William Cabaniss (12) cradled his head, acting sunburnt from rushing to play outside without putting on sunscreen. Rosemary Cabanban (12), donned in a shark onesie and safety vest as the summer safety shark in the skit, taught him to be responsible and wear his sunscreen. Then, with the help of the Adobe Bluffs students waving their arms, she rewound time to stop him from getting sunburnt, May 28.
The Westview Ambassadors closed out their senior year yesterday with their encore appearance at Adobe Bluffs. Between teaching the students responsibility in wearing sunscreen, caring in not splashing others, respect in not littering, and more, the ambassadors advised the students on six moral values rather than one as they usually do. At the event, they introduced the incoming ambassadors. The ambassadors are 20 seniors who represent Westview by performing skits and having playground playdates at elementary schools.
After a full year of serving as ambassadors, the outgoing seniors were able to look back on a fulfilling year.
Zoey Espiritu (12) said that being an ambassador encouraged her to apply the morals she taught to the elementary schoolers in her own life.
“We’re role models for the elementary schoolers,” Espiritu said. “Knowing that these kids are going to grow up and be part of society really inspires me to better myself because I want to set a good example for them. I want to live up to what I’m saying. I want to be a person that they can trust to actually do the right thing. Sometimes, I think of the skits that we do, and I imagine I’m asking the audience what the kind thing to do is in this scenario. They’ll be like, ‘Oh, you should say sorry!” I should probably communicate with other people and apologize then. That’s how I apply it to myself.”
Maanit Mehta (12) said that the encore was an opportunity for the current ambassadors to pass the torch to the new ambassadors.
“This is extra special because the current ambassadors want the new people to see them perform and see what the current ambassadors bring to the program,” he said. “The encore is mainly to show the new ambassadors what role they’re stepping into and give them an idea of what skits are like. Seeing a variety of people for the skit is one of the experiences that the new people really enjoy, and [for us], it’s fun to watch them watch us perform.”
According to William Cabaniss (12), the ambassadors provide the younger students with positive role models to look up to, and the experience gave him a chance to reconnect with childhood.
“[The skits] are really important because they give kids people to idolize who act very proper and nice,” he said. “You teach them good life lessons and be childish and silly around them, and they love it. My favorite part of being part of ambassadors is going to playdates with the kids. Being able to be a kid again with these elementary-schoolers is a unique experience.”
By working with kids and performing skits, Cabaniss said he was able to become more extroverted and authentic.
“I’ve really grown out of my comfort zone performing in front of an entire school,” Cabaniss said. “At the beginning, I was pretty quiet, but over time I [learned to] embody a character, and now I’m super outgoing. I think a lot of people view school as [a place where] they need to act as somebody who they aren’t to impress other people, but this has taught me to act how I want [without] caring about other people’s reactions.”
For Mehta, the program gave him the chance to connect with the other ambassadors and the elementary students.
“I think the ambassadors is one of the best programs on campus,” he said. “It does a great job [connecting us] with the community, with the elementary schools and the children there. I enjoy working with the kids and the seniors. The teamwork aspect of everyone working together collaboratively is one of the best things in the program.”
Espiritu echoed the sentiment and said that she will miss working with the other ambassadors and the kids once the year ends.
“I’m going to miss the collaborative environment that we have,” she said. “I’m going to miss brainstorming the skits together [and putting things in] the skit that [the kids] are going to really enjoy and are going to make them laugh. Having to say goodbye for the last time is sad, but it’s nice knowing that they’ll remember, ‘She’s the one that played four square with me,’ or ‘She’s the one who looked at my drawings.’ I’m really glad that I could have that impact on the kids.”
Now, as Espiritu retires from her position, she said that she has high hopes for the next generation of ambassadors.
“I have a lot of faith in them because we’ve seen their skits, and we know them as people,” Espiritu said. “I know that they’re going to do a great job, and I can’t wait to see what they do.”
