Lydia Hall is a Creative Writing Masters student, and has been an ambassador since November 2016.
What is the Evaluation Ambassador Role?
It’s a chance to get a behind-the-scenes insight into outreach work. You know all those registers and pre- and post-evaluation forms we get students to fill in? The role of the Evaluation Ambassador is to input them onto the system. I have also had the chance to compile a couple of reports on events such as World Languages Day and Creative Writing Projects based on the information the Outreach Team has gathered from those forms.
Why did you apply for the role?
Whether you’re a final year student, or a Masters student like myself, at some point you’re going to hear “well, what next?” Having gone to a few interviews for admin-based roles, only to be told that it was a lack of experience stopping me from getting the job, I saw this role advertised and thought it would be a great chance to gain that much needed experience. The nature of ambassador work means it can be quite sporadic so seeing that it would be regular work was an extra incentive.
What are the rewards?
I’m an Outreach Tutor as well as delivering ambassador work for my academic school, so I am very familiar with the event registers and making sure any evaluation forms are completed. Usually, unless you have a cursory glance as you tally up the number of sheets in your hand and compare it to the number of students in the room, you don’t get to see what students have said about a particular project. By being an Evaluation Ambassador, it means I get to see what students like or dislike and can therefore modify how I deliver a session in the future. Also, it’s always nice to see confirmation of a job well done.
What are the challenges?
Bad handwriting! I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gone around the office asking if someone knows what a student has written. There isn’t the issue of travel as it is all based at the Canterbury campus and everyone in the office is lovely. Plus, if you’re working during the Great British Bake Off, there might be cake!