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Reflections
Week 1
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Throughout my first week as an ambassador, I worked a virtual event called "Welcome Back Chat w/UCBA". I found it to be quite encouraging that students attended especially given the circumstances of our virtual platform. I was able to meet and form connections with some UC Blue Ash alumni and answer questions from students about their concerns or general questions about college life. I also got the opportunity to work the welcome desk where I directed phone calls to our various departments and provided a knowledge base for the general flow of visitors. The first week reminded me that all of the ambassadors are a team and it was emphasized through their positive affirmations and helpful nature. I am incredibly excited to be a part of this unit and look forward to what's coming up next!
Week 2
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For my second week as an ambassador, I worked the welcome desk. I was able to help a student who needed guidance to a department on campus; they also needed their parking pass. I assisted them with both of their requests and while I found this to be a simple interaction, the student expressed their appreciation and gratitude with a sense of relief. I believe I was able to calm some of their nerves and stresses. I feel that interaction is a representation of what Ambassadors are to provide to UC students. In the upcoming weeks, I will be meeting with a Pre-Social Work course that I will be mentoring for the Fall 2020 semester. I hope to provide these students with the same comfort I was able to with the student at the welcome desk.
Week 3
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I started out this 3rd week of the ambassadorship by having a meeting with Professor Singleton (the professor who instructs the class in which I'll be mentoring. We organized a plan for when I will introduce myself to the class and how I will run the the group meetings as well as the 1:1 meetings with students. We also discussed how I will submit announcements to the students and how frequently I will do so. I also worked the Welcome desk this week. I feel much more comfortable working this position as I have already memorized many of the various departments' phone numbers. This is also a great chance for me to interact with students and faculty, as I have already formed some connections from working this position!
Week 5
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For week 5, I decided to take a managerial approach to my ambassadorship tasks that I had for the week. For example, I created a sign up genius of potential meeting times for my mentor students. This is for the group and 1:1 meetings I must have with each of them. I also answered a few emails and completed many behind the scenes tasks. Additionally, I worked another welcome desk shift. This week at the desk was relatively slow. There wasn't much foot traffic and I only received two phone calls during my entire shift. This gave me the opportunity to, once again, focus on the technical components of the ambassadorship. Next week, I'm hoping to start the meetings with my mentor students (so I'm getting very excited).
Week 4
This week I met with the class I will be mentoring. I explained how I will proctor our virtual group meetings as well as our one on one meetings. I answered student questions about the mentoring program and also about student leadership within the university! I felt very welcome by my group and even got the impression I was in the midst of a few future student orientation leaders and ambassadors. I also completed a video series project that outlined the importance of early admission. In the video, I highlighted some of my favorite points about UC Blue Ash and let prospective students know the Admission Office, is always available to answer student inquiries. Finally, I completed another welcome desk shift. At this point with this position, I am familiar enough with the differing departments that I no longer need the phone number reference sheet (for most of the departments) when transferring calls.
Week 6
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During week 6, I started my 1:1 meetings with the students I mentor. We were able to be candid about their experience with online learning and what elements can be approved upon. In particular, I collected data from the students pertaining to the pros and cons of the Pre-Social Work class that I mentor. I also had the ability to build connections with these students. For example, I discovered that one of the students lives in the same dorm building as one of my best friends! Additionally, I was able to provide these students with some helpful tips with time management and effective communication. I look forward to finishing out these meetings and conversing with the rest of the students.
Week 7
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In the seventh week of the ambassadorship, I continued to meet with my mentee students. I was able to meet with a few more students, and we carried on conversations about their virtual learning experience. I made myself more available to students by sharing another source of communication and we set aside possible dates to host a group meeting. Additionally, I worked another welcome desk shift. Recently the shifts have been fairly slow in terms of phone calls and foot traffic questions. Nevertheless, I did have a few more calls than I did last week which helped with the time passing a little quicker.
Week 8
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I had a bit of a shorter week because I traveled to Disney World and Universal Studios. In fact, I'm writing this blog post whilst on my trip; and I'm having a great time. However, I was still able to participate in some ambassadorship activities. Firstly, I responded to emails from my mentee students. I was also a part of a student life presentation that was hosted for a business course. I got to work with Luis and we were taken on a trip down memory lane as one of our tasks for this event was getting students to participate and engage (this was our goal in our student orientation leader positions as well). This helped us brush up on our skills and was good practice for when orientations start back up again!
