Imagine walking into unfamiliar halls with new faces and feeling out of place. Now, reimagine yourself walking into these same unfamiliar halls but with an ambassador. Knowing that someone is there to guide you and make sure you aren’t navigating it all alone.

The ambassador program is something that ensures the first scenario doesn’t happen when you’re a new student. A program where students are selectively chosen to play the role of a student that represents the school whether it be giving tours, being a new student school ambassador, guiding people during reunions or events. 

Previously in the ambassador program there used to be a group of leaders that used to plan and organise the activities and series of events that would take place. However with the new counselors joining in this year the ambassador program has taken a twist with new leadership positions being introduced. Moving towards making the high school student ambassador program a student led program. For the students by the students

There are three SACS which are Student ambassador coordinators which are considered to be the highest form of leadership that can be obtained and these coordinates are the people that oversee the tasks done by the teams of the SALs. The SALs are the student ambassador leaders that are divided into certain groups to tackle certain tasks regarding the process and preparation of certain events, especially the new student orientation. Currently, there are about 16 SALs with 7 different groups created regarding the different tasks supposed to be done before the new student orientation. These SAL groups contain other members of the HSSA and together they work towards finishing the tasks and making sure the orientation day is the best possible.

For many students, this support isn’t just about the ambassador program, but also about the impressions of the school. Ambassadors don’t only provide support for new students they also act as guides during reunions and any events at graded, such as open houses. Student ambassadors are the face of graded. 

When I joined in Grade 10, Graded was the first school I joined that had an ambassador program. Knowing that there is someone that you can rely on before you even join a school, is such a relief. After joining the school, I was honored to become a student ambassador and a part of this amazing program where I get to ensure that another student that is joining in new also has someone to rely on.

With all this amazing organisation, it can definitely be seen that the program is evolving but the core purposes of HSSA stay the same. So, we make sure that no student walks into school feeling unsure or not having someone to rely on.