The Westview Ambassadors gathered backstage making last-minute preparations for the skit they were prepared to perform in front of the students, parents, and staff of Adobe Bluffs Elementary School for the school’s first monthly morning assembly, Thursday Sing, Sept. 28.
Once the assembly commenced, Principal Hee-Jin Peterson welcomed the Ambassadors to the stage. Cecilia Brown (12) greeted the audience in Chinese and then English to introduce the group, followed by Jaden Nisperos (12), Jaden Donica (12), Kyra Olsen (12), Meredith Dahl (12), Olivia Kooyman (12), Cora Reyes-Castelloe (12), Torrie Parker (12), and Zeina Nicolas (12). The students cheered for the Ambassadors with smiles on their faces as they took them on a trip to the Wild West to teach them about citizenship.
When many of the seniors joined the Ambassadors program, it felt like a full-circle moment. They remembered how exciting it was when Ambassadors visited their elementary schools and hoped to create those same memories for current elementary students.
“I thought [Ambassadors] would be a great opportunity to connect with the community,” Dahl said. “I remember when I was in elementary school, [the Ambassador] skits were always the best part of the week.”
The group goes to different elementary schools throughout the school year to teach students about character traits that are part of the “pillars of character.” The process starts a week and a half before their performance when the Ambassadors are told which trait they will have to highlight.
“We don’t physically write a script,” Dahl said. “It’s kind of like improv [in theatre]: there are loose outlines, but you don’t write every line down [and] you don’t memorize anything.”
The group spends Wolverine Time planning their skits with adviser Andrea Champoux, who has been a part of the program since 2018. Together, the group begins by brainstorming themes for their skit.
“You have to come up with a good balance of educational scenarios, [and] make it fun so that the kids are interested and aren’t bored,” Dahl said. “You also have to make it memorable because you want them to go home and [tell their parents how they] learned about citizenship today with the Citizenship Cowgirl.”
At each meeting, the group focuses on writing one-liners they want to use that encapsulate the idea they want to present. They typically work on tweaking words to get their point across in a way that elementary students can understand.
“From there on, it’s just rehearsing, understanding our lines, getting the ebb and flow of the scripts, and really just being comfortable [and enthusiastic] performing on stage,” Nisperos said.
Performing skits isn’t the only activity the Ambassadors do. They also go to elementary and middle schools for events like Start with Hello Week. They go on playground playdates, where they play with the kids during recess.
“I remember walking over to the gates where the playground was and all these kids were crowded there because they saw new people,” Brown said. “We walked over, and they screamed and ran toward us, asking if we had our [Ambassador] cards.”
Each student has a set of Ambassador cards, similar to baseball cards, that include a photo of themselves with their name on one side, and three activities they enjoy on the other. The kids they meet love to collect each of their cards, and sometimes are able to make a personal connection with them. Brown especially likes to make connections with kids through their shared love of music.
“Ambassadors is a really great opportunity to inspire young kids to build a good character,” Brown said. “It’s exciting to be representing my community.”
