Peer ambassador program helps connect high school seniors with UC

Spectrum News features the relaunched Cincinnati Ambassadors program

What better way to connect with high school students than to reach them through their peers?  That’s the premise of the Cincinnati Ambassadors program recently relaunched at the University of Cincinnati.

The Cincinnati Ambassadors program offers peer leadership opportunities for rising high school seniors from schools across Greater Cincinnati. The ambassadors will serve as a bridge between their local high schools and the university.  About two dozen students are currently in the program.

Ambassadors receive leadership training, networking opportunities and are hired as student employees and receive compensation. High school students will share their college knowledge through peer mentorship, and represent the university at their local high schools, and the greater Cincinnati community. They will encourage their peers to apply to UC and offer mentorship through the process.

UC’s efforts garnered attention from Spectrum News which featured the Cincinnati Ambassador program on its website.

Several Cincinnati Ambassador students shown sitting near a Cincy Sing sign in downtown Cincinnati

Cincinnati Ambassadors shown during a day trip to the Banks in downtown Cincinnati. Photo provided.

“UC has a strong tradition of collaborating with our area high schools, but with the Cincinnati Ambassadors program, the students get to be the driving force in the partnership,” explains Cortney A. Matthews, associate director for regional campus recruitment.

The Cincinnati Ambassadors program ran from 2017 until 2021 and connected UC students on the Uptown campus with high school students from Cincinnati Public Schools. With the relaunch, the program incorporates all three UC campuses - Uptown, Blue Ash and Clermont - and invites students from across the region.

Applying to UC is not a requirement to join the program, but student ambassadors will receive additional mentorship from full-time admissions counselors on how to create a strong college application.

Matthews says if the ambassadors decide to come to UC, they receive a $2,000 scholarship and the opportunity to earn a badge through UC’s Registrar’s Office and access to early registration

Review the Spectrum News story on the Cincinnati Ambassador program online.

Learn more about the relaunch of the program online.

Featured top image of high school students in the Cincinnati Ambassadors program. Photo provided.

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