On February 24, 2015, 34 Kansas State University College of Agriculture students joined the ambassador team. Newly selected students from the Department of Agricultural Economics include, Nolan Allison, Eureka; Coleman Forst, Marysville; Abigail Horn, McCoy, Colorado; Anna Setter, Humboldt; Kristin Stiebe, Kinsley; Halli Wigger, Troy; and Youwei Yang, China; and Rachel Zimmerman, Ulysses.
The ambassador team aids in recruitment of prospective students and will represent the College of Agriculture at various events throughout the year. More than 800 prospective students are anticipated to visit the college this year to tour campus, sit in classes and hear personal K-State stories from the ambassadors.
Student ambassadors are key to attracting prospective students to the college because the ambassadors have relevant testimonials from the different classes and activities in any of the 16 College of Agriculture majors. The ambassadors also represent the college when speaking with alumni and other stakeholders.
“The ambassadors are the ones that are experiencing college,” said Cherie Hodgson, agricultural economics academic coordinator. “They are the ones that are in the clubs and organizations. They are in the classroom and they experience the environment, so they are our best representatives.”
A prerequisite to the application process involves passing the 8-week College of Agriculture Training program aimed at teaching the students about the college’s departments and programs. The application process included a written application and a simulation of a situation students would potentially face as ambassadors, followed by an interview.
Currently, the department is home to 26 of the 94 ambassadors. Hodgson attributes much of this participation to the personality of the students.
“Leadership is something that we promote in the department,” Hodgson said. “Think about it in the job market, they are going to be managers and presidents of organizations… They like the interaction with people, they see the value in leadership and they want to develop those leadership, management and communication skills because they’re going to need those in the workplace.”
Hodgson also sees a lot of value in the ambassador program because of how it benefits the students. She says they learn more about the college and have more opportunities connect and interact with students, faculty and staff on campus as well as alumni and industry professionals. They practice time management and communication skills while coordinating activities and events.
