UTSA Ambassadors celebrate 25th anniversary of service to university

Top photo: Ambassador Michelle Baca (left) and Pat Graham, executive director of the Special Events Center
Middle photo: Ambassadors and siblings Jason Palasota '06 (Student Government Association president, 2005-2006) and Dana Palasota '09
Bottom photo: Ambassadors and families at the 25th anniversary reunion

By Tim Brownlee
Associate Director of Internal Communications

(Nov. 6, 2014) -- The UTSA Ambassadors are now celebrating 25 years of service to the university community. You probably have seen them in their khaki slacks or skirts and navy blazers, guiding campus tours for prospective students and their families or ushering at Commencement ceremonies and other events.

With 70 students serving and 17 in training each year, the selected student leaders provide a variety of services for administration, faculty, staff and visitors. As a group, they volunteer more than 10,000 hours annually. Students selected for Ambassadors membership engage in a yearlong, comprehensive training program including workshops on leadership, communication skills, etiquette, committee work and philanthropy.

The group was established in 1988 by President James Wagener, beginning with 13 students based in the Office of the Registrar. Since no students lived on campus then, there were minimal activities and events, so the Ambassadors spent most of their time doing filing.

But in 1990, Bobbie Walker, the vice president for student affairs, had an idea to help the program mature. She asked President Samuel Kirkpatrick if the Ambassadors could be moved to Student Affairs, and he agreed. Walker then convinced Pat Graham, who at the time was director of testing services, to be the advisor for the sponsored student organization, assemble a staff and advisory board, and develop the Ambassadors into what they are today.

"We knew that Ambassadors programs existed around the country, so we talked to people at 20 universities," said Graham, now the executive director of the Special Events Center and Ambassadors leader. "Some of their programs had existed for 60 years, so we wanted to draw on their expertise and create something that was right for UTSA. It became an enduring program that gives our students skills that benefit them for life. Their work centers on three key words that we emphasize -- service, leadership and integrity -- and they never forget it."

Since Graham inherited the program, she has been seen as a revered mother figure with whom many Ambassadors alumni keep in touch. Of the 1,000 who have gone through the program, nearly 300 are in contact. She hears from recent graduates but also students from 20 and 25 years ago, who report how she and the program have influenced their lives.

Rohan Goswani '07, an Ambassadors alumnus and UTSA biology graduate, earned his M.D. degree and is now serving in a residency at the University of Tennessee at Memphis. "Being an Ambassador changed the way I think about life every day," he said. "I learned the importance of working well with others, and it has affected everything I do. I keep in contact with many of my fellow Ambassadors, and we are life friends."

Dana Palasota '09 says the training she received in etiquette and business decorum was instrumental in her career. "After graduating, I have worked for two financial organizations, and my employers have told me that my professionalism was what really made me stand out. I owe that to the UTSA Ambassadors and Dr. Graham."

Ambassadors also have opportunities to secure scholarships. Established in 2002 by Betty Murray Halff, the first director of the Development office, the Halff Scholarship is awarded to 13 Ambassadors each year. More than 80 students have received a scholarship since it was created.

Dakota del Bosque, second-year Ambassador and a Betty Murray Halff Scholarship recipient, said serving with the group has helped him develop his public speaking skills and learn how to manage everything in his life. "Dr. Graham says that we all begin as rocks that are buffed until they are diamonds," he said. "This scholarship and being an Ambassador has helped make my college career smoother."

The Samuel A. and Pamela R. Kirkpatrick Ambassadors Scholarship was created by UTSA's president (1990-1999) and his wife. The 2012 recipient, Rebecca Smith, says the scholarship and being an Ambassador helped heighten her opportunities at UTSA. "While serving as an Ambassador and as Ms. UTSA 2013, I developed leadership skills that helped in the work with my sorority," she noted. "This will carry on through my whole life."

Feyi Osifuwa, the 2014 Kirkpatrick awardee, said the Ambassadors gave her "a lot of self-confidence that I will take with me."

UTSA and Ambassadors alumna Judy Juarez '98, now an assistant vice president at Frost Bank, said there are a few moments in our lives that make us what we are.

"Learning about etiquette and how to mingle in a roomful of people gave me soft skills that you usually don't get in academia," she said. "I know how to properly eat a glazed pear."

"I get a lot of joy being president at UTSA and getting to know top students like the Ambassadors," said UTSA President Ricardo Romo. "It's the top students, faculty and staff like this who keep UTSA moving up toward Tier One status."

"We have such a wonderful group year after year after year," said Graham. "The Ambassadors really are the face of UTSA. It's a blessing to me. I have a wonderful job, and my reward is in their success and that I have made a difference."

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For more information about the UTSA Ambassadors, contact Pat Graham at 210-458-6111.

Visit the 25th reunion photo gallery on the UTSA Ambassadors page on Facebook.

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