MAYOWA AINA
As a Student Ambassador for the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity...
"Student Ambassadors work as a team and collaboratively with the Office of Minority Affairs Recruitment & Outreach staff to deliver educational outreach services to underrepresented ethnic minority communities. Ambassadors are engaged in creative, empowerment-based projects to encourage high school and middle school students to pursue higher education. Ambassadors develop and assist with programs on campus and within target communities and high schools to present diverse student perspectives, motivational workshops, and information regarding the UW admissions process, financial aid, academic requirements, and University resources" (OMA&D Website).
This past year I have served as a Student Ambassador for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Recruitment and Outreach Branch providing campus tours for elementary, middle, and high school students from underrepresented groups as well as student panels, UW application workshops, admissions presentations, and identity workshops. I wanted to serve in this capacity for 3 main reasons: 1) as a result of working as an Orientation Leader for First-Year Programs, I knew that I had the skill set; 2) I wanted to give back to a program that was instrumental in my own admission to and success at the UW; and 3) I think concept that "you can never be what you've never seen" is quite powerful and I remembered what a positive impact it had on me to see people who looked like me in higher education and who belonged to a community so I wanted to be that for other students considering going to college.
Diversity...
Being a student at the University of Washington, I have come to understand just how important diverse perspectives are. I have also come to realize how difficult it can be when the burden falls on just a few students to provide those diverse perspectives. As a Student Ambassador, I am fortunate to be one of the people that encourages students from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds to join the UW community. I endeavor to show them that their voices are not only welcomed and heard here but are necessary to improve the quality of conversations that we are having on our campus and the knowledge that is produced here. As an ambassador I enjoy exposing potential students to the campus environment and also having the opportunity to expose students who are not from underrepresented communities to the diversity that campus does have. One of my favorite aspects on the tour that we provide is a stop at “Blocked Out” which the only monument to diversity on our campus and is many times skipped over on tours run out of other offices. I feel very fortunate to be part of an office that serves to maintain the University’s commitment to diversity and helps to shape the makeup of the UW community.
Advocating for a Point of View...
As a Student Ambassador I have spoken with hundreds of students, administrators, and parents throughout the year who are interested in what I have to say about my experience thus far at the University of Washington. They want to know why they should come here. While I am a representative of the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity and the University of Washington as a whole, I have to communicate my point of view with honesty and clarity. Even further, I have to speak for my community as a whole to explain why issues of access, inclusion, and equity are so important. Being a Student Ambassador and being faced with questions such as “is there racism at UW?” has forced me to have an opinion and take a stance on important issues and support that opinion in advocating for the rights of myself and others. As a result I think that I am better for it and can use this skills to be an advocate in other situations.
