At Mercersburg Academy, Day Student Ambassadors play an important role in helping new and returning day students experience adjust and find opportunities for their interests on campus. “They really make an impact in our community in whatever way they can, whether it’s more inclusion, more spaces, or more opportunities and just to make sure that all the day students’ needs are met as well,” said Andy Brown, Assistant Dean of Students. “The Day Student Ambassadors are always present when I come in, even on weekends I see them, and they are always here for anyone who needs it,” Dormitory Dean of Tippetts Hall, Matt Jacobs said.
Unlike the former Day Student Prefects, Day Student Ambassadors work more with student events and daytime activities to ensure that day students connect with the boarding elements of the community. “Day Student Ambassadors have the opportunity to host day student events and partner with the SAC. We are more focused on a smooth transition from Mercersburg to home life every day instead of making sure our ‘children’ follow rules and keep their spaces clean,” said Eliana Sandy ‘24. “Day Student Prefect was an effort to give day students the same opportunities as boarding prefects, but it didn’t work super well because it often required them to stay on campus later than usual. Ambassadors do most of their work during the day and have little to no responsibility in the dorm,” Ava Guzic ‘25 said.
From now on, at the start of every school year Day Student Ambassadors will be on hand to help new students adjust to campus life: finding buildings, reading the schedule, learning Mercersburg terminology. “They were really helpful at the start of the year in getting everything ready, prepping the common areas and welcoming in the new day students,” said Sarah O’Leary, Dormitory Dean of Fowle Hall.
The Day Student Ambassadors work hard to let day students know that they are an integral part of campus life, not a side thought. “As Day Student Ambassadors, we help by representing day students better and giving them access to more resources. Day students are often overlooked in scheduling as well, so we work to fix that,” Sarah Ali ‘25 said. “The Day Student Ambassador program gives day students a voice and provides an equivalent role to any day students who want to be Prefects,” added Guzic. “They help us keep our common room clean and give us helpful advice,” Madeline Stonebraker ‘27 said.
So far, the Day Student Ambassador program has suggested numerous improvements to the day student experience. “We have been working on expanding virtual help sessions for day students who have to leave before help sessions start,” said Brown. “We often struggle with things like schedules and resources, so making necessary changes in those areas helped improve our time at Mercersburg,” Ali said.
In the future, Mercersburg Academy hopes to add to the Day Student Ambassador program. “I am excited about making a more comfortable environment for myself and other day students,” said Ali. “I hope they just keep building that foundation of leadership for the day students in our community,” added Brown.