For more than a year now, campus construction has been a recurring topic at UMSL. The SSB Tower has been torn down, and people on campus see changes just about every week when walking through the Quad. While students may be annoyed with all the detours, dust, and noise on campus, there are still campus tours going on.
These tours are led by the Triton Leaders, the student ambassadors who work hard to show the best of UMSL. Potential incoming students and their families walk through UMSL’s campus every day, and they see the construction every day.
Ashley Schauwecker, a Triton Leader, says that as a student, the construction is, “kind of inconvenient because it’s all around the major academic buildings,” but as a Triton Leader, she sees the construction as an opportunity to show potential students what UMSL will have to offer in the future.
Schauwecker quotes UMSL’s slogan, “Find your more” when talking about how the construction shows off the university’s potential and ambition. She says that she tells tour groups, “UMSL’s changing and you’re changing” as symbolism on tours to let people know that the university is constantly changing and growing with the students.
The Triton Leaders get an inside scoop on the general completion dates of the construction, which is a good opportunity to let future students know they will not have to deal with the inconveniences that current students face when the common grounds of North Campus are being worked on.
Schauwecker often shows off Anhueser-Busch Hall, home to the college of business, as an example of what is to come after construction is finished. She states that she lets tours know that since Anhueser-Busch Hall is one of the newest buildings on campus, many of the renovations and new construction will look similar.
Most of the Triton Leaders see the bright side to the construction, but some still feel bitter about the fact that they will not be here to see the campus finished. This sentiment can be felt campus-wide as students struggle to get to their classes.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel when looking at the university’s construction, and although many of us currently on campus may not see the finished product as students, we should be excited to see what UMSL has in store for the new generations coming in years to come.
