Student Ambassadors pose at the Arbors Yankee Swap. From left to right: Richard Darrach, Sarah Varghese, Cledia Caberlon, Chad Barbash, Teresa Fatemi, Robert Hain, Madeline Escobar, Ivana McGlinchey, Haylee McQuay, Carroll Barnard, Ashley Black, Brittany Moniz, Mike Brett, Emily Baker, Andrew McCormack.
WESTFIELD – Each year, a small group of Westfield State University students are selected to become Student Ambassadors who knowledgeably promote the positive images of the university through leadership and interpersonal relations.
Established in 1988, Student Ambassadors are students who exhibit leadership both academically as well as in their personal lives. There are many advantages to becoming a Student Ambassador including: unparalleled experience working with community members, public speaking, and participation in leadership programs. Student Ambassadors hold “Lead With Integrity” workshops, which are open to any student on campus. The workshops help students identify their core values and how they can put them into practice both on and off campus.
Volunteering is a key component for Student Ambassadors and they are very involved in community service opportunities. Activities range from very personal to community focused. For example, every summer, Student Ambassadors send letters to parents of first year students giving them the opportunity to purchase a birthday cake for their student, which is delivered to the student’s dorm room the week of his or her birthday. They also go to the assisted living facility the Arbors and hold a Yankee Swap each Christmas. Once a month, the group goes to the Samaritan Inn to provide dinner to the homeless residents.
Student Ambassador Brittany Moniz ’14 said she most enjoys the monthly volunteer sessions at the Samaritan Inn.
“It is a humbling experience, and the people there enjoy having us there,” Moniz said. “I like being able to bring cheer and compassion to others; it is a humanizing and thought-provoking experience.”
In the fall of 2012, Student Ambassador Coordinator Kim Morgan reached out to John Morgan, adjustment counselor at Littleville Elementary School, a K-4 school located in Huntington, Mass., and formed a partnership between the two institutions. Through this partnership, the COMPASS Mentoring Program was established. Student Ambassadors are matched up with elementary school students and spend an hour each week with them helping with homework, arts and crafts projects, sport activities, or just acting as older role models.
Photo Two: Student Ambassadors display the TOMS shoes decorated by Littleville Elementary School students. From left to right: Mike Brett, Sarah Varghese, Ashley Black, Carroll Barnard, Chad Barbash, Brittany Moniz, Ivana McGlinchey, Emily Baker, Robert Hain, Teresa Fatemi
“I love working with the elementary school as a mentor because the kids are wonderful and it’s a wonderful feeling knowing you build a strong relationship with a young kid that may have had a rough past,” said Student Ambassador Ivana McGlinchey ’16. “Just by hanging out with the children, they learn a lot from you.”
“Our relationship isn’t just limited to the COMPASS Mentoring Program,” said John Morgan. “We also have teacher interns and school adjustment counselor interns that come from WSU for undergraduate and graduate school practicum hours. Since the collaboration of the two schools has been so successful, there have already been discussions around other ways the schools can work together to support each other’s communities which we hope to implement in the next year or so.”
After the success of the COMPASS Mentoring Program, Kim Morgan approached John Morgan with the idea to bring the TOMS Shoes Movement to Littleville Elementary. Through this program, third and fourth graders at the elementary school were given plain shoes and asked to decorate them. The shoes are then sent to children around the world who cannot afford shoes. The shoes decorated at Littleville Elementary School went to Uganda.
“The Ambassadors decided that we wanted to teach the kids at the elementary school that even though they are young, they can make a difference as well,” McGlinchey said. “It was an amazing to see how excited the kids got about the shoes and they were so happy to decorate and give to others.”
While the students chosen as Student Ambassadors have established leadership skills, they still have much to learn about leadership from their coordinator Kim Morgan.
“I am grateful I get to work so closely with her,” McGlinchey said. “She is very open to making your ideas and plans become reality and helps the student ambassadors grow as a strong and close group. She makes sure we all shine as a whole.”
To learn more about Westfield State’s Student Ambassadors program visit: http://www.westfield.ma.edu/neighbors/student-ambassadors.
