About the Program
About the Program
Why is the Ambassadors Program important?
A liberal arts education demands a global perspective, an understanding of the local situated in a broader world context. The Ambassadors Program brings the world to Wooster, and allows the voices of diverse international and global nomad students to be heard on our campus, and beyond.
How does the Program work?
Ambassadors are selected annually after a very competitive application process. They create a personalized research agenda, and spend the summer months investigating topics and collecting items pertaining to their home countries and cultures. Upon their return to Wooster they spend the next year sharing their findings with the Wooster community.
What are the benefits of the program?
The opportunity to meet and interact with a person from another country or culture can be priceless and life changing
The Wooster community gains the opportunity to:
- go beyond the information found in text books, as students bring their countries/cultures to life,
- ask questions and learn from a native or long time resident of a country.
Ambassadors have the opportunity to:
- correct misconceptions about their homeland,
- remove some of the exoticism from others' conception of their lives and homes,
- learn leadership skills,
- learn presentation skills,
- learn about their own countries,
- find a greater sense of themselves and who they are.
A Note about Stereotyping
It is impossible for one individual to speak for an entire population, so while each Ambassador’s presentations will include accurate information about their country/culture gained from their summer investigations, they will also share personal stories and details from their own experience.
While it is not possible to have two Ambassadors from the same country/culture in one year, it is possible have Ambassadors from the same country in consecutive years. This enables people from Wooster to meet many individuals from each country, and to form a broader perspective of what life is “really like” in other parts of the world.