Week 1
This first week of classes and my first week working as a Student Ambassador was one of the best weeks of my college experience so far. After working as a Student Orientation Leader all summer and starting to work as an ambassador this semester the whole college had a bit of a different feel to it. I felt as if I really belonged at the college and also felt eager to help new students with any troubles they may be coming across. While walking to class on Monday I actually met a new student and started talking to him and then later helped him find where "PavD" was and where the UCBA shuttle picks up students and takes them back to the Clifton Campus. I also helped a number of new students while working at the Welcome Desk from 8 A.M. - 10 A.M. on Thursday morning. I quickly figured out how to work the phone system and how to transfer calls to other offices while also answering questions in person like "How do I connect to the Wifi here?" or "Who can I talk to about my financial aid" which was very rewarding and made me feel good. I also helped present a presentation about the Student Life Office to a Radiation Technology class and got to share my experience working as a SOL and Student Ambassador. This presentation really made me think about how far I have come in college so far and how getting involved in the Student Life Office has really been beneficial to me. On Friday I also helped serve pizza to the students in the Muntz Atrium as part of the "Wear Red Get Fed" event. It truly was a lot of fun to meet and see new students and get to provide them with some fresh hot pizza.
WeEk 2
Week 2 back at college as a student and working as a Student Ambassador may have been even better than the first week. Classes are picking up the pace, more homework is being assigned, and quizzes and tests are starting next week! Balancing the work of being a student and working as a Student Ambassador has been pretty laid back so far and this week I found myself doing quite a bit pf Student Ambassador duties. Wednesday evening I worked an event called the CYC and UCBA kickoff. This event was designed to give college students an opportunity to meet and get to know their mentors that they had been assigned previously. At the event, I helped set up tables, chairs, tablecloths, balloons, and other decorations, greeted people as they entered, directed them to the sign in table, assisted them with any questions they had, helped serve food and drinks, and assisted with taking everything down and throwing away trash. That may sound like a lot of work but it was a lot of fun and has got me interested in being a CYC mentor in the future. Thursday morning I worked the welcome desk from 8 A.M. - 10 A.M. again which was truly a pleasure. Later that afternoon, I also worked the Involvement Expo and Fall Fair. Before the event started, several Student Ambassadors and I worked together in setting up tables and chairs, putting on tablecloths, greeting the leaders of the organizations who were setting up a table for the event, and answering any questions they had. Once the event started, the other Student Ambassadors and I were responsible for handing out pizza to the students. This was actually probably my favorite part of the event because I got to see a and interact with lots of students and made them happy by providing them with pizza. That pizza got ate fast! To wrap up the week, I gave a prospective student tour on Friday morning. I hadn't given a tour of the campus in quite awhile and it sure felt good to be informing prospective students of everything UCBA has to offer and helping them make the right college choice!
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Week 3
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Week 3 as a Student Ambassador was the slowest week so far, but nonetheless, still a busy. This week I was unable to sign up for any events due to all of the event's this week occurring during my scheduled class times. This was a huge bummer to me because all of the events that I have worked so far have been so fun to attend and help at. Although I did not attend any events, I did work at the welcome desk for 2 hours this week and managed to get some homework done in-between greeting people as they walked in/out and answering the phone. I also attended the first Student Ambassador Monday Meeting this week which was very enjoyable. One of the courses I am taking this semester is physics. So far in my physics course, we have been learning a lot about forces, energy, momentum and motion. We have been learning a lot specifically about the conservation of momentum and transformation of energy which can be very complicated sometimes. I am glad that I took physics my senior year of high school and still remember a lot of these concepts from learning them then. I actually had my first test of the semester last week in Physics and got a 96% on it! I look forward to continuing to study hard and to work more events next week! I'll keep you updated!
Week 4
This past week was a whole lot of fun but also a whole lot of work! To start off the week on Monday I helped work at the Latinx History Month kickoff event. My role as one of the Student Ambassadors for this event was to get other students interested in Latinx History Month and try to get them to attend some of the Latinx History Month events. This was a super fun event to work because I got to meet and talk with all kinds of different students and was able to help them get involved on campus. I also worked two welcome desk shifts this week which is always a pleasure! On Friday I got the opportunity to join some representatives from the Student Life and Engagement Office in two different First Year Experience Classroom visits. During those classroom visits I talked to the students about my experience working in the Student Life and Engagement Office and how it has impacted me in such a positive way. These events had a huge impact on me because it made me realize how far I have progressed from this point last year to this point today and how my involvement in the Student Life Office has been such a positive experience for me. I feel like I was also able to have an impact on the students in both of those classroom visits by sharing my story with them and explaining to them how much more fun college can be when you are involved and engaged on campus outside of the classroom. Aside from working these events I spent a lot of time studying and completing assignments and projects for the courses I am taking this semester. One topic I recently learned in my Statistics class was how to find the Standard Deviation of a quantitative data set! Stay tuned for next weeks update!
