School: Florida State University
Year: Fall 2011 – Spring 2013
SSF Team: SSF Foundation Liaison: Sept. 2013-April 2015, Director of Marketing & Communications April 2015-Present
I remember when my mother first told me about SSF and that I had no choice but to apply. I grew up as an only child and lived with my mom and two cats for the majority of my life. The idea of possibly living with 28 other girls (Polk was the biggest house at the time with 29) scared the crap out of me but I eventually submitted my application, stayed on the wait list for a bit and then finally got the magical e-mail from Barby (she was also the Director of Student Affairs while I lived in SSF).
My first year at SSF was a little rough because I was very apprehensive about living with so many other young women along with juggling the stress of college. There were many times that I would completely disregard the impact SSF was having on my college career or the amazing people who I was meeting along the way. It took some constructive criticism and conversations with my housemates to understand the treasured moments I was missing out on and the Education for Life I could be gaining from this experience.
As soon as the application for Ambassadors came out, I think I submitted it within 72 hours. I knew this was my chance to take advantage of what SSF had to offer and to take care of the organization that had taken such great care of me. I also asked the office to consider accepting Federal Work Study students so that I could not only donate my time outside of the office during presentations and events but commit myself to the work that the Foundation was doing.
All in all, SSF was my lifeline. I realized that I needed to take charge of my college career and be present in every moment. Now that I am on the SSF Team, it is so easy to wake up each morning ready to help a resident, ready to help my team, and ready to get another student started on their Education for Life journey.
2012 Ambassador Training
