THE COLLEGE OF WOOSTER

THE AMBASSADORS PROGRAM

Created by a grant from the McGregor Fund.
Maintained through the generous support of the Seaman Family Foundation

Catching up with Divya Gopikumar -

When I came to Wooster as a first year student, I quickly realized that I was representing a group of people who had not been represented in Wooster for over 6 years - 'The South Indians.' When answering questions about India with my other Indian friends, I constantly found myself saying, "However, in South India... " With time, I grew more interested in my own identity and felt the need to share it with my community in Wooster. And what better way than to be an Ambassador! Little did I realize then that this was just the tip of the iceberg of the many ways that the Ambassadors program would help me grow.

The research that I had to do about South India was truly an eye opener. The things I took for granted, like the different festivals I celebrated, the way I braided my hair, the language I spoke, all attained a newfound meaning. The fun increased manifold when I got to share all this with audiences whose ages ranged from 6 to 60! Wielding questions about religion from a 6 year old made me confident that I could face any interview with ease. Trying to make yoga and meditation appealing to teenagers tested the salesperson in me. Delivering presentations that were both factual and anecdotal, serious and humorous made me hone my public speaking skills. Finishing an IS meeting with my advisor and rushing to a presentation forced me to improve my time management skills! Watching the other Ambassadors in action enriched my knowledge about the people of the world, and opened my eyes to our similarities amongst the many differences. In all, being an ambassador wasn't only about representing my country, but was also a journey of self-realization and advancement.

After graduating from Wooster, I now work as a Marketing Coordinator for a toy company called Wild Republic. I'm having a lot of fun trying to come up with ingenious ideas to sell toys to children. I plan to pursue higher studies in the near future although I havent decided my field of study yet. Now as I think back about my time at Wooster, I can honestly say that my time as an Ambassador gave me many wonderful memories