A Student Ambassador Story
Foundation for California Community Colleges
The Foundation’s mission is to benefit, support, and enhance the missions of the California Community College system.
One of the most critical resources for any California community college student is their fellow peer; someone on campus who shares and understands their needs and concerns. Trusted recommendations come from people we know. For that reason, the California Community College Student Ambassador Program trains students to serve as on-campus advocates, performing peer-to-peer outreach to build awareness, decrease stigma, and increase access to public benefit programs and basic needs resources such as CalFresh, monthly food benefits provided to individuals and families with low income.?
Kat Vaino , (them, they, theirs) is a student at Diablo Valley College (DVC) and a Program Assistant CalFresh Ambassador. They first heard of the ambassador program while working to help their peers as an English supplemental instructor leader, meeting one-on-one with students online and on campus. In one of those meetings, a student brought up the CalFresh ambassador program. Having heard of CalFresh before and seeing the advantage of their ability to engage with students regularly, Kat immediately applied to be an ambassador.?
Becoming a California Community College Student Ambassador
When they were accepted into the CalFresh ambassador program, Kat was greeted with a clear pathway outlined by their advisor from the Foundation for California Community Colleges . The Foundation has operated the student ambassador program since 2016. The program provides a paid opportunity for students to develop as campus and community leaders, addressing equity gaps within their community and using these skills to create further change.?Kat's advisor, Yuriko Curiel , became a source of guidance and support for Kat in their term as an ambassador.?
One of Kat’s most significant accomplishments in their term as an ambassador was co-creating the “Share the Love” Valentine’s Day event. At the event, Kat and their team supported DVC students by feeding them individual heart-shaped pizzas. That day, the event helped sign up over 70 students for CalFresh referral and fed 110 students on the DVC campus.?
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As a student ambassador, Kat worked with students who had to choose between getting to class or getting food, getting to class or going to work. Being able to receive the support to overcome these challenges from a peer made a significant impact on these students.?Kat also gained an understanding of how to approach students in different ways based on their needs and comfort. While some students responded to a group setting such as an event, others needed a more private approach.
Paying it Forward
When Kat’s term as an ambassador ended in June 2022, their demonstrated success in supporting students led them to be asked to pilot the CalFresh program on campus. Kat is now working with DVC to support more students struggling with food insecurity in increasingly difficult times.?
Resources such as CalFresh are crucial to students' well-being and success, and through the dedicated work of ambassadors such as Kat, campuses can bring these resources directly to students in a supportive and effective peer-to-peer approach. Through the expanding work and outreach of the California Community Colleges Student Ambassador Program, students are finding critical support when they needed it the most.?
Thank you Kat for your extraordinary work as a CalFresh Ambassador and your continued passion for supporting your peers and combating basic needs insecurity on your campus!?