Rice students serve as witnesses to the world through ambassador program

Rice
students serve as witnesses to the world through ambassador
program
…………………………………………………………………

BY JENNIFER
EVANS
Rice News Staff

Lining a back
hallway of Autry Court, 32 Rice students stood silently
waiting for a once-in-a-lifetime experience: for Nelson
Mandela to pass within inches of them. Although they knew
that time constraints and protocol precluded them from speaking
to or photographing the man, they were nonetheless thrilled
at the opportunity to glimpse the leader who devoted his
life to the fight against apartheid.

As he entered
the hallway, the students were awestricken. But they couldn’t
believe what happened next: Rather than quickly and silently
pass them by, Mandela paused to speak to and shake hands
with each one of them.

Just another
day as a Rice ambassador.

While it is
not every day that these student representatives
of Rice get to meet such esteemed dignitaries, it’s
not all that uncommon either. Since the program’s inception
in 1993, the ambassadors have been on hand during visits
by Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, Yassar Arafat, Kofi
Annan, Eduard Shevardnadze, Helmut Schmidt and others. More
often, however, their interaction is with local VIPs, luminaries
from other universities and schoolchildren who come to tour
the Rice campus. The visits with schoolchildren are perhaps
the most important things they do, argues Sue Hutchings,
Welcome Center coordinator and the person with the most
day-to-day contact with the ambassadors.

“It makes
a big impact on the young ones to see people like them who,
because they worked hard in school and got good grades,
are now college students going after their goals and dreams,”
Hutchings said.

Founded in response
to a need for tour guides trained in protocol and as an
opportunity for students to accentuate their education with
experiences from “beyond the hedges,” the Rice
Ambassadors program draws students from all eight residential
colleges and the Graduate Student Association to represent
the university. Greg Marshall, director of university relations
and founder of the Rice Ambassadors program, said he had
a third reason for creating the program: “I felt that
it was really a disservice — to our visitors as well
as our students — if the most important dignitaries
visiting our campus meet only with faculty and administrators.
Students are the reason Rice exists.”

Hutchings agrees
that the successful program “puts a face on Rice”
and makes guests feel more connected to the university.

Currently, Rice
has 68 ambassadors, an all-time high, which Hutchings attributes
to the growing interest in the program among undergraduates.

“Prior
to 1999, our goal was always to have 50 students (four per
college and 18 graduate students). This past spring we had
74 applicants for fewer than 25 positions,” Hutchings
said.

Once new ambassadors
are chosen to replace those who have left the program, an
orientation is held to acquaint them with Rice and Houston
while returning ambassadors use the orientation to get reacquainted
with the program.

“Working
cooperatively with the Baker Institute, the protocol office
for the city of Houston, the Houston Image Group and the
Rice Historical Society, we give them intensive training
to help prepare them to receive important university guests,”
Marshall said.

From a history
lesson by William Pettus Hobby Professor of History John
Boles, during which he dispels common Rice myths (such as
that Rice is the largest cemetery in the country or that
the hill at the Miller Outdoor Theater is made from dirt
removed during the construction of Rice Stadium), to lessons
in dining etiquette, nothing is overlooked in ensuring that
the student ambassadors are prepared to field any question
or handle any situation.

Marshall is
optimistic that the students reap rich rewards from their
experiences.
“I hope they get a chance to interact with important
campus visitors, and I hope the visitors get to meet them.
I hope they enjoy being ‘behind the scenes’ at
major campus functions and in the process meet people and
learn things they wouldn’t have otherwise. I hope they
use those experiences and connections to further their understanding
and their opportunities, and I hope they have fun while
giving our visitors the chance to experience Rice at a very
personal level.”

And all evidence
indicates that Marshall’s hopes have met with fruition.

Ambassador Craig
Harrison’s summation of his experience since joining
the program in 1999 seems representative of other participants’:
“Being an ambassador has been amazing. I’m an
engineering student, and I have gotten exposure to people
and experiences I never would have otherwise.”

Jennifer Tang,
a member of the program for a year and a half, agreed. “Through
the ambassador program, I’ve had the opportunity to
witness and help out at many special events from ‘behind
the scenes,’ including awards and opening ceremonies,
special lectures, community service functions and social
engagements. I’ve gotten more out of the experience
than I even expected to.”

Ambassador Natalia
Ksiezyk noted, “You never know what these short interactions
with important people may lead to in the future.”

During her sophomore
year, Ksiezyk worked as an ambassador at the World Energy
Council, a conference for delegations from more than 80
countries. Because she speaks Polish, she was able to welcome
and chat with a group of delegates from Poland in their
own language. Several days later at the closing ceremony,
she was invited to join the group for dinner.

“Aside from
having one of the best meals of my life, I participated
in a very interesting discussion,” Ksiezyk said. “At
the end of the evening, I had a better understanding of
energy issues facing Poland while they received an account
of my perception of Poland since the Communist downfall,
and they informally offered me a job!”

Travis Cardwell,
an ambassador since 1997, pointed out that while the interactions
with the prominent dignitaries always are impressive, sometimes
the not-so-high profile ambassador duties are equally fulfilling.

“A German
high school student who was visiting Rice mentioned that
she thinks that she is selfish but does not think that it
is necessarily a bad thing,” Cardwell said. “I
was very happy to be the first to introduce her to the philosophy
of objectivism and recommended that she read an Ayn Rand
novel. That an hour-long tour at Rice University could possibly
have a large positive impact on that student’s life
was enough to make me smile for a week.”

Hutchings said
it is that kind of maturity and aplomb that make the tours
the highlight of many guests’ visits to the university.
Their value was underscored when she was unable to secure
any ambassadors, who volunteer their services in between
classes and other commitments, to guide a group of beauty
queens around campus.

Hutchings only
had an hour in which to arrange the tour, and with no ambassadors
available, she sent out an e-mail message requesting help
from other campus groups and students. She immediately was
swamped with responses, and several young men arrived eager
to show the scantily clad beauties around the campus. None
of them was an ambassador, so Hutchings gave them a condensed
version of the training and crossed her fingers.

“Oh, those
men weren’t very helpful,” bemoaned Hutchings.
“And to make matters worse, we made it to Willy’s
statue just about the time classes were letting out and
made a pretty big scene.”

Fortunately,
such shortages are rare. There usually is an ample supply
of ambassadors eager to soak in further experiences.

From networking
with dignitaries to expanding their horizons to just giving
back to the university, Hutchings said, “whatever their
motivation [for being a Rice ambassador], so be it —
as long as they’re learning and meeting people. That’s
the goal.”

“I think
a lot of Rice students get tunnel vision and forget about
the outside world,” said ambassador Morela Hernandez.
“The Rice Ambassador program fosters an international
perspective and offers amazing experiences that in 10 years
you can look back at and say, ‘Wow!’”

Graduate and
undergraduate students who are interested in applying to
become Rice ambassadors should contact the Rice University
Welcome Center at 713-WELCOME or send an e-mail to <welcome@rice.edu>.