What is it like to be a Student Ambassador?

November 4, 2018
by Melissa

Getting Involved

Hey guys! For this post I wanted to talk a bit about what I do as a Student Ambassador. I feel like we do a bit of everything, therefore I wanted to offer some more insight in case any of you would like to pursue this position when you’re in the program!

First, I want to provide a bit of background information on my journey to becoming a Student Ambassador. When I was first considering applying to USC, I attended an information session and had my first interaction with an Ambassador. I remember thinking, “Wow, that’s such a cool opportunity for students!” but didn’t think much about it after that as I was more concerned with getting into the program at the time. As the application date got closer, I scheduled a meeting with Dr. Carley — the previous Director of Admissions — and a tour with a Student Ambassador. It was an incredibly personal experience; Dr. Carley answered some of my burning questions about the application, and the ambassador shared about her experience with the program and answered my questions regarding life as a student. It was then that I realized how badly I wanted to get into the OT program at USC, and how much I would love to be a Student Ambassador.

Fast-forward two years, and here I am! It’s still pretty surreal to think back to that time, and I’m incredibly grateful to be able to be a part of this program and to be an Ambassador. This position gives me the opportunity to combine my passion for the program and my passion for occupational therapy all into one!

So what exactly do we do? Well, I wasn’t kidding when I said that we do a little bit of everything. We help with information sessions, we correspond with potential applicants and admitted students, we give presentations to pre-health and pre-OT clubs to spread the word about our program and OT as a whole, we present and table at conferences and grad fairs, we give tours to students and their families, and help with all sorts of events! Although there are things that we all do as Ambassadors, there are also things that are unique to each of our positions! For example, Joyce is in charge of all things social media, Serena and I help the admissions team and have Diversity projects that we work on, Jess is responsible for event planning, and Evan works on the content calendar! We each get to work on things that appeal to us and that we have a skill set in, which makes the job even more interesting. In addition, we have an Ambassador from the OTD program as well as the MA-I (post professional) program, which makes us a pretty well rounded team. They each correspond with students that have questions about their specific programs, and have their own individual projects as well.

Ultimately, this job provides us with a great opportunity to advocate for our profession, to increase awareness about OT and the Chan program, and to give potential applicants information about our program from a student’s point of view, among many other things. I’m very lucky to be a part of a team that is made up of such kind, hard-working, and passionate people that make the job so much fun.

If you have any questions about the position or about scheduling a tour with us, feel free to reach out!

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