The Mission Ambassadors are a close-knit group on campus whose purpose is to spread the Mount's mission through our programs and individual members' words and actions.
Members of the program engage in service projects, events involving the Mount community, and program-specific community nights. Each of these opportunities foster aspects of servant leadership and faith growth in each member of the program. Mission Ambassadors also take one Mission Ambassador class a semester. These courses are taken as a class (all freshmen or sophomores) to provide curriculum geared toward furthering personal growth. The classes are purposefully given to students on a class-by-class basis in order to foster close relationships with the Mission Ambassadors they will spend the next four years with.
As a senior in high school, I came across the Mission Ambassador program completely by accident. At first glance, it was a scholarship like any other. However, once I met Michelle Arnold and Sister Karen Elliott and heard their vision for the program, I knew I had to be a member. They promised a program that would allow me to continue to grow in my faith alongside others who were just as dedicated.
And while I was skeptical of their belief that the program would include peers who would become my best friends, the program ended up becoming much more like family. Those in the Mission Ambassador program were some of the first true friends I had on campus, and I remain close to them to this day. As a part of the inaugural class of Mission Ambassadors I have been afforded the rare opportunity of having an active part of creating the program since its inception. I have been a mentor for every class and have been able to watch firsthand how the program has grown over the past three years with each new class.
Each Mission Ambassador carries out the mission of the Mount and is an ambassador in different ways.
Personally, I live out the integration of life and learning through my practicum experiences in different schools and through my co-op in the Office of Mission Integration. I show my respect and concern for all persons through the various service projects I take part in as part of the Mission Ambassadors and the Mount community. Diversity of cultures and beliefs is something that I am working on both in my practicums with my diverse students and in the events that I engage in on campus. Service to others is strongly reflected in the service projects that the Mission Ambassadors carry out during our Community Nights in which we have made re-usable shopping bags and written cards for the Sisters of Charity.
Being an ambassador is truly living out servant leadership and faith with your own personal flair!
A large aspect of the Mission Ambassador program is how we grow together in our faith. Last semester in November over half of the participants traveled about two hours north to visit the Maria Stein Shrine. The shrine is home to the largest on-display collection of 1,200 relics of the saints and the True Cross.
While at Maria Stein, the students were given a history of the shrine's structure, including the grounds, a description of a few very special relics, and the chance to walk the halls that the Sisters of the Precious Blood lived in not so long ago. The experience was one of faith, awe, and community building as we were present with so many relics of our faith.
While visiting Maria Stein was the first such pilgrimage the Mission Ambassadors program has taken, it will not be the last. In May of this year over half of the Mission Ambassadors will travel to Baltimore, Emmitsburg, and Gettysburg to see and experience our Sisters of Charity Heritage.
IN PHOTO:
FRONT: Cailee Chambers ’25, Audrey Johnston ’25, Marie Specker ’24, Emily Etris ’23, Sydney Etris ’25, Gabe Smorey ‘25
MIDDLE: Noah Schrock ’23, Taylor Whitehead ’25, Emma Godfrey ’25, Leah Jungkunz ‘23
BACK: Addison Bess ’25, Kaylee Ferguson ’23, Alyssa Ferguson ’25, Kamryn Magee ’22, Emily Fiora ’23, Ella Hartung ’24, Abby Simon ‘24