Fay Jones School Student Ambassador Program Gives Voice to Design Students

Tara Ferkel

Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design student ambassadors for the 2023-24 school year are, left to right, front row: Jillian Mills and Katie Stanek; middle row: Eugenio Mendoza Jr., Madison Miles, Angel Williams, Grace Shoemaker, Virginia Hammond, Ellie Corbitt and Lyric Cooksey; and back row: Jake Cocke, Tate Criner, Will Sutton and Kara Simmons.

The student ambassador program at the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design is built to connect top design students with their school, its alumni, its future students and other organizations inside and outside the school.

Rachel Fletcher, former first-year academic counselor, started the program at the school a few years ago.

"I found there was a need for student participation in some recruitment and school events. There had been a similar group of Fay Jones School students acting as ambassadors before the coronavirus pandemic, but it was much looser," Fletcher said. "I proposed a restructuring of the group, and it was formalized to be a student employee position, including requirements the ambassadors had to meet to continue in the program."

The first student ambassador group was hired in fall 2021, and the program has continued growing since then.

Jake Cocke, a fourth-year architecture student with a minor in urban planning from Braden, Tennessee, has been part of the student ambassador program for two and a half years.

"At the beginning, we were coming off a global pandemic as well as years of division among the disciplines at the school," Cocke said. "It was hard at first getting people involved and connecting with others outside of their department. However, I believe we have started to create a culture where people can be friends and interact with other students in different sectors of the school."

In addition to representing the school at various events and connecting with a network of people associated with the school, ambassadors build their skillsets in leadership, communication, planning and organization.

"The program gives the ambassadors a chance to act as representatives of the school, but also to act as their voice," Fletcher said. "The group is frequently able to weigh in on discussions about the future of the school and how students will be affected and is often the conduit for student concerns to be passed on to their respective departments, faculty and to the deans."

Cocke said the opportunity to expand across disciplines has been a key part of his experience as a student ambassador.

"It not only provides a voice and support systems for new students in the school but also facilitates cross-disciplinary relationships in our school, which I believe makes us all stronger," Cocke said. "This program has allowed me to build relationships all across the school with different students and faculty members I don't think I would have interacted with outside of this opportunity."

Student ambassadors also lead prospective student tours to individual families and larger visiting groups every week.

Madison Miles, a fourth-year interior architecture and design student from Bellville, Texas, has been part of the student ambassador program for one year. Miles said she felt the positive and encouraging effects of older classmates and students sharing their experiences, and she wanted to give back.

"After I was a Design Camp counselor my second year, I wanted to continue serving new and upcoming students," Miles said. "Since I am a senior now, I have been through every requirement to graduate, plus more, that people might have questions about. I knew I could be a great resource to nervous students."

The ambassadors also plan and host at least one event per semester, typically relating to interdisciplinary bonding and stress relief. This spring, they hosted an event where students could decorate a planter and take a plant with them, play games and enjoy time with their fellow design students.

The ambassador group is set to about 15 students each year. Applications open each spring to fill the number of spaces left after any ambassadors graduate or leave the program.

Madeline Bray, the school's coordinator for student recruitment, took over coordinating the student ambassador program after Fletcher left for another job opportunity this spring.