Leader of the pack

ANDREA KIM Patti Diaz, a fifth-year psychology
student, conducts a tour of the UCLA campus Wednesday.
ABOUT REAL BRUINS

Every other Thursday, the Daily Bruin takes a look at members of
the UCLA community. In this continuing series, we highlight the
many different activities Bruins are involved in.

By Julie Yoshioka
Daily Bruin Contributor

Leading campus tours and cracking jokes almost gave fifth-year
psychology student Patti Diaz a break into show business.

Diaz, one of the 30 UCLA Campus Tour guides, once received a
phone number from an agent when he heard her comedic remarks.

But for Diaz, her talk is more than just an act.

“We’re really encouraged to reflect our own
personality and style,” she described. “It’s up
to us to best articulate what UCLA is all about. And we color that
with our own experiences.”

This personal reflection is important for guides who need to
portray college life to prospective UCLA students.

“She’s fun and able to both enjoy her job and yet be
professional at the same time,” said Tracy Davis, advisor for
the Campus Tours Program. “She shows that you can have fun
and go to college at the same time.”

As just one of her duties, Diaz said she holds the
responsibility of representing UCLA.

“We’re the first line of public relations for
UCLA,” she described. “We come in contact with more
prospective students than any other department.”

At 10:20 a.m. Wednesday morning, Diaz began her second UCLA tour
of the week.

She greeted her group of 15 visiting students and their parents
in front of the James West Alumni Center with a smile.

“Gather, we’re all friends,” she said.

After introducing herself and passing out bags containing
information on the different majors, colleges and schools at the
university, and a viewbook, Diaz set out for the two-hour tour.

“I don’t have any rules on my tours,” Diaz
said. “We’re just gonna hang out for a couple of
hours.”

Stopping first at Pauley Pavilion, Diaz shared some of the
history and tradition of UCLA basketball.

“If you’re a fan of college sports, this is the
Mecca of men’s college basketball,” Diaz said.

Next they headed over to Westwood Plaza, where Diaz talked about
the history of the university and described the services provided
at John Wooden and the Arthur Ashe centers.

A two-year veteran of the program, Diaz said giving tours means
hours of work, but worth the effort.

In addition to giving two tours, guides must also conduct two
office hours answering phones and taking reservations, and attend a
weekly meeting.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of
fun,” Diaz described. “It’s hard to say that
about a lot of jobs. It’s not your typical working
environment. It’s definitely a job though.”

Because of the nature of her job, Diaz recognized that her words
may influence a major decision in a person’s life.

“You can really see how we can affect students and their
choice of college,” she described. “One of their
biggest choices in life is picking a college.”

One time, Diaz gave a visiting student from Texas her e-mail
address and the girl wrote back asking questions on how to get into
UCLA. Diaz wrote back and the girl was quite grateful.

“She really understands the purpose of our program to
provide a service and inspire people to go to college,” said
fourth-year English student and Campus Tour Coordinator Kate
Herold.

Continuing the tour, Diaz spoke about the campus as the group
entered the B-level of Ackerman Union.

“They sometimes call this Ackermall,” Diaz said
jokingly. “You could literally live in here for a
day.”

Upstairs, the group entered Ackerman Grand Ballroom, where Diaz
talked about campus events, movies and other informational
fairs.

“A lot of companies recruit UCLA,” Diaz explained.
“So you come to these fairs and pass out your resume to a few
companies and you could walk out with a job.”

Exiting to Kerckhoff Patio, Diaz led the group behind Franz Hall
to the inverted fountain. There, she recounted past pranks UCLA and
USC have played on each other.

As rain began to put a damper on the tour, Diaz decided to
divert the group to Royce Hall and Powell Library, telling of
both’s histories and services.

Finding shelter from the rain in front of Royce Hall, she gave
an overview of the application and admissions process.

“Last year, 38,000 people applied to UCLA,” Diaz
said. “We received more applications than any other school in
the nation.”

The rain let up a little at Janss Steps and Diaz pointed to the
residence halls, informing the students about on-campus
housing.

At Westwood Plaza, she finished her tour. encouraging everyone
to visit many different campuses to decide what qualities they
liked in a college.

“I picked UCLA personally because of the diversity,”
she described. “I come from a small town and I needed to see
different religions, ethnicities, and people.”

In addition to giving tours rain or shine, Diaz said she
sometimes leads the excursions speaking in Spanish for groups
requesting it.

“It was a little nerve wracking,” she said.
“I’m fluent, but my Spanish is conversational and there
are definitely a lot of academic terms used as far as
admissions.”

Her willingness to give such tours, which are not a requirement,
showed her commitment to the program, according to fourth-year
history student and Campus Tours Coordinator Nelson Auyon.

“She volunteered to do the tour,” he said.
“And that’s the thing about being a guide; to be there
and to give it some priority in your life.”

The road to becoming a Campus Tour guide begins with an
application during spring quarter and two call-back interviews
Approximately 200 students apply, of which only 15 usually make the
cut.

Outside of her life as a tour guide, Diaz participates in
stand-up comedy routines, an activity her fellow guides thoroughly
encourage.

“All tour guides go to her show,” Herold said.
“People love her.”