Having joined the Stipend Ambassador Scheme from a partner school, I had the opportunity to engage with a range of outreach workshops during secondary school. Through these workshops, I witnessed the confidence and ability the ambassadors had when delivering events such as UCAS workshops. Therefore, I believed by taking part in the scheme I could improve my public speaking skills, something I found difficult during secondary school.
Narrowing my time as an ambassador down to one memory is tough, given the four years I have spent on the Scheme. Although, the fondest memory I had during my time as an ambassador was during the Da Vinci Days workshops. Over the four days, all my teams reached their finals, with three of my teams winning during the events. Not only was this one of my fondest memories as an ambassador, but this was also one of my favourite work opportunities.
The most important contribution I made to the Scheme was the insights and advice I was able to provide to students, who I know truly appreciated my support More recently, I have had several fantastic opportunities to work alongside Marta, our Development & Evaluation Manager, to represent the Ambassador Scheme at some NERUPI meetings. I provided my views on being a Student Ambassador alongside the impacts of our valuable widening participation initiatives across Kent and Medway.
My biggest piece of advice for other ambassadors is, get stuck in! Getting started with the range of work opportunities available to ambassadors ensures there is always something you’ll feel happy doing. The Scheme is also what you make of it. The more work opportunities you engage with, the better chance you have at improving your undiscovered strengths.
Words cannot comprehend how much I have gained from the Ambassador Scheme. The experiences I have had over the past four years within the Scheme have provided me with lifelong memories and skills which I take forward into my future career and personal life. After finishing my postgraduate studies and my time with the Ambassador Scheme, I’ll be aiming to join an accounting or consulting firm and become a chartered accountant over the next few years.