Activity Ambassador
Erin, a third-year student in the Department of English, is an Activity Ambassador. She handles different aspects of an event, such as setting up the venue, receiving guests, and sometimes arranging certificates to be presented at an event. Of all the events with which she has assisted, the most unforgettable is a graduation ceremony, which over 1,000 people attended. That experience taught her how to deal with unexpected situations and different people in the context of a large event. Erin says she used to be an introvert, but through the programme, she has become more confident and extraverted. ‘Also, it helps me gain work experience, and gives me the opportunity to see the outside world and learn more about it, that’s why I decided to join the programme in the first place,’ she says.
Master of Ceremony
Donna, a second-year student majoring in English education, is also a participant in the programme. She works as an emcee, a job that has always interested her. She says the programme has given her many opportunities to participate in or host different events, which has broadened her horizons. She has hosted carnival-style events and award presentation ceremonies, but the one that left a particularly deep impression on her was an academic forum. The event was conducted in Mandarin, so as the emcee, she also needed to speak Mandarin, at which she was not very proficient. But she decided to step out of her comfort zone and accepted the challenge. She wrote down the pinyin pronunciation for every word in the MC script and practiced over and over again. In the end, she hosted the ceremony successfully. That experience taught her the value of persistence. She says that the training provided by the university and the opportunities to host the events have boosted her self-confidence and taught her how to handle unexpected situations, which she believes are useful skills for would-be teachers like her who need to maintain order in class.
Organised by the SAO, the Campus Training Programme is divided into three categories, namely office administrative work, which has been running for many years, as well as the Activity Ambassador Team and the Master of Ceremony Team, which were launched last year. In addition, the UM Reporter Programme and the PR Student Ambassador Programme, organised by the Communications Office, also provide platforms in which students may put their knowledge into practice and develop new skills.
Source: My UM Issue 92
