The Office of Student Diversity Programs began this exciting program in 2013 for students who aspire to assist with the Office’s student initiatives. A Diversity Ambassador is a student who is committed to learning about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is willing to participate in a two-semester program to work towards becoming more multicultural competent.
By participating in this program, students agree to attend meetings, attend trainings, workshops, and campus events to increase their knowledge, awareness, and skills regarding diversity on Georgia Tech’s campus and worldwide. After completing the Spring semester, Diversity Ambassadors will be recognized for their achievement and remain in this program as leaders, trainers, and champions for student diversity.
Why Participate?
Career Advancement
Become better positioned for the job market upon graduation. Corporations are interested in hiring people who work well with others, who understand how to be inclusive of all cultures, and who operate effectively and efficiently in a global environment. Participation in the program will enhance your relevant work experience. Most companies have diversity initiatives, policies, and strategies. By hiring a Diversity Ambassador, corporations know they have an employee that has been trained to live, learn, lead and work in a global world.
Leadership
Become better positioned to assume campus leadership roles. Program participants will have the opportunity to engage in personal development, intercultural competence, and critical thinking. Research conducted by Dr. Alexander Astin, the Founding Director of the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA, revealed that student involvement outside the classroom has been linked to students’ learning and development as well as persistence and retention.
Creating & Leading Successful Teams
Become better positioned to build cohesive teams. With the academic curriculum requiring more and more group projects, students should expect to be placed in diverse teams. The Diversity Ambassador program prepares students to work well in diverse groups. Tom Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, states, “I can say confidently that teamwork is almost always lacking within organizations that fail, and often present within those that succeed.”
It’s Fun
Become better positioned to have a balanced life. Life Coach Martha Beck reminds us that successful people have fun being successful.
Current Ambassadors
Aris Williams
"Strength lies in differences, not in similarities" ~Stephen Covey
Cedric Kamaleson
"Diversity is not a problem to be solved, but rather a reality to be understood and celebrated" ~Jared Diamond
Deri Barnes
"Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization" ~Mahatma Ghandi
Efiotu "Efi" Jagun
“Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within. I use the word "love" here not merely in the personal sense but as a state of being, or a state of grace - not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth.” ~James Balwin
Katherine Rosinski
"Walls turned sideways are bridges" ~Angela Davis
Mame Babou
"Without diversity, creativity becomes stagnant" ~Edward Enninful
Okeoghene "Ari" Emoghene
"Why be a star when you can be a constellation" ~Mariam Kaba
Samantha "Sam" Bolton
"We're all human, aren't we? Every human life is worth the same, and worth saving" ~J.K. Rowling
Taylor Campbell
"Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible" ~Maya Angelou