Re-imagine your Ambassador Program: A three year transformation

Patrick Gabriel Lorenzo

Associate Director of Admissions

Monday, June 3, 2013

Saint Mary’s College

“Enter to learn, leave to serve”

Lasallian, Catholic, Liberal Arts

CTCL Member

Collegiate Seminar

Jan Term

By the Numbers

2,800 undergraduates, 1,400 graduates

13:1 student to faculty ratio

21 students: average class size

A little more on Saint Mary’s

Located in Moraga (East Bay), California

23 miles east of San Francisco

Between Berkeley & Walnut Creek (Top 10 Foodie Cities)

Located in the largest Regional Park district in the U.S.

- 100,000 acres of recreational area, 65+parks.

Student Ambassador Role

Front Desk

Oversee Scheduling and email account

Concierge

Hospitality and Visitor Center Upkeep

Tour Guide

Storyteller

First Two Years

Ambassador as machines

1)Robotic

2)Limited trust

3)Treated as kids

Culture Shift

Ambassadors as part of the system

1)Engaging Artists

2)Empowered contributors

3)Enlightened members

Learning Objectives

1) Harness the artist.

2) Empower as stakeholders.

3) Cultivate their talent.

Performance

Ambassadors as performing artists and hospitality gurus

1)Anticipate

2)Read and Improvise

3)Showtime

Anticipate

Manage expectations

Diligence matters

Always be shipping

Read the scene

Listen first

Clarify

Think/Act on your feet

Our pleasure

Standard bearer

Execute at a high level

Create a memorable experience

Accountability

Teach, trust and empower

1)Provide the tools

2)Let them fly

3)Responsibility, not authority

Provide the tools

Develop and nurture

1) Teach them how to think

2) Okay to make mistakes

3) Looking for the lessons

Let Them Fly

Like a peacock (The Other Guys)

1) Trust them to soar

2) Show off their colors

3) No nesting allowed

Responsibility

Let them own it

1) Encourage input

2) Support their ideas

3) Share the big picture

Be the coach

Teach, mentor and develop

1) Win and learn

2) Lessons beyond the workplace

3) Tend to players like a garden

Learning matters

Like a classroom experience

1) Leadership is learning

2) Midterm observations

3) Maximize teachable moments

Life Lessons

Mentoring at a whole different level

1) Role-modeling

2) Project management

3) Life after graduation

Nurture

Cultivate their talent

1) Part of a living system

2) Water and sunlight accordingly

3) Ongoing growth

Present day Nine seniors graduating from my first hire

1) Enhanced professional skill set

2) Lessons for the real world

3) Learning for a lifetime

4) Power of reflection

Thank you

What questions, comments or observations do you have?