When the idea of launching Well-Being Ambassadors on the Stanislaus State Turlock Campus was introduced to the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) counselors, Andrea Perkins didn’t hesitate to volunteer.
“I want to help develop the program here and help the students,” said Perkins, who joined CAPS in 2020.
Well-Being Ambassadors welcome students to campus and help them navigate challenges they may face.
Perkins, a former lecturer in the child welfare training program and a child welfare social worker with Merced County Child Protective Services, had served as advisor of the student social work organization when she taught. She was anxious to jump back into a student program, especially for Well-Being Ambassadors.
“We want to create a program that’s going to engage students, build a sense of community and help them with leadership skills,” Perkins said.
She has a blueprint for such a program.
Well-Being Ambassadors has succeeded at the Stockton Campus, where Jaclyn Garcia started the program in spring 2023, a semester after being hired as the campus’s first full-time CAPS counselor.
“I noticed students were really craving connection and community,” Garcia said, noting they were still adjusting to being back together on campus after COVID. “They wanted to be a part of something greater than themselves and give back, be a part of making an impact and having purpose. I received a lot more interest than I thought I would.”
Five students were trained as ambassadors to serve in peer-to-peer roles of engagement and welcoming.
A few more students became ambassadors in fall 2023, including psychology major Jessica Marquand, who graduated in spring 2024. She’d worked as a behavior technician with children on the autism spectrum for a private agency and returned to school in fall 2022.
“I loved being a mental health worker,” Marquand said. “I heard ‘well-being’ and wanted to be a part of it.”
In her year as an ambassador at the Stockton Campus, Marquand conducted tabling and outreach for the Well-Being Ambassador program. She advocated for partnering with the Stockton Pride Center and held a student clothing event called “Drop, Swap and Shop,” which led to supporting the Career and Professional Development Center in establishing a Stockton Campus Warrior Career Wardrobe Closet, a free clothing store for students.
“I’m really proud of the Drop, Swap and Shop clothing student event,” Marquand said. “We collected so many donations and gave back to students. I thought it would be a one-day event, but we received so many donations we were able to support the Stockton Campus Warrior Closet.”
Marquand also helped enliven a courtyard on the campus with plants and art, creating a pleasant space for students to meet.
Because of the ambassadors, “the campus was a lot more alive, and there was more community involvement,” Marquand said.
Hosting events continues to be a key role for ambassadors.
Sammy Dajani, a psychology major who hopes to graduate in May and eventually become a marriage and family therapist, held a pre-Thanksgiving event on dealing with difficult relatives and planned another on handling the stress of finals.
A second-generation Stan State student, Dajani heard about Well-Being Ambassadors in a psychology class and joined last spring.
In his time, he’s helped with a food drive for Prevail, an organization that provides free and confidential services to youth and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.
The ambassadors meet to brainstorm ideas for events and ways to strengthen the campus community. One student led a journaling workshop, and another taught students how to create bracelets.
The student program hosts an information table near the Warrior Hub at the entryway of the Stockton Campus when each semester begins.
“I have guided many students to classrooms,” Dajani said. “The Stockton Campus — I love it, but it’s a maze.”
Most ambassadors are psychology majors, and Dajani said he often helps steer students to needed classes.
Professor of Psychology Kelly Cotter, who teaches at the Stockton Campus, worked closely with Garcia and helped establish fieldwork credit for Well-Being Ambassadors.
Similarly, Perkins is working with Assistant Professor of Psychology Yamini Bellare and Professor Kurt Baker on the Turlock Campus to recruit students and help them earn class credit for their work.
Perkins has big ideas for the Turlock program.
“My vision is to have our ambassadors join with other departments, maybe the Warrior Cross Cultural Center,” Perkins said. “I’m not sure what that looks like at this moment.”
Perkins is building her version of Well-Being Ambassadors for now and is finding interested students in Turlock.
“We have our training wheels on,” Perkins said. “We’re learning and growing every day. It has been a journey, and I’m also managing my obligations as a therapist.
“I want students to get a sense they are welcome, that they are important, that there is a group here willing to provide them with a sense of belonging and to meet them with kindness. I also want them to sense that ambassadors are doing positive things and are doing well academically. They treat others with respect and model that.”
If asked, Garcia is happy to share her program insights, knowing its impact at the Stockton Campus.
“It gives our students purpose and a greater sense of belonging,” Garcia said. “That’s my main goal.”
