Reflections from a Campus Ambassador Team

By Kaity Carpenter, 2015 AgCareers.com Campus Ambassador for California Polytechnic University – San Luis Obispo

For the last three months, four young ladies have been serving as campus ambassadors for AgCareers.com at four different universities: Tuskagee University, Oklahoma State University, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and University of Saskatchewan. They have been presenting to classes, speaking to club meetings, and talking to students all over campus.

This campus ambassador team has been a unique one. As Mrs. Kristine Penning said, “This AgCareers.com ambassador team has been different from others in that it is the first team we have had serve only one semester, and it is special because it is our last team of campus ambassadors for the time being.” The girls knew this going into the ambassadorship, so each one did all they could to make it a great end to the program.

Measuring Success

With having done so much this past term, identifying a favorite part of the ambassadorship is not easy. For Shelby LaRose of the University of Saskatchewan (pictured above with AgCareers.com President Eric Spell), it was being able to promote another job seeking tool to the agriculture students on campus. She says she knew her overall duties had been fulfilled when a classmate was able to land his dream full-time job because of AgCareers.com.

Everyone measures success differently, and that is still true with ambassadorships. Personally, I knew I was successful at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo when students who weren’t in any of my presentations came up to me and asked about AgCareers.com. To me, that meant the word was spreading and the students I was talking to were talking to others students.

Starting this ambassadorship, we all had a few expectations, even if we tried not to. Looking back at the last three months, we had to look at what those expectations were and if they were accurate. We could all agree that the ambassadorship did meet our expectations. As Linque Martin from Tuskagee University said, the ambassador not only met her expectations, but it also taught her more about stepping out of her comfort zone.

Advice for Future Campus Ambassador Teams

With the ambassadorship over, we all thought about what suggestions or advice we had for future campus ambassadors anywhere. Linque and I had the same thought process, as our advice was to start early talking to clubs and professors. We found people are more open and receptive early on in the term when they aren’t loaded down with homework, projects, grading, and extra-curricular’s. Their schedules are open and any slots they have for presentations during class or meetings are wide open. Kaitlyn Sanson from Oklahoma State University wanted to let future ambassadors know it is extremely important to establish relationships. If you have those bonds with professors, advisors or students in officer positions, it is a lot easier to promote the organization you are an ambassador of within clubs or classes. Finally, Shelby said you cannot be afraid to be “annoying and in people’s face.” It may seem like you are annoying many of your fellow students but being constant and always reminding students benefits them in the end.

Overall, this campus ambassador team was very successful. Kristine was impressed with the work the team did and felt we all brought different strengths to the table whether it was writing, reaching diverse audiences outside of direct agriculture, assisting at campus events, or helping students one-on-one. This team has been a great note to end on.

Interested in attending an agricultural college campus like the ones these ladies represented this fall? Check out AgCareers.com’s Education Directory for all colleges in the United States and Canada with agricultural career programs.