The LSU Ambassadors, a student organization that helps students during orientation, began its selection process this week, holding informational meetings for those interested and handing out applications to more than 500 students.
“Every year around 300-500 people apply to be an ambassador,” said Amanda Callais, a political science and history junior and the membership chairman for the ambassadors. “We usually only fill the spots of people who graduated, so we only have around 60-80 spots each year.”
The ambassadors are in charge of recruiting, orienting and advising new students, and they participate in events such as Tiger day, Tiger calls and homecoming.
Chris Girouard, a biological sciences sophomore, said he attended the informational meeting because the ambassadors participate in the same kind of events he took part in during high school.
For Scott Sutton, a music education sophomore, becoming an ambassador was one of his major goals when he came to LSU.
“I was very nervous, but I was driven. I knew that I wanted to be an ambassador,” said Sutton, a first-year ambassador. “It has been great. Spring testing was the first thing that I did and I felt special about being able to help freshmen.”
Sutton said the time he puts in to ambassadors doesn’t feel like much work.
“I get to orient new freshmen and be the guy they look up to,” Sutton said. “It’s worth it.”
Some students worried about how the ambassadors select their new colleagues.
“It’s a numbers thing – as much as we would love to take every qualified person, it’s impossible. We only need 200 people total, so however many spots we have is how many we fill,” Callais said.
After filling out a detailed application, the process consists of two “selections.”
The first round takes place in the Union Cotillion Ballroom. It is a “get-to-know-you” session. To be invited back to the ballroom for the second and final round, Callais said to look and act natural.
“We know that people stress about it and we try to make the process as comfortable as possible,” Callais said.
Dress for the events is also “ultra-casual,” eliminating the need to “dress to impress,” ambassadors said at the informational meeting.
Conan King, a biological sciences sophomore, also attended the informational meeting Tuesday, and he said he was initially impressed with the ambassadors during orientation.
“They get to be in contact with more people,” he said. “If you’re an ambassador, people will look up to you, so you have to know what you’re talking about.”
King said he wanted to be an ambassador because it looked like fun and he wanted to meet more people around campus.
“I haven’t heard anything about the process,” King said. “I would imagine it’s selective, though.”
Catherine Harper, a pre-med sophomore, said she also remembers the ambassadors from when she came to Spring Testing her senior year of high school.
“I thought it might be a fun job, they were so helpful and knowledgeable,” Harper said.
LSU Ambassadors advisor Kelli Webber said the ambassador program is something she is very proud of.
“We have a huge responsibility when we choose ambassadors,” Webber said. “Our office depends on these students to recruit for the future.”
Webber also said the process was selective because the orientation office can only train so many new ambassadors.
“I would expect the selection process to be very critical,” Harper said. “They’re trying to get people involved that know a lot about the University. It’s a group of 200 people representing 30,000; they have to be choosy.”