Week 5
Week 5 of working as a Student Ambassador was such a blast! I worked multiple events this week but two of the events were especially important to me. One of these events was the French Film Festival where the Student Ambassadors played a number of different roles during this event. We got there about an hour early to set up tables, snacks, prepare the popcorn machine, and make sure the event was prepared to start. Once the event started, we greeted and gringled with the guests and served them some fresh popcorn as they entered the auditorium . We were worried about our popcorn making abilities at first since none of us had any experience with popcorn machines, but we got the hang of it after the first batch. Almost all of the guests ate and enjoyed our popcorn and we received many compliments about how good it was. Multiple guests actually came back for seconds! I felt as if I had a huge impact on this event through servant leadership and it was a lot of fun to meet the guests and make and serve them popcorn! Another event that was very special to me this week was the Foreign Language Workshop. At first, I assumed that this event was for students to practice their foreign language skills but after setting up for the event Friday evening I found out that the event was for Foreign Language professors to learn about "Generation Z" and how teaching practices and methods are evolving do to the upcoming generations and their new learning styles and techniques. This event had a big impact on me because I am studying education and I learned a lot of new information about teaching and was able to relate a lot of what I have been learning about education in my college courses so far to what they were speaking about in the workshop. For example, in my Educational Technology course, one thing that we learned this week was about The Triple E framework of education, which is a framework that evaluates the effectiveness of technological tools that are used in the classroom. Triple E stands for how technological tools should be enhancing, engaging, and extending the learning goals of the course. This is something that was mentioned several times in conference when the professors were talking about how they use technology in their classrooms. I was so glad that I signed up for this event because of how relevant and interesting the discussions and exercises were to me and I look forward to working more events like this one in the future!
Week 6
Another eventful week as a Student Ambassador is in the books. To kick off the week on Monday I helped run the intramural soccer games which was a blast and possibly one of my favorite "events" that I have worked so far. This event had a big impact on me because I realized how much I missed playing soccer and I can't wait to sign up to work more of the intramural sport events in the future. Wednesday was Open House at UC Blue Ash so many Student Ambassadors and I helped out at this event. I really had a lot of fun at Open House and felt like I was really able to make a big impact at this event by welcoming the guests into our college by greeting them and helping them find anywhere they would like to go in a friendly manor. At Open House the Student Ambassadors and I also facilitated tours throughout the event and I gave my first tour that included going on the brand new renovated 3rd floor. It was a really cool to show that to the guests and give a tour for the first time in awhile. I also helped out at the LGBTQ+ History Month Kickoff Luncheon and Drag Bingo this week which was very fun and I got to try some tasty Indian food. I also spent a lot of time studying this week and completing lots of assignments. One thing that I recently learned in my Physics Class is how to calculate how much energy is converted to thermal energy when two objects collide, like in a car crash. I'm excited for next week's events and my future experiences that I will continue to keep you updated on. Stay tuned for Week 7!
Week 7
Despite having Fall Reading days Thursday and Friday of this week, I still managed to get all of my hours in and actually worked more events than usual. I started off the week in a great way by reffing intramural soccer Monday evening. I also reffed Flag Football on Wednesday which was a blast. Working the intramural flag football event had an big impact on me because I got the opportunity to actually play and participate in the flag football game due to there being uneven numbers. This was a lot of fun and made me think back to when I played Flag Football competitively as a child. Working the intramural sport events was an incredible experience but I also really enjoyed giving two different tours of the campus this week as well. Both of these campus tours were given to groups of high school students and I was able to show them around the campus and let them see what UC Blue Ash has to offer. I think that by giving these tours I was really able to have a positive impact on these high school students because I was able to show them around a great college campus that is very affordable and inform them about the amazing resources that our campus has to offer. I really hope that these students make the choice to attend UC Blue Ash and see for themselves. This week I also spent four hours working at the Welcome Desk and was able to complete a lot of homework in between greeting students and faculty and answering the phone. We are about half-way through the semester and the amount of time I spend studying and doing homework is increasing. I am still doing great in all of my classes and really enjoy balancing the work of being a student and Student Ambassador. One thing that I learned this week in my English class is how to conduct an effective interview and how to problem solve if you are interviewing someone how is very quiet, or someone who is very talkative and gets off topic frequently.
