By Amanda Carswell
Homecoming 2004 marks the third year in a row a member of the Student Ambassadors group has been crowned Homecoming Queen. Kelly Martin, the new 2004 Homecoming Queen, is the current vice president of Student Ambassadors.
Although the group has been very popular during Homecoming, their activities throughout the rest of the academic year may not be as widely known.
Established in 1978, the Student Ambassadors of the Alumni Association is made up of 50 students who work closely with Northeastern alumni.
“Our purpose is to bridge the gap between students and alumni. We do events on campus that try to include as many alumni and current students on campus as possible,” said Andrew Paull, a last semester senior electrical and computer engineer, and the group’s current president. “Alumni have been through everything; you learn so much from them. They’re a wealth of knowledge … that students don’t really know how to tap and that’s what our group does.”
Some of the signature events that the Student Ambassadors host are “Celebrate NU Day” and “Bringing Cheer.”
Celebrate NU Day is aimed at raising Husky Pride by celebrating Northeastern’s “birthday” each year during Homecoming week. The event is free for students and alumni to enjoy music, food, raffle prizes and to get excited for the kickoff of Homecoming, said Karen Jansinski, the assistant director of Student and Young Alumni Programming and advisor of the Student Ambassadors.
The other major event the Student Ambassadors said they are extremely proud of is “Bringing Cheer,” Jansinski said. The Student Ambassadors and alumni go out into the community during the Christmas season and host celebrations for less fortunate families in the area. They collect donations and do fund-raisers in order to supply children with toys and families with some basic necessities. This year, the group will be hosting this event at the Cambridge YWCA.
The group also volunteers at sporting events and alumni reunions, in addition to giving tours of campus and community service activities throughout the Boston area.
The Student Ambassadors recruit members through a closed application process. Every fall, the group sends out letters, based on academic performance, to a select group of students asking them to join. After filling out an application and going through an interview, a committee then scores the applicants and offers positions into the group. Depending on numbers, a few spots are offered in the spring, but usually not many, Paull said.
“I went to my open house and I saw the pictures of the group and they seemed like really cool people,” Paull said. “I’m an engineer so my nose is always stuck in a book, so I wanted to get out and meet people and this was a great way to do it.”
Paull said becoming a Student Ambassador and working with NU alums has been worth the work required to gain admittance to the group.
“I have enjoyed every second I’ve been in this group,” Paull said.
For more information about the Student Ambassadors of the Alumni Association, or to contact them, visit www.alumni.neu.edu.
