ECE Ambassadors

Voice: The Student Ambassador Program

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By Todd Blodgett

 

The UConn ECE Student Ambassador Program plays a crucial role within the UConn Early College Experience Program, where ambassadors actively assist with ECE marketing and administration, support fellow students, and collaborate with Site Representatives at their high schools. In recent years, we’ve expanded their responsibilities to make them more
interactive and present on the front lines of our social media and publications, allowing them to share experiences and projects within their UConn ECE courses.

 

Some of the initiatives that ambassadors have contributed to recently—and will continue to participate in this year—include the ECE Student Advice Column, where ambassadors share tips and insights for success in the program. They also participate in Ambassador Spotlights, allowing each ambassador to highlight their personal achievements and goals, and showcase their experiences with ECE. As UConn ECE continues to expand its Academic Planning Portal, we will take the advice and insights from our Student Ambassadors to help build our resources.

 

Ambassadors are also involved in semester reports, providing updates on what’s happening in their classrooms and ECE courses. During the fall term, they assist teachers with student registration, supporting a smooth enrollment process. We encourage and help support our Student Ambassadors to take a leadership role within their UConn ECE courses and amongst their peers.

 

The ECE Ambassador Program is an excellent leadership opportunity, and it’s rewarding to see the impact on our students’ futures. This program not only cultivates leadership skills but also serves as an inspiring pathway for other students who share similar values and aspirations to get involved in their schools and the UConn ECE Program.

Empowering Student Leaders: The Growth of the ECE Ambassador Prog

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By Christ-Anne Jean-Francois, UConn Student Administrative Assistant

 

Since its inception 9 years ago, the UConn ECE Ambassa­dor Program has grown significantly. This extracurricular opportunity plays a crucial role within the UConn Early College Experience Program, where ambassadors actively assist with ECE marketing and administration, support fellow students, and collaborate with Site Representatives at their high schools. In recent years, we’ve expanded their responsibilities to make them more interactive and present on the front lines of our social media platforms and publications.

This year, we have 35 ECE Ambassadors representing 27 schools across Connecticut. Our ambassadors are primarily seniors, with 30 seniors, 3 juniors, and 2 sophomores mak­ing up this year’s cohort.

 

Some of the initiatives that ambassadors have contributed to recently—and will continue to participate in this year—in­clude the ECE Student Advice Column, where ambassadors share tips and insights for success in the program. They also participate in Ambassador Spotlights, allowing each ambassador to highlight their personal achievements and goals, and showcase their experiences with ECE. Addition­ally, ECE Instagram Takeovers give students a chance to provide a behind-the-scenes look at their daily lives as ECE students, sharing updates, advice, and glimpses into their classes and extracurricular activities.

 

Ambassadors are also involved in semester reports, provid­ing updates on what’s happening in their classrooms and UConn courses. During the fall term, they assist teachers with student registration, supporting a smooth enrollment process.

 

The UConn ECE Ambassador Program is an excellent leadership opportunity, and it’s rewarding to see the impact on our students’ futures. Through our intake process, we’ve learned that all of our ambassadors plan to attend a four-year university after high school. This program not only cultivates leadership skills but also serves as an inspiring pathway for other students who share similar values and aspirations to get involved in their schools and the UConn ECE Program.

UConn ECE Ambassador Summer Plans

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Emily Laput at UConn

 

Each year, enthusiastic UConn ECE Student Ambassadors assist in the marketing and administration of the UConn ECE program at their high school, support their fellow students and Site Representative, and create a more seamless college experience for all. This year they helped support the UConn ECE program with our reaccreditation with the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP). Students were interviewed by a committee of NACEP members and spoke about their experience with their UConn classes. Here are some of our student ambassadors and their plans for the future, after graduation this Spring.

 

My summer plans include catching up on leisure reading as well as devoting the remainder of my free time to enhancing my life with new experiences. There are limitless opportunities to try new food, hobbies, and excursions that I plan to make the most of. While I have not yet committed to a college or university, I hope to enter my higher education as a more well-rounded and elevated version of myself.

-Aris Flores; Coventry High School

 

 

My summer plans consist of working with adaptive children at summer camp, spending time with family and friends, and traveling. I am extremely excited to be attending Springfield College in the fall where I will be playing softball and majoring in Health Sciences. Although I will miss high school, I am looking forward to the new chapter of my life at Springfield!

-Madison LaValle; Francis T. Maloney High School

 

 

This summer my plans are to go on adventures with my friends and family and enjoy the time together while we still have it. Next school year I plan on attending Siena College. I will live on campus away from my family and friends so this summer I plan on having fun and spending time with them. We have planned many trips and I cannot wait to go on these adventures that will later lead to my new adventure in life.

