OPAL Ambassadors

Mission

OPAL Ambassadors aim to increase awareness, knowledge, and skills necessary to create change and engage in productive conversations about diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect. OPAL Ambassadors are diverse student leaders who contribute to the goal of an inclusive campus community by educating on issues of diversity and inclusion among their peers and by helping to create a living, learning, and working environment that is welcoming for members of all identities.

OPAL Ambassadors commit to helping students gain insights, value diversity, and take actions by:

• Working with OPAL to plan and facilitate workshops and educational opportunities that address a wide range of social justice, diversity, and inclusion issues and topics.
• Providing opportunities to develop effective leadership and cross-cultural communication skills that can be applied to interpersonal, academic and professional settings.
• Seeking out opportunities for collaboration with student organizations and campus partners.

Become an OPAL Ambassador

OPAL Ambassadors are peer educators who facilitate workshops and spaces connected to social identity, power and oppression. Ambassadors primarily engage in the following:

• Developing agendas and designing curriculum for workshops and discussions.
• Facilitating request-based workshops, discussion series and events on topics such as identity, power/ oppression and community. Prior examples include: mental health, immigration, gender violence, body image, and social media.

Thinking of Becoming an Ambassador?

The Ambassador role focuses on facilitation for social justice. As an ambassador you will often be planning and leading important discussions. The first training term, you will be asked to make a stricter time commitment. In any terms following, you have more flexibility to determine your time commitment to this program.

If you are interested in joining the OPAL Education community but are less inclined towards facilitation or cannot make the time commitment for the Ambassador training term, we recommend you consider applying to become an Education Fellow. You may always re-apply to become an OPAL Ambassador.

Program Requirements and Expectations

Requirements for  new OPAL Ambassador applicants:

• You must be an undergraduate Dartmouth student
• You must be committed to creating a more inclusive, diverse and equitable campus at Dartmouth
• You must complete this form on OrgSync by Friday, January 4th at 11:59PM and attend an informal interview.
• You must be able to attend the OPAL Education training retreat on-campus, Sunday, January 6, 2019 from 10am-3pm.
• You must be able to make training sessions in the Winter 2019 term (TBD)

Expectations of Ambassadors:

• A commitment to serving as an OPAL Ambassador for at least two terms during their Dartmouth career. Generally Ambassadors spend their first term in facilitation training and their second term facilitating. Once you have completed training you may facilitate as many terms as you like.
• Ability to respond to Ambassador communications within 48 hours (understanding there are exceptional circumstances)
• Ideally an ability to commit an additional 2hrs a week on OPAL Ambassador projects, facilitation or training.

Contact us!

Questions about OPAL's Education Programs?  Let's connect: [email protected]u