Ambassadors begin sixth year at CEU

This archived article was written by: Melissa Spencer

You’ve seen them around, they’re everywhere. Helping you move in, running around on Welcoming Day in crazy stripped shirts, and singing off key at the Karaoke night. They call themselves Ambassadors, but who are they and what are they doing here?
The Ambassador program was started in 1997 by the office of Admissions and Scholarships. It is headed by Todd Olsen and his assistants Jaylene Cook and Rebecca Jensen. Their job is to advise, but they stress the Ambassadors responsibility for their program. Freshman Jen Jackson said about the advisors, “I think the are so nice, they really impressed me with how they always make you feel needed and wanted.”
The program allows students to become involved in every aspect of the recruitment process at CEU. Olsen said, “We expect the Ambassadors to always be examples of what a good college student should be we expect them to help out in the office, they work in the (Ambassador) booth to help not only current students but also prospective students and anyone else who might be visiting on campus or checking out the College Center. They are involved in our open house and every other part of our recruitment plan.” He also feels that the program provides a strong alumni base that ties students to the institution.
Coordinator Jesse Holt said, “Even thought the students don’t see a lot of whta we do here, I feel like we make a difference for our school … we make the college known.”
The program has undergone many changes over the past years. Sophomore Skyler King said, “I was an Ambassador two years ago and what I see now is a lot more organization and it seems like we know where we’re going.” Olsen attributes this change to experience and to the people in the program. “We try to look for well-rounded students, students who bring a lot of experience from a lot of different areas and then we can capitalize on those.”
It’s true the Ambassadors do a lot for the school, but they get much in return. Jackson said, “I feel like it’s kind of my family here. I like knowing that I can always go talk to Todd and Jaylene in their office and it really helps me not to be home sick because I feel I am home. And it’s helped me to be more outgoing and had to open up to people and get to know people and I’ve made good friends which has made it a lot easier to get rid of the labels I had in high school.” King echoed, “It’s helped me make a lot of good friends and it makes me feel good because I’m doing something for the college.”
Not all the perks are social, Holt feels that, ” … this program has helped me build good people skills. I am more comfortable now presenting myself to a group. It makes it easier to talk to people and answer questions.”
Olsen said, “I really appreciate the Ambassadors that we have this year, they are an intricle part of this office. This is their program and we look forward to a very successful recruiting year.”