The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (COANR) has numerous opportunities for their students to become involved, one of those being their ambassador program. The COANR Ambassadors are advised by Dr. Jolena Waddell and assist with many events Tarleton State University hosts.

 Responsibilities of becoming a COANR Ambassador include being available to give tours of the Tarleton Agricultural Center, write postcards to high school students, and serve at special events. 

Some special events the Ambassadors have helped with in the past are the Alumni Homecoming Breakfast, National Agriculture Day, and alumni award ceremonies. Ambassadors are also encouraged to participate in various outreach events such as the Moo-La Fest, 4-H roundup, and more. Students that are selected for this position are also encouraged to visit their home high schools in hopes of recruiting future College of Agriculture and Natural Resources students for Tarleton. This could potentially consist of a question and answer session with students who are about to apply for college or simply just speaking about everything Tarleton’s agriculture department has to offer. 

“The (ambassadors) are a great resource for our college and the university, as there are some of the best and brightest students and they love to tell their story to others,” Waddell says. 

In order to be selected to be a COANR Ambassador, students must be a full time COANR student (undergraduate or graduate) and remain in Stephenville for the fall and spring semesters. Summer events will be optional, but students are encouraged to sign up and represent Tarleton. Anyone who wants to be an ambassador will have to apply and be interviewed towards the end of the spring semester. Once a student is selected, they do not have to reapply as long as they still meet the requirements stated above. 

Applying to become a COANR Ambassador is an excellent opportunity to build connections with former and current students as well as Tarleton staff. 

“I would say my favorite event I’ve helped with while being an ambassador is the COANR Alumni Breakfast. I loved getting to connect with Tarleton Alumni,” current ambassador, Brinn Vinklarek, said. 

This year’s application can be found at https://forms.gle/aWQYrZX35XSUukFCA and questions can be directed to Dr. Waddell at [email protected] .