Week 9
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This week I was able to take part in several activities for the ambassadorship. I worked two success coaching events where I answered questions about my experience with student leadership and getting involved on campus. I told the students about the track I took with becoming associated with different organizations; and I gave students advice regarding involvement on campus even if they are introverted or generally apprehensive to do so. I also hung posters around campus that endorsed the student leadership organization we have at UC Blue Ash and events hosted by this group. Lastly, I was able to work another welcome desk shift-which was especially exciting for me considering I wasn't able to during week 8.
Week 10
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I challenged myself this week to be the most attentive with the people that called UCBA during my welcome shift. Therefore, I tapped into the knowledge I obtained from being a student orientation leader and being a lead student worker in the Admissions Office. If I knew the answer to a question off the top of my head or if the answer was easily accessible in part with a minimal research on my end, I went that extra mile for inquiries. This was well-received and I intend on continuing to do this for the rest of my shifts at the welcome desk. This week I also worked an event for a prior professor I had. Myself and Luis were able to speak on behalf of the Student Life, and talk about our experiences with student engagement and leadership on campus. I enjoyed speaking with what will hopefully be a group of future leaders for our university!
Week 11
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At the start of the week, I volunteered to assist with a testing clinic for the COVID-19 pandemic. While I was excited to help my campus and fellow UCBA staff, the capacity of the event was not substantial enough for the ambassadors to be there. Therefore, the event was canceled from our end. Fortunately, I was able to earn some additional hours by working two sets of welcome desk shifts. I still have some work to do before I meet my 65 hours of service requirement but I am working my way to it!
Week 12
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This week was a bit slow in terms of accumulating my hours but I was still able to work my regularly scheduled welcome desk shift. Therefore, with Thanksgiving approaching, I would like to use this reflection to highlight something I'm grateful for, and that is my fellow ambassadors. An ambassador needed shift coverage earlier this week and while I volunteered for this event, I remembered there are other ambassadors that need hours more gravely than I do. So I, and the other ambassadors, mentioned the prospective hours to a particular peer who has been trying to get additional hours. This made me realize how much of a team we all truly are. So I want to take the time to highlight my amazing fellow ambassadors and appreciate their generosity.
Week 13
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As the end of the semester is approaching, the stress of course completion is lingering. I am feeling overwhelmed by the amount of assignments that are due. While the course load may be similar to years past, the pandemic has certainly thrown this year for a loop, consequently making it the most academically challenging semester in my college experience. Therefore, I have adopted a healthy self-care routine to help me cope with the newly added pressure. I now allot time throughout my day to partake in activities outside of school work. Another escape for me is being able to talk with my fellow ambassadors. For example, I got to speak with Jenah this week after my welcome desk shift where we took a few minutes to speak mindlessly about our winter break plans and what we are going to be buying our loved ones for the holidays. I look forward to these encounters and hope to experience more before the end of the semester.
Week 14
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This week contained a holiday, Thanksgiving! While this year my holiday weekend looked vastly different from how it usually does, I was still able to share a meal with my family which was all I could have asked for. I also had my own Thanksgiving feast with my friends and it was delicious. With the loss of so much this year I have been able to reflect on what I really am thankful for. I am thankful for my family and friends who I could not imagine life without. I am thankful for all of the opportunities that have been presented to me within my education and work life. I am thankful for myself as I am my favorite company. Most of all, I am thankful to be alive and healthy as their has been so much tragedy this year. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday!
Week 15
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This week is exam week and while I am concerned for my performance on my final assignments for each of my classes, I am excited for the massive sigh of relief I will be able to take once the semester is over. The end of the semester also signals orientations starting back up. This week I worked an orientation with Miranda and I was proud of the information we were able to retain from the summer orientations. Additionally, I was able to resume my welcome desk shift which admittedly, I missed. A goal for me this week is to finish the semester strong and submit my final assignments and exams before their due date.
Week 16
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This is the very last week of the fall 2020 semester. This semester has personally allowed me to do some introspective thinking and reflection. I feel as I have eliminated some bad habits out of my daily routine. For example, I will no longer procrastinate regarding the completion of my coursework assignments. I will also prioritize my mental health. During this semester, I feel as though I had the tendency to overload myself with school work, personal life, and professional development. I understand that before I may complete other tasks I have to ensure that I am at a strong mental state. Otherwise, I will underperform during the experiences I have committed myself to. I encourage everyone to set aside "self-care" days as they have significantly improved my day-to-day. With this final reflection I bid ado to the fall semester and also the ambassadorship blog (until the new year). Therefore, I hope everyone has a happy and healthy remainder of 2020. We're almost done!
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