Presidential Ambassadors Still Making Connections

Thomas Nelson's Presidential Ambassadors and the College's special events manager Alicia Riley rely heavily on each other. Riley often needs their help to make events run smoothly, and the ambassadors use those volunteer hours to receive assistance with tuition. When many events were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, that relationship could have suffered.

"I didn't want them to lose their hours, so we created our own virtual events," Riley said.

Among the latest virtual events the College is offering is a live podcast called "Coffee Connections." The first one is set for Nov. 6 at 9:30 a.m. spanning one hour.

"A variety of things are going to be discussed," said Michelle Manfred, director of Information Services at the College who also is in charge of the Presidential Ambassadors program. "(Alicia) thought it would be a good time because it's getting close to midterms, and it's right after the election. Was anybody stressed? How was getting through this political season?"

Two Presidential Ambassadors will be in the College's Press Play podcast studio leading the discussion. A flier for the event reads: "You provide the conversation and we will supply the coffee!"

The coffee is compliments of Column 15 Coffee in Williamsburg, which is providing a 12-ounce bag of coffee to the first 25 students to register and attend. Manfred said the hope is for the podcast to be held monthly.

"We are going to see how this goes off first of all. Hopefully, it's attended well," she said.

The Presidential Ambassadors program at Thomas Nelson began in January 2019 with two goals. One was to provide students with a community service component to their education. The second was to provide the College with student support on campus. Among the roles the ambassadors fill are representing Thomas Nelson at area events and schools, conducting campus tours, and assisting with open house.

Despite fewer in-person events, Manfred is trying to keep the ambassadors busy. They assisted with the presidential candidate interviews, and two events related to voting: "Prom at the Polls" and "Voices that Vote."

The numbers, as expected, are down a little this year. Normally, Manfred said, she has between 15-20 ambassadors at each campus. Right now, she has 25 overall.

"I'm trying to find some things for them to do behind the scenes, whether it be writing transcripts, podcasts or doing research," Manfred said.

She's always recruiting for the program, so if you are interested, contact her at (757) 825-3524 or email her at manfredm@tncc.edu. For more information on special events, contact Riley at specialevents@tncc.edu.