Starting next school year, Student Council sponsors Luke Lundmark and John Neal will oversee a new program called the Hays High School Ambassadors, which will replace the current student Leadership Team.
This program will be used to welcome new students, give tours of and guide people around the new school, volunteer to help teachers and assist with other events.
“The primary goal is to make everyone feel welcome and to spread kindness throughout the school,” Lundmark said.
To be ambassadors, students are nominated by their teachers, club sponsors and athletic coaches. They must demonstrate leadership, kindness and compassion to be nominated to the program.
“We wanted the Ambassador Program to be more leadership driven, and we liked the name ‘ambassador’ because they would be welcoming all students into the HHS community,” Lundmark said.
This summer, the ambassadors will meet to tour the new high school and learn where all the different departments are located. Also, the ambassadors will go over their lunch buddy schedules and know when their shifts are throughout the upcoming school year.
Junior Olivia Goetz said she was excited about being an ambassador, emphasizing leadership and collaborating with people as key motivators.
“I’m interested in whatever we can do to make students feel comfortable,” Goetz said.
Being an ambassador could help not only new students but also those nominated as ambassadors to step outside their comfort zones and make new connections with Hays High students.
Although the ambassadors are excited about this new opportunity, a few details of the organization are still unclear. Considering this program will be started in a new school, the ambassadors themselves may get confused due to the new building’s layout and be unsure of the new routines for next school year.
The steps of action that members will have to take to prepare for the next school year are lengthy. They need to continue having meetings over the summer, finalize ambassador schedules and positions and ensure that ambassadors are comfortable with the new school by the start of the year.
“Since we will be in a new school next year, it is hard to have things planned,” Goetz said. “So, we are going to have to do a lot of communication this summer. But, once the school opens, we are going to start getting students there. Our first step is to get familiar with the school.”
27obrening@usd489.com & 26swerth@usd489.com