Week 8
Hip Hip, Hooray! The end of week 8 means that I am over halfway done with the Fall Semester! This semester is really going by fast and I am loving the Student Ambassador life. This week was surprisingly a very relaxing week as I was not scheduled to work very many events, despite signing up for multiple. I still managed to get in five and a half hours for the week by giving a prospective student tour Monday, working the welcome desk for two hours Tuesday morning, and volunteering at the UC Blue Ash Dash Saturday morning. The tour that I gave on Monday was a lot of fun and I feel like I was able to have a great impact on these students by informing them of how amazing of a college UC Blue Ash is and the many benefits to going to this college compared to others. Volunteering at the UC Blue Ash Dash Saturday morning was a blast! It was really cool to watch my professors, faculty, and fellow students run the course and cheer them on along the way. This event had a big impact on me because it made me miss running and encouraged me to start running once again. Completing a triathlon is on my bucket list and starting to run again is a good step to completing that goal. Not working events all week gave me plenty of time to study, complete assignments and projects, and do lots of homework. Something that I learned in my Educational Technology class is what it means to be a good digital citizen and how to keep a good digital footprint and reputation! I can't wait to see what next week holds and to work and have an impact at more events!
Week 9
Week 9 was a very fun and busy week. This week I helped out at the Intramural Soccer and Flag Football games and also had my regular welcome desk shifts from 8:30am to 10:30 am. I also attended the Path to the Pulitzer event covering the heroin epidemic in Cincinnati and went to the English Conversation Group meeting on Thursday. The open discussion regarding the heroin epidemic with the Journalists from the Cincinnati Enquirer was very interesting and fascinating to listen to. I felt like attending this event had a big impact on me because although I know that I will never do heroin or any other drugs it was good to be reminded that heroin addiction can happen to anyone and that it is a very strong addiction that it very hard to overcome and those that are addicted really need help and support. Hearing the story about how a heroin addict who has overdosed over 15 times was finally able to overcome his addiction and live a normal life was mind blowing to me and gave me hope for all of the people who are suffering from and battling this addiction. To end the week I helped work at the UC Blue Ash Open house on Saturday. Although it was cold and rainy giving tours was still a very fun and rewarding experience. I really felt like I was able to have a big impact at this event while giving tours by telling the prospective students and their families all of the great things that UCBA has to offer like the Student Ambassador program. I mentioned to them about how if they apply to be a Student Orientation Leader and work the position over the summer they have the opportunity to apply to be a Student Ambassador and work for the college during the school year and get paid a full tuition scholarship. After telling the tour groups this I could see the looks on the parents and students faces and could tell that they were excited and interested in this program. I hope that these students do attend UCBA and apply to be Student Orientation Leaders and Ambassadors and make great additions to these teams! As always this past week I also spent a lot of time studying, doing homework, and completing assignments and projects. In my statistics class this week be have been learning about the normal probability distribution and lots of applications to it. That is all I have to report for this week but stay tuned for next week's update!
Week 10
This past week has been a very relaxing and fun week. I currently am expected to already exceed the time requirement for Student Ambassadors (which is to work 90 hours a semester at UCBA) so I did not get signed up to work many events this past week. The only event that I worked this week other than my usual welcome desk shifts was the Halloween Bash. This event was a ton of fun and I was encouraging students to participate in the event, handing out carmel apples and apple cider, and helping student find materials and supplies to paint their pumpkin or decorate the sugar skull. I really felt like I was able to make big impact at this event because I encouraged so many students to join and participate in the event and really hyped students up and got them excited and interested in our event. I also felt like this event had an impact on me because as I was working this event I got to meet and talk with many different students. I got the chance to talk and hang out with students that I currently have classes with, used to have classes with, know from intramural sports, or other events. Talking and getting to know all of these students was a lot of fun and allowed me to make connections with students who I may have never met if I had not worked the event. You should know by know that along with any week of working as an ambassador, a week full of homework and studying comes with it! As I was not assigned to work many events, I used a lot of my extra time this week to stay caught up in my classes and get ahead on studying and big projects. One thing that I learned in my Physics class this week was how to calculate the distance an object will travel (in both the X and Y direction) when an object is thrown into the air and how to use this information to figure out horizontal and vertical speed of the object at any certain point in time. I also got a new job this week and started working for a different company and had to get certified as a Lifeguard for American Red Cross. I had to go to training Monday and Tuesday night and had my first day this Sunday from 12-8. I'm really excited to be working (off campus) again and to continue the daily grind of working and going to school. Check in next week to hear more!
