3 minute read
Turning
TURNING VISITS INTO
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Since joining Carolina football in October, Angela Kirkpatrick estimates that she’s coordinated approximately 200 campus visits for potential Tar Heel football prospects. As the director of on-campus recruiting—a football staff position that didn’t even exist five years ago—she’s constantly thinking about how to leave a good impression and make Carolina a memorable part of a prospect’s recruiting process. We asked the Tennessee graduate, a journalism major who spent six seasons involved with the Vols’ recruiting efforts, to describe some of the most rewarding moments—and some of the challenges—in her job. Photos by Andy Mead and Jeffrey Camarati
CONSTANT OUTPUT
“FIRST IMPRESSIONS “One of the first things to remember about on-campus recruiting is you only get one shot to make a first impression. When they come to campus, you may not get a second chance to host them, so it has to be as memorable as possible. You are always, always, always thinking about customer service. I want Carolina to be the most customer-friendly school we can possibly create. When someone is here on a visit, we don’t want them to have to worry about anything. This place is amazing, and we want that to come through when we talk to people.” “My job is to know everything about a kid before he gets here. I do a lot of research, and I talk to a lot of kids and families. I know the names of their parents and I know details about them. Our coaches are talking to them regularly, and they’ll pass on some of that information. Social media is big, because kids get a chance to tell their whole stories there. I pay attention to that. That’s also a challenge for us, because kids want to put out things like graphics on social media, so we want to make sure we have a constant output to meet that demand.”
TURNING VISITS INTO COMMITMENTS
CAROLINA FAMILY
“We want kids to leave here understanding that this is a family. The people make the place, and kids can feel that when they get on campus. They interact with the current players and they feel like brothers. The current players are our main ambassadors for the program. They’re so important to what we do. They are where our visitors aspire to be, so they have a big impact.”
PICTURE THIS
“A typical campus visit has several parts. You’ll sit down with some of the coaches and meet with other people who have a direct role in daily life—our director of studentathlete development, our chaplain, people like that. We want them to explore campus, see the academic side, take a campus and facility tour. We try to get everything we possibly can into one day so if they don’t get to come back, they’ve seen most everything. And we want to do a photo shoot with them, to let them put on a jersey and some gear so they can picture themselves at Carolina and what it would be like to play here.”
MAKING MEMORIES
“My job is basically event planning. You have to get creative when it comes to new things that other people haven’t done, and you have to be willing to be part of every part of bringing kids to campus. There are nights I’ve washed hundreds of dishes and there are nights I’ve set up and broken down huge rooms. We have a staff of nearly a half-dozen people, and we’re constantly thinking about ways to try to make a visit better or more memorable. What all of us love about this job is it’s always a learning experience. You get to talk to so many different people and hear their stories.”