-Samantha Thompson; Plainville High School

 

This summer, I will be going on vacation with my school to Greece! I will also be working on my musical sight-reading skills to prepare for my college music program audition. In the fall, I will be attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst and majoring in psychology with a possible minor in music.

-Mia Sommers; Wethersfield High School

 

 

In June, I will be hosting my second annual Pink and Flow (pinkandflow.org), a fundraising yoga event, for a local nonprofit breast cancer called Seymour Pink. I also will be continuing managing the social media and marketing for a jewelry store. This fall, I will be studying Marketing at the University of Connecticut.

-Emily Laput; Woodland Regional High School

 

This summer, I plan to continue participating in an internship in the field of microbiological bioinformatics at Northwestern Connecticut Community College, studying the genomes of bacteriophages. Further, I will be participating in an internship at Central Connecticut State University, helping them to run their planetarium, participating in public outreach events, and researching the surface conditions on Mars in comparison to local Connecticut geology. Lastly, and most excitingly, I will be preparing to move into college at Harvard University as a member of the class of 2026, where I plan to major in astrophysics with a particular focus on astrobiology.

-Logan Wilson; Torrington High School

 

 

Who are the UConn ECE Ambassadors?

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By Melanie Ochoa

UConn ECE has a wonderful team of 54 enthusiastic and high achieving students who have been helping support the program right from their high school. Our Ambassadors have been assisting with the marketing and administration of the program by supporting their fellow students and Site Representatives while also taking UConn ECE courses. During their one-year commitment, our Ambassadors help with the registration process and attend open houses or assemblies to present and discuss the benefits of the program. As part of their assignment, Ambassadors also share their extra- curricular experiences through pictures. Check out what our ambassadors have been doing!
Student Ambassador Caitlyn Malenfant
Caitlyn Malenfant
Oliver Wolcott Technical High School
“As an ECE Ambassador at Oliver Wolcott Technical High School, I assisted juniors and seniors with ECE applications and enrollment in these classes. I answered any questions they may have had, which helped make the whole process go smooth. Over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit the country of Guatemala in August of 2017 on a missions trip. In this picture, I am in Jalapa, Guatemala, which is a city in the middle of mountains. In Jalapa, my group and I served the people with food, clothing, and love. We made a huge impact on the lives of many, as shown by this little boy. He was grateful to have our presence there. This trip was truly life changing, and I would definitely go to Guatemala again.”

Student Ambassador Jake McNeil

Jake McNeil
Fairhild Wheeler Interdistrict Multi-Magnet High School
My experience as an ECE cambassador has been fantastic! This role has given me plenty of opportunities to help out my fellow students at Fairchild Wheeler. I initially took on the job to help convince my friends of the benefits of challenging coursework but have since gone on to speaking to large crowds at assemblies. Over this past summer, I spent time at Sikorsky working as an intern. I only occasionally worked on the  factory floor, as I spent most of my time working upstairs in the Allocation Division. There I would help process harnesses, wires, and black boxes for installation into the helicopters you see in my pictures. The challenging  ECE coursework that I completed was said to be a significant factor in my selection as an intern.

Student Ambassadors Provide Support to Their Schools and UConn ECE

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By Wendi Richardson
At the February 2016 Site Representative Conference, UConn Early College Experience introduced its new student ambassador program. The growth of the ECE program brought about the need for more
support in the high schools during the heavy registration cycles. The ambassador program was developed to support the high schools and the ECE community as a whole.
UConn ECE Ambassadors are a team of enthusiastic students that are not only enrolled in ECE courses, but are also willing to talk about it. Select students from the high schools are chosen as UConn ECE Ambassadors. These students assist in the marketing and administration of the ECE program by supporting fellow students and the Site Representative at the student’s high school. Student ambassadors commit to a one-year term where they help with ECE registration and make presentations on the benefits of the UConn ECE program. They also keep the ECE office informed about the great things that are going on in their high schools. As part of their commitment, ambassadors submit photos and videos with ECE classroom happenings which are then shared with the UConn ECE community through social media pages. In exchange for their services, UConn ECE Ambassadors are rewarded
with an ECE course of their choice, a coveted husky dog Ambassadors tee shirt and a letter of recognition at the end of their term.
In the first year of the program there were fifty-seven student ambassadors in place at thirty-eight high schools. Participating schools reported that the extra support was key to the success of their ECE
program. The UConn ECE office was also thrilled with the results, having received dozens of priceless photos of students, classrooms and events at partner schools around the state.
For more information about the UConn ECE Ambassador
program, contact Wendi Richardson at the ECE office.
Applications for 2017-2018 student ambassadors will be
accepted beginning in March 2017.
ECE Ambassadors ECE Ambassadors