“Hi my name is Morgan and I think I would be a great attribute to this organization because…” are the first words I said in my interview. What interview you may ask? Well most of you may know it as Jack Walkers. Long story short, we are the “tour guides” to the university's campus. Now, think of that word for a second, “tour guide”, what do you think of when you hear that word? A know it all? A script that they read read? Someone who doesn’t care about your thoughts and opinions towards the campus? I’m sorry to tell you friends but that is not what being a Jack Walker is all about.

Now let me back track for a second. Here at SFA the Jack Walkers get the privilege to meet and greet the students and thier families that are interested in being a Lumberjack. Think back to when you were touring for the first time at a University. O…M…G… I almost froze in fear knowing that I would be a “show” in front of college kids, real college kids. Not the ones you see in movies, or hear about in stories but it is something that we all have to do.

Walking up these stairs (when at the time I ran out of breath on the tenth step).

Up walked this guy and girl in grey polo’s (granted this was in 2013, and our polo’s have changed since then) and smiled as big as possible and at first I was totally weirded out with how can these people be so happy in this humid east Texas heat.

Soon enough they started talking about who they were and what made them decide to come to Stephen F. Austin State University. Their stories were definitely not scripted because they were laughing and feeding off of each others energy.

Could this little town really make them fall in love with this purple and white? (And red at the time). I thought it was almost impossible because once we started our tour it was 95 degrees outside. Long story short, through the blazing heat and the endless amount of stories and information, I was hooked and knew that these people influenced my decision to come to a college that would change my life.

Fast forward three years and I would be a sophomore in college finally realizing that I am halfway to the “final stretch”, as my dad would put it. I found a tweet (now note, I am not a huge twitter person at all so this was a big deal) about becoming a Jack Walker. I think that was the moment my world changed. I walked into my interview with another guy and girl who were described as "leads", and granted I was so intimidated that I think I was sweating and they could see it (how embarrassing). But I go through my interview and even cracked a few jokes (which was awesome, cause I am not a funny person to start off with). Then I finally got a call on my way from lunch with my friend and was told, I was accepted into the program. I, me, Morgan Oliver, was now a Jack Walker! I was over the moon!

Being a “newbie” is awesome, granted I did not know anything at the time (you would think that I would have remembered something from Jack Camp but sadly no, cause there’s so much to SFA its crazy!) And as the time progressed I went through the process of knowing SFA inside and out, seeing our "positive and negative cues" on a daily basis. Its now become a habit.

Finally making it to the point I have been waiting for! Getting my name tag. It was so official. It glimmered purple and silver with my name etched into it with the words "Jack Walker" underneath. The one thing I will not forget my boss telling me, is to wear it with pride and go change lives.

Then the fear and pressure of such an honored burden set on my shoulders. I had to CHANGE lives?! What??? OK, easier said then done. But in all reality it was easier than I thought. I just had to be myself. I had to open up to families with MY story of coming to SFA, MY favorite places on campus, and MY love for the school and how being a Jack Walker I knew how scary the transition from High School to College would be. Because I did it too. I was the kid, so embarrassed to be standing next to my mom and dad, whom asked all the questions. I was scared to leave home, and scared to write my own story in my life. But here I am now a Junior at SFA and I am starting my third semester as a Jack Walker. Though all three of my semesters I look back and remember why I love this organization. I walk into the office and see all the smiling faces of the admissions staff; walking further into our lounge and I get to hear the laughs of all of my co-workers, my fellow Jack Walkers who have made this journey before me and with me. Then seeing bright, excited faces, ready to learn what I have learned (our newbies). I couldn't be more blessed.

This journey was not easy. It was a challenge. Being a Jack Walker is difficult. We have days where we are exhausted, stressed (cause we are students too), and maybe just sick. Not everyday is sunshine and rainbows, literally. It's Nacogdoches. There are days where we sweat, get rained on, and forget the time because it is worth it. It is worth seeing the impact we have on incoming students. The eye opening experience we have to offer that no other university can because we bleed purple and white! We are Lumberjacks.

I could not imagine going through college and not being a Jack Walker. Maybe to you we are just a crazy group of students who talk too much and smile through the rain, but to us, we are a family. We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly. We walk with pride knowing that maybe when we walk into the Admissions office we can leave our tour time knowing that one life is changed for the better. And that SFASU is represented in all of its Lumberjack greatness.