Advance Leadership Program

This semester several of our fellow ambassadors have been accepted into the Advance Leadership Program here at UMSL. The advance leadership program is designed for Junior, Senior, and Graduate Students, and is designed to fine tune leadership skills through workshops, seminars, and site visits to businesses throughout St. Louis.

All participants are required to have a resume review, and meetings throughout the semester to touch base with their assigned leadership advisor. After each learning session the students are required to submit reflections on the topic discussed, and what improvements they could make on their own leadership. All the participants are required to attend at least 9 out of the 11 sessions which are usually held on Fridays throughout the semester.

At the end of the semester each participant is required to present in front of their fellow Advance Student leaders, Leadership, Advisors, and family a portfolio presentation on their personal leadership, and the ways the leadership program has assisted them in the improvement of their own leadership skills.

Four of the focuses in the program include... 

Modeling the Way:

• Inspiring a Shared Vision
• Challenging the Process
• Enabling Others to Act
• Encouraging the Heart

Some of the benefits from the program:

• Enhanced leadership skill development and training
• Opportunity to network with top level management in the St. Louis area
• Ability to articulate your extracurricular experiences to future employers
• Collaboration with other engaged student leaders
• Advanced Leaders graduates are honored at the Student Leadership Awards

This program is great opportunity for all students, but as a student ambassador it was wonderful to see several of my fellow ambassadors there also striving to be better leaders, and setting a great example.

Monthly Meetings: October Edition

At the UMSL Ambassador monthly meetings, Ambassadors discuss important topics that are relevant to our future professional careers. One of our favorite meetings we have held thus far was our October meeting focusing on interviewing. It was a very exciting and informative workshop. 

The three topics we worked on were: proper interview/work attire, interview questions, and writing thank you cards to interviewers. Each topic was attached to an activity station lead by the Lead or Lead in Training Ambassadors.

From the attire discussion, we learned that there is such diversity in the work force that sometimes you don’t realize how many options you have to choose from. We learned that bright colors are fun and acceptable in the office and jeans should never be worn unless given specific approval have been given. 

The session on interview questions was very helpful because the questions forced us to think of creative, but genuine answers that would engage future employers. We were also able to review one another’s answers and help guide their answer to something appropriate yet honest to their own experiences.

The most intriguing of sessions was the thank you card station. We learned, one: how to write strong letters, and two: the fact that they make interviewees stand out, since they are more uncommon nowadays.

Monthly Meetings are very exciting and beneficial, and we cannot wait to attend the next one!

Fellow Ambassador Becomes a Founding Father on campus

This semester The University of Missouri–St. Louis has welcomed the new fraternity Alpha Sigma Phi onto campus. This addition to Greek Life excited new Student Ambassador, Braxton Perry. Over the summer he received an invitation to join which stated that the fraternity was in search of the best men on campus. After research and deliberation with his family, he decided to join Alpha Sigma Phi and obtained the distinct title of Founding Father; an honor that only 0.003% of all fraternity men can obtain. Last week the Alpha Sigma Phi held executive board elections and found Braxton qualified to be the first president of this chapters fraternity. Braxton states "I am excited to have the opportunity to lead a great group of gentlemen and even more ecstatic to help with the development of bettering the world through better men.” Moving forward, Alpha Sigma Phi is on track to earn their charter by the beginning of Fall 2017 and is excited to soon be recognized as an official University of Missouri–St. Louis fraternity.

Founders Dinner

UMSL’s core values represent the deepest beliefs and highest aspirations of our school and our mission. Every day students strive to ensure that these values inspire our actions and influence all of our decisions. September 22nd was the annual Founders Dinner,  which is a night to celebrate and honor the members of the UMSL community: Faculty, Staff, Alumni, and Donors. This is a recognition of their hard work, dedication, and commitment to the values UMSL aims to uphold. This UMSL community serves as the guide, consistently empowering students to stay true to ourselves through changing times as they work on keeping students in school and on track towards graduation. This evening was a wonderful opportunity for us, the UMSL Ambassadors, to show our appreciation by assisting the UMSL community throughout the night of the Founders Dinner. The Ambassadors were able to uphold UMSL’s core values and keep a smile on the faces of all the guests by fulfilling our role with great spirit!

