Last month, 10 students from Welches Middle School ventured up to Sandy
High to hear a speaker discuss technology and how it interacts with their
brains – both the benefits and the detriments.

But their mission was more than just an educational one; the students are the
school’s new student ambassadors, who were tasked to report back to
administration to see if the speaker would be worthwhile to bring to Welches
and speak to the entire student body.

Their answer: a resounding “yes.”

The student ambassador program started this year as a revamped leadership
program. In past years, the school offered a leadership class as an elective
and, more recently, as a club.

Principal Kendra Payne noted the leadership group, consisting of
approximately 30 students, played a large role in planning activities, including
the harvest festival, dances and more.

Student ambassadors, however, will serve as more of a conduit between
students and staff, facilitating information and giving the student body a
greater voice.

“We were just finding it too hard to run it as a class,” Payne said, adding that
she sees the ambassadors potentially attending staff meetings and serving as
mentors and mediators for their peers. “I think this model will be a better
match for us in the next couple years.”

Ambassadors were selected at the beginning of the school year, with
interested students filling out applications and then a vote by the student
body. After teacher input, the ambassadors were selected (three for each
grade with one alternative), led by the school’s new science teacher, Alison
Conner.

Conner noted the new program is more student centered, rather than project
centered, and that is part due to the support the school receives from the
Mountain community.

“Because the PTC (parent teacher club) is so involved up here, these kids
actually have an opportunity to talk about kids and what they think and what
they feel ... and what they would like to see happen as far as improving
student success,” she said.

The students have found the new program a different experience so far,
including fewer meetings, but are eager to do their part.

“It’s really cool being able to help the school,” said eighth grade ambassador
Aubrianna Covington, who participated in the leadership program before.
“There’s so many things you need to help make better. I like helping out; it’s
good to put yourself to use.”

Sixth grade ambassador Riley Andersen, as others did, noted that she hasn’t
changed how she goes about the school day, but she does have a plan when it
comes to her classmates.

“We can start asking the kids in our class, ‘What do you think we should do in
the school?’” she said.

And despite a shift away from the projects the leadership class has helped out
with in the past, the ambassadors are eager to continue helping out with
them.

“I really like being part of the school, to decorate for dances and help be a
part of things,” said eighth grade ambassador Savannah DiMicoli, who was
also in the leadership program.