For over 25 years, student ambassadors have been leading University tours and completing outreach projects on campus and in the wider community with elementary school students and seniors.
Each year, dozens of students apply to become selected as one of the University’s 14 ambassadors charged with promoting the positive images of the University through leadership and interpersonal relations.
“This year, we had over 70 applications for 14 positions,” says Kim Morgan, program coordinator for the ambassadors. “To be selected, students must be responsible and dedicated and present themselves as student leaders willing to commit themselves to furthering the reach of the University.”
The ambassadors are indeed an impressive group. Identified by their ambassador jackets, blue oxford shirts imprinted with the University’s seal and ambassador name tags, they are easy to spot.
They are innovative and intelligent students who are dedicated to not only the University but the surrounding community as well. “We usually split our time equally between the campus and community projects,” says Morgan.
Ambassadors are enthusiastic and community minded.
Ambassador Ivana McGlinchey ’16, a social work major, is a mentor at the Littleville Elementary School in Huntington. “My students have hard lives, and I want to encourage and inspire them. We let them know what mentors do by sharing a picture book, A Day with My New Friend,” McGlinchey says, noting the book was written and illustrated by University students and staff and describes what friendship is.
“I love when students from last year recognize me with happy hellos,” adds McGlinchey, emphasizing the legacy that the ambassadors have created with Littleville Elementary.
Last semester, ambassadors also organized a service-learning project at Littleville to benefit Hope for Limpopo, an organization co-founded by Jo Ann Churchill, a counselor in Westfield State’s Counseling Center and her late husband, Vaughn, that benefits impoverished women and children of South Africa.
“We wanted to do something more along the lines of civic engagement. We wanted them to know that, even though they’re elementary school students, they can do something to help someone else and make a difference,” McGlinchey says.
The students, with the help of a grant from the Kiwanis of Greater Westfield, purchased 20 pairs of TOMS shoes that were decorated with paints and markers by students in art class. Those shoes were then auctioned off, and the funds donated to the Vhutshilo Mountain School in Limpopo, South Africa, which serves severely underprivileged orphans and children ages 2 to 8.
Ambassador Sara Varghese ’15 is working as a mentor at the White Oak School in Westfield, which educates students in grades four to 12 with language-based learning disabilities. Varghese and other ambassadors are conducting workshops on bystander responsibilities in bullying cases.
“We do role-playing with breakout sessions where the students get the opportunity to discuss experiences and strategies surrounding bullying,” says Varghese.
Ambassadors also have a presence at The Arbors, an assisted living residential community in Westfield. Ambassador Mike Brett ’15, a communication and ethnic and gender studies major, says, “We do a Yankee swap in early December. We bring presents and snacks; the residents enjoy the fun. The happiness is infectious!”
Ambassadors are busy on campus, as well. Wayne Barnaby ’17, a biology major, says, “I welcomed people to Family Day. It was an important role as the first person a visitor meets on campus,” he says, noting, “Your encounter has a powerful impact on how the University is perceived.”
Morgan, who has advised the ambassadors for 10 years, says each group has a different personality. While the faces may change and new projects join existing ones, Morgan reflects, “Working with the student ambassadors is the highlight of my year.”
