STEM Career Expo: My Time as a Student Ambassador

Written by Matthew Granados, PfC Student Leader

On Thursday, February 19, 2015, I served as a student ambassador for the STEM Career Expo and it was a great opportunity. At the expo, the high school students had an opportunity to speak with STEM-focused employers and on-campus departments. As an ambassador, I had an experience that was both fun and rewarding. I had to guide the visiting students from table to table as they received information from STEM organizations and employers.

At the very beginning, I began to converse with my assigned group to ease their comfort level before entering the Expo. I started by introducing myself and they followed with questions about campus life at CSUEB. Being a resident of the Campus for 2 years I was able to answer their questions to satisfaction and they were ever more excited to enter the Expo. This was great test of my interpersonal skills, as I needed to make sure my group felt comfortable with me and their environment. During the event, I was glad to see my group engage the STEM organizations with a plethora of questions ranging from everyday job experience, personal opinions, and prospective analysis of professions in the future.

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There were times I had to facilitate the attention of my group and make sure they were paying attention to the STEM representatives. When my group’s attention seemed diverted, I simply told them to pay attention in a collective manner and ask any questions that may stir their interest. They cooperated easily and again became more interested and excited of STEM Careers. Overall, the event went smoothly and my group and I had an enjoyable time. The students within my group engaged themselves to network and were able to gain a different perspective on what they may want to do in the future. My group happily befriended me from start and by the end of the event gave me praise for being their leader.