Week 11
The weeks are flying by over at UC Blue Ash college! This week was a pretty laid back week and I only worked one event. The event that I worked was Intramural Soccer. As always this was great time and experience and this event had an big impact on me because it was a blast to just hang out a soccer with friends and it was a great way to get the week started. I also worked my normal welcome desk shift on Tuesday morning and was able to help lots of people by directing their calls. One special event that I did attend this Saturday was the National Mentoring Symposium as I am current major mentor this semester. I learned a lot on this trip and cannot wait to incorporate what I learend about mentoring into my own work and mentoring. This trip was especially fun because I got to attend and ride up with Indiana- Purdue University with my good friend and fellow Student Ambassador Stephanie. Attending the event with her an awesome experience but I do not think Stephanie appreciated how when we were walking in a crowd and we would start to get seperated I would yell out "Mom" to get her attention. Overall this was a great trip and I look forward to attending more conferences like this with UCBA in the future. One of the things that we are currently learning in my educational technology class is how to create an interacting and engaging webquest for our future students.
Week 12
Wow, I cannot believe how fast this semester has been going by. I am shocked that we only have 3 weeks left in the semester! Although I am very excited to be done with another semester of college, these last 3 weeks mean that it is time to anchor down and grind out lots of final projects, assignments, and exams. This past week was very busy for me although I did not work any events at UC Blue Ash. Unfortunately, the only event that I worked this past week was my welcome desk shift. I did spend a lot of time last week working at the indoor pool that I manage and also met with a lot of my major mentees for their last required meeting of the semester (the students that I mentor for being in the Major Mentor Program at UCBA). Last week I also spent a good amount of my time studying for my classes, doing homework, completing assignments and projects, and preparing for final exams and projects. One very interesting thing that I learned in my physics course last week was about torque and how torque is the rotational analog of force. I am excited to see what next week will bring and to spend more time serving the college! Tune in next week to hear another update!
Week 13
Welcome to Week 13's blog post! With it being the week of Thanksgiving, and the campus being closed Thursday and Friday, there were minimal events that required coverage from the Student Ambassadors this week. With that being said, the only event that I worked this week was my welcome desk shift. With only 2 weeks left in the semester and finals approaching, I spent a lot of time this week working on final projects and studying for exams. In my educational technology course, this week we focused on how to create a digital portfolio to display different artifacts, projects, and assignments that we have created throughout the year. Although I did spend quite a bit of time on school work this week, I was also relieved to have a long weekend off from school and work and to be able to spend time with my family on Thanksgiving Day. To end the week, I spent the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in Red River Gorge, Kentucky camping and offroading in my Jeep!
Week 14
Well folks we're down to just one week left in the semester! This is such an exciting but also stressful feeling! This past week was another pretty relaxed week and the only event that I worked this week was my weekly welcome desk shift. On Thursday, however, I did work the New Student Orientation and started training to be a Student Orientation Coordinator as I will be working this position throughout the upcoming Spring semester and summer! Training to be a SOC was a lot of fun and I gave the Engaged on Campus presentation to the new students and their guests along side Kirsten, who is one of the other Student Ambassadors, was a SOC last year, and will be working as a Student Orientation Coordinator Intern. Giving the presentation in front of such a large audience was a little nerve racking at first but I am much more prepared and confident now and am excited to give this presentation again. I can't wait to continue working with Chris and Kirsten in our new student orientation program and am excited to train the upcoming SOLs and try to improve and enhance the orientation program in every possible way. One really cool thing that I learned about last week in my physics course was about Torque and how torque can be calculated and increased or decreased depending on certain factors such as the size of the radius. Check in next week to hear another report and wish me luck on completing my final projects!
Week 15
We made it! The last week of classes is all finished up and it is time to study for some final exams! This past week the only event that I worked was my normal welcome desk shift. I was supposed to be giving tour on Monday but no one showed up for the campus visit so there wasn't anyone to give a tour. I was actually really bummed out that no one showed up because I was really excited to give a tour for the first time in awhile. With the extra time that I had on my hands because of the tour being cancelled I decided to go into work early and get some extra hours in. I have been working a lot recently which has decreased my availability to work events at UCBA, but I am excited for the next semester and to start regularly working campus events again. This past semester I had over 100 hours logged between working the different campus events, the welcome desk shifts, giving tours, and attending the Student Ambassador meetings. I am relieved that I was able to exceed the minimum requirement of serving 90 hours throughout the semester because at the beginning of the term I was really worried with how I would balance and fit time in for class, studying, working at UCBA, and working at my other job. I found out this past semester that time management and scheduling things in advance is key when you must balance the work of many different jobs or activities. With week 15 being the final week of the semester we are not covering much new material in my courses but in two of my online courses we are learning and reviewing how to create a professional and high-quality Eportfolio to display our work from throughout the semester. Next week I just one in person final exam that I have to take and I also have one final project due at the end of the week. That is everything on my agenda and then I am on break until next semester. Over break I will be working about 40 hours a week and also taking a vacation the week after Christmas up to Northern Michigan to go skiing and snowmobiling. Wish me luck on my final exams and projects, and that I don't start the Spring Semester with any broken bones!