Personal Reflections of a Global Citizen Ambassador
During my Global Seminars class this fall semester, I heard about the opportunity to be a Progress Campus Global Citizen Ambassador for Centennial College's Centre for Global Citizenship, Education and Inclusion. Given the fact that I was searching for a way to be more involved and engaged in my community, I wholeheartedly jumped at the possibility and fortunately have been chosen to serve in this position. Today, I will briefly describe my experience in this leadership role to you.
First of all, I have learned a lot about the administrative or bureaucratic side of the College. Of course, a student usually focuses on their classes and assignments. However, as a Global Citizen Ambassador I have come into close contact with what goes on behind-the-scenes when organizing events at the College. For me, it is very fascinating and eye-opening because I can see how events are planned on campus; how every single thing has to be approved by a supervisor, how a supervisor has the last word on the budget, and so on. It is a completely different world from what I am used to as a student who just attends his classes.
Secondly, the Global Citizen Ambassador program allowed me to make new friends from different campuses and different programs. As a student of Progress Campus, it is difficult, if not impossible, to go visit and interact with students from other campuses. Hence, as a collateral effect, I happened to befriend my fellow Global Citizen Ambassador teammates from the Morningside, Ashtonbee and Story Arts Centre Campuses. Furthermore, I like to pick their brains because each of them brings a different perspective to the table.
Thirdly, my experience as a Global Citizen Ambassador has been very formative. Before organizing an event, I have to fully immerse myself in the topic it is about in order to know its complexities and subtleties. Only then I can be able to live up to one of the duties of a Global Citizen Ambassador, which is to raise awareness among students about the social injustices and inequities that are plaguing our society. At the end of the day, it is an experiential learning opportunity that can be easily compared to taking a class on global issues.
Last, but not least, being a Global Citizen Ambassador definitely helped me to hone my leadership skills. The very fact that we as Global Citizen Ambassadors are trying on a personal level—in other words, at the level that is viewed to be the least impactful when it comes to global and societal issues—to somehow impact national and transnational challenges makes me realize that each of us can be a catalyst for change. Therefore, my role to engage students about these issues is a powerful tool to make a change in our world. I am grateful to Centennial College for giving me an opportunity to make this world a better place
By Lionel Kponyo
Lionel Kponyo is a postgraduate student undergoing Global Business Management.