By Hannah ’25
The Student Ambassador program is one of the largest student programs at Harvard-Westlake, with over five hundred participants across the middle and upper school. Student Ambassadors start the year off with the annual Student Ambassador Training dinner. Here, students gather to hear introductions from Admission Officers and the student leaders of the program. Afterward, everyone is separated into small groups to learn the dos and don’ts of being a student ambassador. The event ends with students socializing and enjoying food from various food trucks.
After the admission process opens for applicants, Student Ambassadors have opportunities to volunteer for touring prospective students and families, helping out with weekend events such as ISEE testing days and family visiting days, and serving on student panels during admission coffees.
When I first came to Harvard-Westlake in seventh grade, I knew that I wanted to be a Student Ambassador right away, so as soon as the opportunity arose, I applied right away. During the Training Dinner, I became more and more excited as I listened to all the different events that I could participate in. So when prospective students were starting to come in for interviews and tours, I signed up as soon as I could.
When the day came to give my first tour, I was absolutely thrilled. I came by the admission office and introduced myself to the family I was touring. After welcomes and introductions, I led the family around the school, telling them about all the amazing things that HW had to offer. Immediately, I loved touring prospective families because I got to share my love for Harvard-Westlake, and I got to make them feel welcome in the community.
Another part of the admission process that I love as a Student Ambassador is volunteering for shadow days. Shadow days are when prospective students get to see what classes are like at Harvard-Westlake. Prospective students will be assigned to a Student Ambassador, and follow them around to their first few classes of the day. When I was applying to HW, my shadow day allowed me to see what classes and the environment at HW were like, and when I was a Student Ambassador, it was a great way for me to connect with the applicant one on one and to teach them all about the school.
Other events that I volunteered for were ISEE testing days, student panels, and parent admission coffees. Before we transitioned to being online, Harvard-Westlake hosted ISEE testing days, where students could take the ISEE test at HW. When I volunteered for this event, I got to check-in students and families, and show students to the rooms that they would be testing in. Student panels happen during a lot of admission events, where a small group of students answer questions posed by parents during parent events. Which leads me to parent admission coffees, where Student Ambassadors tour a group of parents around the school and tell them about all that HW has to offer.
Transitioning to being online has limited the different admission events that HW can host on campus, but it has also made the admission process more accessible and changed the process in many positive ways. For example, we have a virtual tour that is available to watch on the Harvard-Westlake website that shows applicants all about the middle and upper school, we have online admission events called “Wolverine Chats” that allow parents and students to zoom in from wherever they are, and learn about Harvard-Westlake from our amazing Student Ambassadors. And one of my favorite new elements of the admission process is the Student Ambassador Blog, where you can read about so many different topics and programs at HW, all written by Student Ambassadors!
