The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) recently selected 45 students to headline their new group of ambassadors. These students will join about 40 to 45 existing members and will serve across six committees, ranging from youth organizations to new transfer students.
“It’s more than just giving campus tours… they are going out into the community, they are bringing the community onto campus…,” Kaci Conetzkey, an adviser for the ambassadors, said.
Conetzkey said the group of ambassadors work with incoming and prospective students, showing the campus, and what the CALS has to offer.
“This group is very much student-run… they are very hands-on in all of the event planning and reaching out to students,” Conetzkey said.
Conetzkey said serving as an ambassador to the college, which offers 26 undergraduate majors, is an amazing opportunity for leadership, team building and networking. She elaborated that the student ambassadors do it all and she serves as more of a helping hand.
Kobe Riherd, a current ambassador and senior in agricultural business, said the most exciting thing about being an ambassador is reaching out to potential Iowa State students and sharing his experiences with them.
“Connecting with these students and sharing the things that make Iowa State so special is really exciting,” Riherd said.
Ambassadors serve on committees, all but one of the six committees focus on areas to recruit students, the remaining committee focuses on recruitment and training of the ambassadors themselves.
The areas of outreach include recruiting from FFA and 4-H clubs, reaching out to prospective transfer students, off-campus recruitment including high school visits, university fairs and more. Ambassadors also coordinate campus visits for events such as Experience Iowa State and other visit days.
The CALS Advantage Days committee plans days, named as the committee name implies, for CALS Advantage Days. Held three times each year, two for high school seniors and one for high school juniors, it serves as a way for prospective students to visit Ames and the campus to experience life from the eyes of an agriculture student.
All ambassadors meet once a month together in Curtiss Hall, and the separate subcommittees meet once every other week.
Students filled out applications at the beginning of the fall semester where they were then selected for interviews and placed into committees. These students will be officially named ambassadors in the springtime.
