Celebrating 25 years

This year marks 25 years of Portland State’s Student Ambassador program. Being a PSU Student Ambassador is an eclectic and prestigious campus job. On any given day an Ambassador might lead a campus tour for prospective students, meet a Nobel Prize winner or be interviewed on live TV. What do these things have in common? The opportunity to share what it is like to be a PSU student.

 “We started the Student Ambassador program as a way to center attention on the student experience at PSU,” says Michele Toppe,  vice provost for student affairs and dean of student life who started the program in the late 1990s. “The Student Ambassadors have helped make the student experience top of mind for campus leadership and a cornerstone for the institution's vision for the future.”

Today, Student Ambassadors wear many hats at PSU. One of their most important functions is giving campus tours and chatting one-on-one with prospective students.

“It's been a very rewarding experience just being able to talk to prospective students because I know for me when I was going to college I was very in the dark, didn't really know what to expect,” says Stacey Horton, a PSU Student Ambassador who also serves as a coordinator for the program. “Talking to an actual student relieves a lot of the nerves for not only the student but also for the parents.”

PSU students from a wide range of majors, including both undergraduate and graduate students, serve as Student Ambassadors. Horton, who is a graphic design major, says this allows prospective students to get a better sense of what life would be like as a student in a particular program. 

“I've had a few people who have come in looking at the graphic design program, and it's so awesome to see them get excited because I’m able to share my experience with them,” she says. 

Besides interacting with prospective students and their families, Student Ambassadors serve as PSU representatives at university events where they frequently interact with campus leadership, PSU alumni and distinguished guests. 

Ambassadors also engage in outreach outside of campus. Last term, Student Ambassadors, including Horton, participated in a “student takeover” as part of the KOIN PSU showcase, and Horton and other Ambassadors will attend receptions for out-of-state admitted students later this year. 

“[Being a Student Ambassador] has definitely opened me up to a lot more opportunities that I would not have had otherwise,” says Horton. “It's expanded my leadership skills.”

Students who apply to be a Student Ambassador undergo a multiple step interview process. Those who are selected to become ambassadors participate in trainings and team-building activities, including two annual camping trips with PSU’s orientation team. 

Last year’s trip was a highlight for Horton. “We did this ropes course that really taught us to work together as a team because we had to rely on each other to get through it,” she says. 

Lavina Martinez, campus visits coordinator at PSU, supervises the Student Ambassadors. When hiring Student Ambassadors she looks for students who are good communicators and like to socialize and work with a team. Each year 25-35 students serve as Student Ambassadors. Ambassadors typically start in their first or second year at PSU and serve for three or four years.

“I see the difference from when they're first years to when they're sophomores or seniors,” Martinez says. “You see that they've grown so much. They're always trying to do projects with people; they're go-getters.”

Through their work, Student Ambassadors gain important leadership experience and have opportunities to network with donors and alumni. This can give them a leg up in their post-graduation job search. Program alumni have gone on to be leaders in government, business, nonprofits and beyond. 

Prospective student? Sign up to chat one-on-one with a Student Ambassador
Current student interested in becoming an Ambassador?  Learn more about the program

Where are they now? PSU Student Ambassador alumni reflect on their experiences

Nickole Cheron MS, MPA ‘05

Nickole Cheron MS, MPA ‘05 was the first graduate student Student Ambassador at PSU. “There were things I got to do and people I got to meet that I never would have as just a general graduate student,” says Cheron about her time as a Student Ambassador.

Among the notable people Cheron remembers meeting were a Nobel Prize winner, Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Mario Cuomo. She even shared a bonding moment with Cuomo in an elevator at the Simon Benson awards when she learned they were both Hofstra alumni. 

Cheron also met people she ended up working with years later in her current job as ADA Title II and Disability Equity Manager with the City of Portland.

“That would have never occurred to me back in the day, that it actually provided a good networking opportunity, especially because I chose to stay and work in Portland,” she says. 

She also values the relationships she built with her Student Ambassador peers and the sense of camaraderie she feels when she runs into fellow alumni of the program. 

“It was so much fun, and it really made a big difference,” she says. “It really did.”

Brett McKinney ‘09

Brett McKinney ‘09 majored in advertising management and minored in creative writing at PSU. McKinney says being a Student Ambassador was foundational in his professional development. 

“It was a tight-knit community of students who loved Portland State, believed in the school's mission and were excited to discuss campus life, student life and the mission of the university with prospective students and donors, community members, whoever they might come in contact with,” he says. “The program allowed you to challenge yourself and to grow professionally, whether it was mingling at an event with donors for the first time and really stepping out of your comfort zone or giving tours to 50 people at a time at a large event. It was a really wonderful, wonderful program.”

Because Student Ambassadors interact with campus leadership and other departments at PSU, McKinney was exposed to potential careers in student affairs and higher education that he didn’t even know existed. He now works as a career coach with the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas. “Looking back on my career, that’s where the seeds were planted for a career in serving students and families at the college and university level,” he says. 

Eddie Ramirez ‘14

Eddie Ramirez ‘14 was an organismal biology major with a chemistry minor when he was at PSU. He is now a dentist with the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center. “It was definitely one of the highlights of my time at PSU,” he says about his experience as a Student Ambassador.

He has fond memories of meeting Anderson Cooper, learning to walk backwards without tripping, dealing with faulty microphones while giving campus tours, working on a diversity initiative to help recruit first-generation and low-income students and making friends that he’s still in contact with today. 

Ramirez has also found skills he developed as a Student Ambassador useful in his current career. “You learn to meet people for the first time and break the ice and get people comfortable with being uncomfortable,” he says about welcoming potential applicants and new students to campus. Now he uses those skills to put his dental patients at ease.

He also credits his leadership training for helping him get involved in extracurricular activities while in dental school and beyond. He currently serves on the board of the Oregon Dental Association and the national committee of the American Dental Association. 

“You grow as a person,” says Ramirez about the Student Ambassador experience. “There is so much more that you get from the program than what you see on the job description. I think when you go in with an open mind and really take in the trainings and everything, you come out with a lot of skills that you will be surprised you end up using.”