
A new Student Ambassadors program was recently introduced at City College with the goal of helping new students on their journey through their first few weeks at City College.
The program consists of a student team of campus veterans, whose aim is to help guide and assist new students in getting acquainted with the campus and its policies. The team helps students find their classes and get help from counselors and administrators. Members also speak in both high school and college classes about the college experience.
The ambassadors are not hard to identify. They walk around with fire-engine-red buttons that read, “SCC Ask Me,” and eager-to-please facial expressions. They can be found primarily in the Learning Resource Center and Business 153 Lab.
“This job is awesome,” student ambassador Shinesh Prasad said. “I get to learn all the departments on campus and help whoever needs it.”
New students agree that so much time and money is wasted in wrong lines and unneeded classes. With ambassadors around, waiting to answer questions and offer advice, a lot of first-semester confusion and frustration can be avoided.
“I’m new to this college,” said Chris Blank. “This campus seemed like a merry-go-round until Nataly [Medina, a student ambassador] helped me.”
The coordinator of the program, Leonela Lepe said the program has received a lot of positive feedback from students and professors.
“There have already been requests from professors to have [the ambassadors] speak,” Lepe said. “They are even branching out to local high schools and middle schools.”
The job requires at least a 2.8 GPA, 24 completed units at City College and a year commitment, according to Lepe.
“I went to McClatchy [high school] and talked to freshmen about the college experience,” Prasad said. “I told them how to select classes and how awesome college is.”
It is both a positive experience for those involved and those benefiting from it.
“We are really looking forward to [getting more] funding to make this a permanent position on campus,” Lepe said.
For more information on the student ambassador program or to inquire about becoming an ambassador please visit, http://www.scc.losrios.edu/Current_Students/From_Enrollment_to_Graduation/Admissions_and_Records/Student_Ambassador_Program.htm or email lepel@scc.losrios.edu