By Amany Mansor, Global Ambassador from Malaysia
On Thursday, April 26, 2018, the Global Ambassador Programs recognized the contributions of Global Ambassadors (GA) of Penn State Harrisburg at Student Center (CUB) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:25 p.m. Every school year, six Global Ambassadors will be nominated with the following award:
- Outstanding Leader
- Diversity Award
- Outstanding Community Service
Penn State Harrisburg faculty and staff submitted their nominations online. Meanwhile, the Global Ambassadors nominated their fellow members during the general meeting Global Ambassadors on Tuesday April 24, 2018. Usually, only two GA will be selected as the recipient for each category. But, in this school year, 2017-2018, four GA were selected as the recipient for Outstanding Community Service.
The event was hosted by Vanshika Agarwal and Gexi Guo, Global Ambassadors from USA and China. Dr. Kulkarni, the Chancellor of Penn State Harrisburg, officiated the event with the greeting speech. After his speech, we presented a surprise video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEKqT3wyTik&feature=youtu.be to express our gratitude to our beloved chancellor.
Then Ms. Anna Marshall, the Global Education Coordinator, provided the program overview to appreciate how Global Ambassadors have contributed in hosting and organizing over 40 co-curriculum cultural enrichment programs and community connection events of the school year. Then Aiman Ahmad, Pravi Sanke and Temi Famadewa presented global cultural enrichment programs of 2017-2018. Manasi Sathe, also presented Languages and Cultural Training Workshops to faculty and staff. Yimu Pan, Calvin Lien, and Zamihah Jaafar shared social media of GA program, and Saufi Othman, Beisi Bai, and Ruhi Ranerjee presented community connection activities.
We also acknowledged community volunteers for their efforts and services. Three volunteers were Asian Indian Americans of Central Pennsylvania (AIACPA), International Cultural Exchange (ICE), and Harrisburg Chinese Community. The highlights of this event were the tongue twisters from ten different countries and the special dances – Persian dance by Elham Gholamiazizi, Chinese classical dance by Siyu Li and Indian classical dance by Manasi Sathe and Pravallika Sanke.
In recognition of contributions and supports from 58 Global Ambassadors, Donna Howard, Senior International Student Adviser along with Dr. Kulkarni and Anna Marshall, presented them with the Certificates of Appreciation. Before the event ended, Dr. Felicia, Director of Student Affairs and Engagement, gave her closing remarks to encourage Global Ambassadors to continue showcasing the world to our campus community. Lastly eight Global Ambassadors were awarded with the following awards:
- Outstanding Leader: Ruhi Banerjee and Amany Mansor
- Diversity Award: Mizuki Yamane and Sherina Mutesi
- Outstanding Community Service: Manasi Sathe, Verley Valerius, Beisi Bai and Ellie Gholamiazizi.
“Learn More, Think Globally, and Expand Horizons” – Global Ambassadors motto