Liora Chaya Levich

Collaborative Leadership - Global Ambassador 

 

Augustana College offers countless opportunities for students to engage in leadership positions of their choice, whether it's with their favorite club, a sports team, in their Greek life groups, or any other extracurricular activity that strikes their passions and interests. That’s why I was extremely excited when I had the opportunity to apply for a Global Ambassador position through the International program Augie has, and put my personal leadership skills to the test. I have a passion for traveling and anything that has to do with international relations and the like, so having the chance to be a Global Ambassador was the perfect way for me to engage in my passions while still taking on a challenging yet meaningful role.

In a nutshell, the Augustana Global Ambassador position is similar to that of a Peer Mentor, but for international students. Augustana’s international studies program is growing more each year, and the year I held the GA position there were 40 new, incoming, international students. For some students, it was even their first time in the U.S., let alone at an American college. These international students arrived two weeks prior to when the rest of the incoming freshmen’s arrived, so we had a two week orientation about college life in the U.S. and what they could expect. My duties as a GA were to not only guide these international students in logistical situations, like assisting them in registering for classes, but also to provide any sort of assistance with cultural differences, transitioning into an American lifestyle, and any kind of personal advice. Throughout the year, each term, I had a specific group of students I was assigned to check up on from time to time and see how they were transitioning into the college lifestyle, and how their term was going overall.  It was a very rewarding position that really helped me polish my leadership skills and raise my confidence in being a leader overall.