Bluffton University

President's Ambassador Program

The Bluffton University President’s Ambassador Program is an extension of the university marketing office and will assist in recruiting prospective students, welcome and greet guests to campus, and engage with alumni and donors. This group of high-achieving students will be positive, enthusiastic and well-informed about Bluffton University and all its programs to best represent themselves and the university. This program touches students of the past, present and future.

Responsibilities:
President’s Ambassadors will be trained in and available on a consistent basis to provide campus tours to prospective students and their families, sit on student panels at admissions events, greet and have conversation with special guests of the president and other cabinet members, and engage with alumni and donors at special events on and off campus. They can be called upon to participate and appear in print and digital materials for the university and be utilized in other various marketing tactics as needed, including presence on the university’s social media accounts. A minimum of 5 tours/events per month must be completed. Training meetings will happen as needed and attendance is required.

Off-campus events:
President’s Ambassadors could be asked to attend events at President Wood’s home or at another off-campus location. At these events, students may serve as greeters, be asked to mingle and network with guests, or host a table. These events could happen on weekdays or weekends but will not include overnight commitments. These events could include community leaders, donors, alumni and/or other distinguished guests of the President’s Office.

Qualifications:
All President's Ambassadors must have successfully completed one year at Bluffton University and earned a minimum 3.0 GPA with no disciplinary action taken while at Bluffton. These students must be currently enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours and commit to a one-year work agreement with the program, including some availability over winter and summer breaks.

Required qualities:

• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Demonstrate leadership qualities
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Successfully address and communicate with diverse groups of people
• Positive and enthusiastic about Bluffton
• Reliable, organized and responsible
• Works effectively in a team

Preferred qualities:

• Involvement across campus, including athletics, academic clubs and student organizations, campus jobs and volunteerism
• Junior or senior standing
• Connection with other students in a variety of areas outside of your own tendencies

Benefits:
All members of the program will be trained as extraordinary networkers and will receive consistent leadership and professional development training. Where available, President's Ambassadors will have opportunity to connect with local leaders and be trained on important topics such as etiquette, conversational skills, networking and interview skills, tour training, how to write thank you notes, cover letters, resumes, etc., and be partnered with a faculty/staff mentor. 

Lead ambassadors:
Stand-out candidates will be considered for a lead ambassador position. Lead ambassadors will be the first called upon for high-level events and assignments and will be a leader to other ambassadors in the program.

Lead ambassadors will have monthly 1-1 meetings with Ella to check-in and receive specialized attention and training on higher-level topics. 

Lead ambassadors will each lead a small group of President’s Ambassadors (3-4) for the entire cycle. It is the lead’s responsibility to keep track of the training process for each of their PA’s and to serve as the first point of contact for each PA when they have questions or concerns. 

Selection process:
Please note all program members must re-apply each year.

1. Submit the program application.
2. Request a reference from a campus mentor, advisor, professor or coach.
3. Once all materials are submitted, your application will be reviewed and qualified candidates will be invited for an interview.
4. After interviews are completed, selected candidates will participate in training from the admissions, marketing and alumni offices.
5. Ambassadors must stay current in their billing for each semester or be removed from the program.

Selection committee:

• Claire Clay, interim vice president of advancement and enrollment management 
• Ella Zaborowski, campus visit associate and international student recruiter
• Ethan Stearns, admission graduate assistant
• Steve Yarnell, head volleyball coach

Selection timeline:
December: Application goes live to current ambassadors and non-ambassadors

January: Selection Committee reviews application materials and recommends qualified candidates for interviews. Interviews for lead ambassadors take place first. Interviews for President’s Ambassadors follow. 

February: Candidates are notified of selection and on-boarding process begins. Trainings and relevant materials are distributed to students to utilize during training.

May: Students shadow tours and learn how current ambassadors utilize the sticking points to determine how they would like to incorporate sticking points into their tours.

May: Training Committee begins preparation for summer and fall training.

August: Summer training before school begins. Fall training when classes start.

Training and certification:
Each ambassador will fully be trained and certified prior to completing a full tour on their own. The training committee is Claire Clay, Ella Zaborowski and lead ambassadors.

The certification process is as follows:

1. Spring training – Training meetings to learn sticking points and content. Sticking points should be practiced on your own.
   1. Sticking points: These are things that MUST be mentioned on every single tour but can be customized to the tour guide and prospective student. These points will be determined by the Admissions and Marketing teams. Each ambassador must mention a minimum amount of sticking points per tour to pass certification.
      • Certification Process
        • Shadow a current ambassador on 2 tours with a prospective family 
        • Give one mock tour with a current ambassador (not with a family)
          • The minimum number of sticking points must be met, along with other evaluation points.
        • Give one tour to your lead ambassador
          • The trainee will then test for certification with a lead ambassador. The lead ambassador will fill out an evaluation form and submit it to Ella either recommending a certification attempt or completing more practice tours before doing another certification attempt.
        • Give Ella a certification tour
          • Ella will fill out an evaluation form during the tour to determine if certification requirements are met. If so, the trainee becomes a certified President’s Ambassador. If not, Ella will recommend to the trainee’s Lead Ambassador that they spend more time practicing.
        • Failure to complete certification is a possibility. If a trainee is deemed unable to be certified by Ella, they will recommend the student re-apply to the program the following year.
          • The committee may recommend the trainee connects with a Lead Ambassador mentor or a faculty/staff mentor to learn more about Bluffton and develop essential skills needed for participation in the program.
   2. Summer training – one full day, half training and half team building
   3. Fall training – begins immediately when students return
      • All current and new President’s Ambassadors will do a certification test in the fall as stats and information change over the summer. Every ambassador must re-certify in order to continue to give tours and participate in special events.

Expectations and consequences:
Being a member of the program is a high honor and should be treated as such. Expectations listed are to be met with no exception; however, each situation will be judged on a case-by-case basis by the program staff.

• Maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher
• No disciplinary action or incidents
• Enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours
• Some availability over winter and summer breaks

Consequences:

• Conversation – You may be asked to have a conversation about an unmet expectation or disciplinary incident that affects your participation in the program
• Written warning – The situation may not result in immediate termination, but you could receive a written warning that a behavior must stop, or an incident cannot occur again
• Termination – The program staff believes your participation in the program must end. Terminated participants cannot re-apply for the program in following years

Examples for disciplinary action or removal from the program include, but are not limited to:

• Not meeting monthly minimums for tours, events and trainings
• Not representing Bluffton University in a positive, enthusiastic and/or appropriate way in person, in writing and/or on social media
• Not wearing appropriate attire for assigned events

Applications for the 2025-26 academic year will open in December.

Questions? Contact Ella Zaborowski at zaborowskie@bluffton.edu.