I have been a member of UC's University Honors Program (UHP) since my first day of college, and a UHP Ambassador since 2021 - so when I heard about an opportunity to be part of the newly founded UHP Ambassador Leadership Team, I was all in. This was a role for those who know UHP in and out, and who were enthusiastic about teaching and engaging our Ambassadors team to build relationships among themselves, as well as to show current and prospective UC students what UHP is all about. Not only this, but our Leadership Team also helped to choose, mentor, and welcome in the inaugural class of first-year UHP Ambassadors! 

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As far as structure went, the UHP Ambassadors Leadership Team experience was overall extremely positive - four people feels like the right amount in order to have a range of ideas and opinions, but without having too many cooks in the kitchen. Communication directly subsequent to Covid was tricky to balance, between in-person and online connectivity, but having several forms of communication (email, GroupMe, Teams) gives a lot of options, though at times it complicates things. For me personally this fall, this was tricky due to my co-op company’s export controlled environment, in which no external websites or communication tools are available due to firewalls.

 

Responsibilities felt especially solid, though for future UHP Ambassador Leadership Teams, it could be laid out more clearly in the beginning. This could be a task for the next few years’ worth of cohorts! I think having a checklist of event-planning at the start would help reassure Leadership Team members who feel less sure of themselves at first - I know I fell into this at first, wondering if my input was helpful and if I was as experienced as other members. This program is a fantastic idea overall, and I am proud to be a part of it and get to work with capable UHP peers on it. 

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The effectiveness of the program is incredibly effective for its early days. We have enthusiastic ambassadors, involvement across grades/years, and lots of events. In the future, I think having a variety of Leadership Team members is going to be a huge asset in identifying areas of growth and ways to improve overall. This might be a good area in general for the end of each year’s cohort. A formal transition between cohorts is one way I’d consider improving the current setup. It could give incoming Leadership Team members a running start, and also set up the expected structure ahead of time. 

 

My overall takeaways are that although I’ve faced a tough semester in more ways than are just mentioned here, this is an involvement in which I’m proud to be a part and am genuinely excited to have had a hand in. The Leadership Team and the experiences I’ve had leading summer orientation sessions have just served to add to my excitement to be a part of UHP! It feels like a fresh start and a fantastic new perspective on the overall program - very much a new “wind beneath my wings,” if you will.