Gigi Gaultier
University of Washington
Student Ambassador
Empowering Others Through Education
I began working as a Student Ambassador for College of the Environment in January 2017. This position is geared towards assisting prospective students to College of the Environment through major panels, outreach tabling and “shadow” opportunities. All seven majors within College of the Environment are represented through this ambassador program and my position is to represent Aquatics and Fisheries and Marine Biology for students who are interested in being a part of my major. Most of our work is geared towards high school students and transfer students who would like a student perspective on our experience in our program.
This program has provided me with the first position I was ever involved with at the University of Washington. Getting involved with a volunteer experience which was very centered around mentoring and helping others has shown me that I wanted to be further involved in education. I was grateful to be able to learn from others outside of my major but within my college to see how we could collaborate and better our college.
Student Ambassador for College of the Environment Meeting
Volunteer positions have always been important to me because I realize I am doing this because I am really passionate about it. I started volunteering as a Student Ambassador for College of the Environment because it was the perfect link between my love for the environment and education. My passion for these things inspired me to be involved in my college and provide for them my service as an advocate and voice to help prospective students. Volunteering my time to reach out to others helps to bring a sense of community for new students when declaring into the College of the Environment.
Student Ambassador tabling at Future Student Visit Day
Working as a Student Ambassador for College of the Environment inspired me to put all my best effort into this position. I was honored to be chosen as one of the few representatives for my entire major and I wanted to prove to others that I deserved to be on this team. I quickly began to take initiative as a lead for many tasks to show my commitment and passion as an ambassador. I looked up to so many of the upper classmen I worked with and hoped that one day I could be in their position. I tried to be involved in as many opportunities in this job as I could to get valuable experience and learn what I needed to work on. Having been in this position for over a year now, I have helped hire and train new volunteers on our team and proved myself with my excellence. I continue to work hard and help the future volunteers reach their place of excellence too.
OTHERS' CIRCUMSTANCES
Listening and understanding what situations everyone is coming from helps me gear them to the right direction of resources. As a student ambassador for prospective students, I work with people with all different backgrounds and needs. It is important to me to understand the situations in which these students will need help with and incorporate that into my mentorship to them so that they feel included in this space. There is a very strong lack of diversity in college of the environment and I hope to be a link to encourage others to build that representation themselves. Regardless of differences and circumstances, students are welcome to study their passion at the University of Washington and that should be true within the College of the Environment.
Providing these students with guidance and advice about College of the Environment and UW as a whole is the main goal of our job. Students often ask questions about applying to UW, how to get involved once they are here and what is the right major for them. When students are accepted to UW but unsure if they want to commit, they will come “shadow” us to our classes as a chance to see what type of courses are offered in a major of their interest. We host major panels and tabling events all over campus as a chance for these students to understand the environmental fields at UW. As an ambassador, I give these students the opportunity to see the student perspective and provide them with feedback about student life in this college.
PROVIDING
FEEDBACK
This position has helped me learn that I really want to be more involved with education and mentorship. This is where I first learned the importance of sharing my story to help others navigate their paths. I commit time each month to educating others about my experience in my field as a marine biologist which helped me remain passionate and motivated towards my own interests. This position has given me so much experience that can be applied towards other jobs of education which I hope to pursue.
