Day in the life: Louise Peters

The first thing Louise Peters says, during a break in an otherwise busy day as one of nine assistants in UVic's undergraduate admissions office, is that she tries to bring her mug whenever she buys coffee at the Biblio Caf&e#180;. So it is no surprise Peters is a keen proponent of her department's transition to a paperless office.

A single filing cabinet of records is all that is left of thousands of pages of paperwork. The office now only keeps hardcopy files from out-of-country or college and degree holders; the rest are either scanned or submitted electronically.

Peters admits "people still like getting an acceptance offer by formal letter. It's really exciting to get that piece of paper in the mail." Other correspondence and incoming questions are handled by email. "Some students still call us, but it's really the parents who are more likely to pick up the phone." So a good portion of the day is focused on her inbox.

"We receive a lot of questions by email. We have to answer as if it's the very first time we've heard that question, even if it's the 15th time that week. The most common is, 'When will I know if I've been admitted?'"

"You have to have empathy," Peters adds. Even if a student's GPA is not high enough, "we never really tell anyone 'no.' We always give them advice, to keep the door open." This includes details on how to transfer to UVic after one year in college.

When she is not helping to address the multitude of daily queries, Peters is meticulously verifying student applications in UVic's Banner database. Admissions assistants must ensure nothing is missing and everything is coded correctly-"it's all the little things to make sure the applications are complete."

It is obvious her passion for the job extends to great customer service. The team-including seven admissions officers-is often told UVic "has a 'real personal touch.' Students don't feel like they're just a number to us."

Peters explains that the team is rotated every two years within the full suite of faculty portfolios: "It means we always learn something new, it keeps us fresh and we can cover for each other."

Peters clearly loves her job. It is also vitally important to her to sustain the wider community and "this means supporting local businesses and local farmers, and being a part of the Block Watch in my neighbourhood."

Every September, Peters takes part in the pledge-based Kayak for a Cure fundraiser at Willows Beach in Oak Bay, which anyone can join. She and her partner live near the Gorge waterway and are enthusiastic kayakers. He even has a blog (kayakyak.blogspot.com), which Peters sometimes posts to.

One Sunday last month, "we rolled our boats on their wheels down to the water and went for a paddle." Two guesses whether she also scooped up any sea-bound plastic for recycling.