Alumni Ambassadors: Dan Tracy

This week’s blog post is a feature on an Alumni Ambassador, who went from his red vest to a suit jacket. Dan Tracey graduated from UMSL in December 2015 after successfully completing the MAcc Program. Dan went on to pass all 4 sections of the CPA exam and currently works for KPMG, one of the big four accounting firms. Dan holds his time at UMSL and as an Ambassador in high regard and took time to offer some advice and insight for current students/Ambassadors.

Q: What was the most important thing you learned as an Ambassador?

A: I think the most important thing I learned as an Ambassador was how to approach and talk with people I had no prior interaction with. At Ambassador events (as I'm sure it is now), you see public figures, head administrators, and special guests and might hold conversations with them. I remember one of the last events I worked was a graduation and ended up having a 20 minute conversation with the keynote speaker about microphones (he was a famous maker of them and did custom designs for famous musicians like Katy Perry and Beyonce). The training and experience I got working as an Ambassador helped me to be comfortable in any situation because you never know when that great opportunity may arise out of a simple conversation.

Q: What advice would you give to current Ambassadors/students?

A: My advice would be to work as many different types of events as you can. Work the Address to the Community, work at the big fundraisers. But find the smaller events that interest you too. Make sure you're getting the best and fun experiences you can while representing UMSL. 

Q: What do you miss most about UMSL?

A: I think what I miss most about UMSL is the people. I worked in the Cashiers Office while I was in school and the Ambassadors program and the thing I'm always curious about is how everyone is doing. I recently had the privilege to represent my employer at UMSL for a networking night and some of my favorite experiences were seeing friends and fellow students and how far they've come in the time I've been gone. 

Q: What is the best part of having earned your degree & starting your profession?

A: The best part of earning my degree and starting in the accounting profession is that I can say, no matter how rough and bumpy the road was, I set a goal, achieved it, and seeing the opportunities that come from it.

Q: What is your best memory of being an Ambassador?

A: My best memory from being an Ambassador was in my first semester as an Ambassador. I attended the Chancellor's Address to the Community and, unbeknownst to me, the Ambos had won a prestigious award as a student organization. We got up on the platform next to the Chancellor, U-System president, and got our picture taken as a group. 

UMSL Ambassador Fall Orientation

We’ve done it! We’ve got our new Ambassadors for the 2016 Fall semester. 

We had a great Fall orientation with our new team and are so excited to share some photos from our first orientation with you all.

One of the first things on the agenda for New Ambassadors was to meet their fellow Ambassadors. With the assistance of some sweets, we all got to know each other better by answering random questions about ourselves. We found that many of our fellow Ambassadors did some recent traveling! From visiting friends in Idaho, to visiting Germany for study abroad, our Ambassadors have been all over. Other common hobbies included trying delicious food at new locations and reading interesting books.

Although we did have a lot of fun at this year’s orientation, we also did a bit of training! To prepare ourselves for an intense game of UMSL Ambassador Jeopardy, we reviewed the membership packet in our new committees. Our membership packet reviews our many responsibilities as well as tips for being an Ambassador.

Overall, the orientation was a great success that was both fun as well as educational. We can’t wait for the year ahead as our team becomes the face of the university, providing assistance at major events on campus! The university has placed their trust in us to represent the school in a positive manner. And we plan to do just that!

Become an Ambassador and Work the State of the University Address

So you call yourself a Triton, but do you really know what’s going on at UMSL?

If you want to know more why not try out the UMSL Ambassadors??? We work on so many fun events and it’s a great way to learn more about the campus and community that create UMSL.

One of the super fun events we work on is the upcoming State of the University Address. Chancellor Thomas F. George hosts the campus faculty and staff to welcome them back to campus and talk about the previous year’s highlights and discuss what the year ahead has in store. Topics from finances to construction of new facilities are addressed.

After his report to the group, he and the interim provost present awards to the much deserving UMSL faculty and staff. The State of the University Address allows you to see the amazing leadership at UMSL and all the accomplishments this school has achieved. It makes you proud to see your own school’s staff and faculty working so hard to make your own college experience that much better. It makes you proud to be a Triton!

Even if you don’t join us, just know UMSL is getting its yearly physical and Chancellor George is sharing the results with all in attendance on September 14^th!

Become an Ambassadors today!!!