Student Ambassadors welcome you to campus and the team

The MSU Student Ambassadors Team is a group of students that works to support and showcase the university to current students, prospective students and their families.

The President of the Student Ambassadors Team, Heather Mullenbach, said they support MSU through different activities and events.

“Student Ambassadors is comprised of enthusiastic MSU Mankato students dedicated to showcasing our university to prospective students,” said Mullenbach. “We achieve this through campus tours during the open houses and various activities such as bi-weekly meetings, social events, volunteer work and participation in events that enhance our campus and teamwork abilities.”

Campus tours are conducted for all new students to help them feel comfortable walking around campus and finding their classrooms. On open house days, tours are given for prospective students and their parents to see the resources available on campus and feel what a student’s life is like at MSU. Except for the tours, the team joins many campus events.

“We have the opportunity to join the kickball game,” said Mullenbach. “We’ve been in the parade for the past few years, which is super fun. My parents like to come out and take pictures of our cool float.”

There are about 30 student ambassadors in the organization, all trained to give tours and answer students’ and visitors’ questions.

“For the students in the organization, we usually give them training,” said Student Ambassadors Vice President Nomin Senadheera. “And we will explain what each of the buildings is, what those buildings do and what students study there.” 

“The whole goal is for us to prepare the people in our organization to give those tours on the weekends to the families and students that are maybe in high school traveling to see what the university is all about,” said Mullenbach.

Student Ambassadors are open to welcome new members. The executive team said participation helped them grow and improve their social skills.

“I joined because I had a friend who had already been there and she was a co-worker here at CSU and said that I should try this opportunity,” said Senadheera. “And I went there because I was really not that good at public speaking. So it helped me to come out of my shell.” 

Mullenbach said she was able to find best friends who helped her throughout with Student Ambassadors.

“There’s so much to gain from being a student ambassador,” said Mullenbach. “It’s definitely a great resume builder. I’ve actually had employers asking me about it. You also can get volunteer hours for work. And then you are with like-minded people with whom you do social events, have fun on tour day with them, and get to represent the university. It’s really fun.”

Students of all backgrounds can join the Student Ambassadors Team. Senadheera encourages international students to apply and participate in the events with the team.

“I mean, we are a diverse group. We do have a couple of international students, but normally we don’t get many of them,” said Senadheera. “I don’t know why. Maybe they are scared to talk in public. So, I’m trying to get more international students involved.”

Email heather.mullenbach@mnsu.edu to join the team and get more information.

Header photo: Heather Mullenbach (left) and Nomin Senadheera are a part of Student Ambassadors, an organization that introduces students to campus. (Lilly Anderson/The Reporter)

Write to Amalia Sharaf at amal.sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu