was a great experience. I learned a lot about myself and grew up a lot.”
A typical day for Keller would begin early, he arrived at a different northern Utah high school each morning at 7:30 to set up the equipment and prepare for his presentations, after which he would talk to the school counselors and was out of the school by 11:30 a.m. After his rough three and a half-hours on the job, he had the rest of the day to himself. “The free time really helped me to lower my golf score.”
His job seems fun and easy, but he had a few awkward situations, “In one of my presentations I had a girl who picked her nose and ate it the entire time, and another kid who dyed his hair, face and arms bright purple. It was awkward and I had to concentrate on not laughing and remaining professional. Another school there were four kids in my session that did not speak English, seeing how that is the only language I speak fluently, that made communication very awkward.” Keller also had a few awkward moments outside of the high school such as staying in hotels in Duchesne and downtown Ogden, which were big mistakes. Also try explaining wrecking the state car to the boss.
Among with his responsibilities on tour, he is the advisor over the Ambassadors Unity Team. “The Ambassadors this year are a great group and I have really enjoyed my association with them this semester. It has been hard realizing that I am an advisor and not an Ambassador.”
Over all Keller has had an enjoyable semester as the admissions intern, working along side the members of the Utah Council, Olsen, Johnson, and the Ambassadors in the common goal of post high school education recruitment.