Bridgewater Va. – With campus restrictions in place regarding large group meetings, the Admissions Office has had to adapt the training process for new student ambassadors by creating a Canvas page. 

In the past, student ambassadors met in Yount Hall for their training sessions but now they could sit anywhere on campus, or at home and participate in the training sessions by accessing the student ambassadors Canvas page. 

Junior James Mayo heard about the Student Ambassador position in the Spring of 2020 via an email sent out to students telling them about the opportunity. 

“I like that it’s easy to access since I’m already using Canvas,” said Mayo. “I can watch the videos anywhere and anytime I can.”

Senior Rachael King had always wanted to be a student ambassador since her freshman year, but she was not able to do so early on because of her swim practices. She said the pre-recorded videos “are very helpful” because she does tutoring and that gives her the flexibility of doing the training in her free time. 

According to junior Alicia McCarthy, a current student ambassador, having all the training on Canvas is also helpful to the current student ambassadors. She said her training three years ago was “a much longer process” than the training process now as she had seen seven or eight students already doing their shadow tours. 

Sophomore Dolan Nethercutt knew even before coming to Bridgewater College that he wanted to be a student ambassador. Like Mayo, Nethercutt jumped at the opportunity and applied for a position. 

After the training, which Nethercutt thinks will be completed by the end of Fall Break, new student ambassadors are required to shadow two tours and give a one-on-one tour with Jarret Smith, the director of admissions, before they can start giving tours on their own.   

“It’s definitely a little weird to be online but I’m glad that it’s flexible,” said Nethercutt. “I’m excited to learn how to show off my college and to see someone who I gave a tour to come to BC.”