Students currently enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan who are looking for a new and unique opportunity can now join a group that offers a combination of professional skill development, giving back to the community and an impressive sounding title.

The Advancement and Community Engagement Student Ambassadors is a group that works to connect students, alumni and staff through the principles of philanthropy and leadership.

The group is a pilot project from the U of S Advancement and Community Engagement Portfolio. Michelle Manabat, a second-year English student and an ACE student ambassador, describes how the program came into existence.

“This initiative was started by Rishi Behari, who is kind of like our mentor and advisor,” Manabat said. “He works with ACE. I think he was the one who was in charge of the community engagement part of it, and he said, ‘We are always talking about students, but we don’t have students working with us,’ so he started it.”

The first step was to actually recruit the students that would be involved. A bulletin was posted in the spring of 2015 and called for students with an interest in leadership and community service to apply to become student ambassadors.

Of those that applied, approximately 30 students were selected to become the first group of ACE student ambassadors. The group members gather regularly for weekly meetings, where they work to maintain their active presence on campus.

One of the main goals of ACE is to connect with U of S alumni that may not have much contact with current students. Xuan Zhao, an ACE ambassador and a second-year physiology and pharmacology student, discusses this involvement.

“We also do a lot of representation for the students at different alumni events, just because there tends to be under-representation at those sorts of gatherings,” Zhao said.

More than just alumni relations, ACE ambassadors also work directly with U of S students to develop leadership skills.

“This year we also hosted a workshop at the [U of S] Student Leadership Conference, and I think that’s going to be something we’ll probably be doing every single year now. Our workshop was titled ‘What Do Leaders Give?’ So one of our primary aims that we’ve discovered is not only to promote student leadership, but also promoting giving back once you’ve become an alumni, or once you’ve become a leader in the community,” Zhao said.

Other volunteer initiatives include random acts of kindness as well as involvement with National Philanthropy Day, put on by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in celebration of giving, volunteering and positive change across the globe.

The AFP is an American organization that recognizes the positive or philanthropic efforts of the everyday citizen in the United States and Canada.

The next highlight for the group is the upcoming One Day For Students on Mar. 10. This event aims to raise money for different areas of the U of S. The day will feature a variety of activities and speakers, including Kay Nasser, a U of S alumnus and former engineering professor at the university.

According to the student ambassadors, Nasser has offered to match up to $40,000 worth of donations raised during One Day For Students.

A wide range of opportunities are available to those students that do become ACE ambassadors, including professional skills like networking to creative skills and event planning.

For Zhao however, the most important and rewarding part of being a student ambassador is the opportunity to connect with many different people, even those who may seem intimidating.

“I think this experience has really helped me realize that the people at the top — managing administration, giving donations — pretty much the people that determine what happens at the university, you realize that they’re just people like you and I. You can go up to them and start a conversation with them. You can celebrate the birthday of a multimillionaire and he’ll be just like anybody else.”

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Photo: Kyra Mazer