Become an ABPA Student Ambassador

A Student Ambassador promotes the values and mission of ABPA to university students within their specific university. An ambassador serves as an ABPA representative and acts as a reference point for students interested in learning, engaging, and joining ABPA.

APPLY HERE

About the Program

Program Overview 

A Student Ambassador for ABPA promotes ABPA’s mission and values on his or her college campus. The Ambassador serves as a representative for ABPA and acts as a reference point for fellow students and career service officials who are interested in learning about ABPA’s Internship Placement Program. ABPA has only one Student Ambassador on a college campus for each academic year, so this position is very important!

Description

In addition to representing ABPA at campus events and acting as a point of contact for interested students, Student Ambassadors also engage in classroom visits. At each visit and event, an ambassador should highlight:

  • ABPA’s mission
  • How the ABPA Internship Placement Program works
  • The application process and eligibility requirements for the program
  • Potential placement options & ABPA’s high-profile partners!

Following each classroom visit and event, a brief document should be submitted providing a summary and citing the date, time, and location. Any notable organizations or students who indicated interest must also be mentioned in the document.

Benefits 

As a Student Ambassador, you gain exclusive access to the following: 

  1. Internships & Networking: Automatically gain placement priority in the Internship Placement Program and invitations to exclusive events. 
  2. Resume Building & Service Hours: List ABPA as valuable experience on your resume and use the hours as service for school or other programs. 
  3. Letters of Recommendation: ABPA offers letters for scholarships, internships, jobs and more. 
  4. Free ABPA T-Shirt
  5. Student Ambassador of the Month: Be eligible to be nominated and honored with your picture and bio on our blog and social media. 
  6. Your Voices are Heard: Share your ideas with ABPA for potential implementation.

Eligbility

In order to be considered as a Student Ambassador, you must meet the following criteria.

 

  1. Be enrolled in a degree-seeking program at an accredited institution
  2. Possess a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
  3. Must be 18 years of age or older
  4. Have authorization or eligibility to work in the United States
  5. Have experience with social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, & LinkedIn)
  6. Have effective communication skills

 

How Can I Support ABPA on My Campus?

  1. Organize an introductory session about ABPA
    • Spread the word about ABPA by targeting Arab-American students, Muslim students, students who speak or are learning Arabic, and students who are studying political science/international affairs
  2. Distribute Brochures to Student Organizations
    • Get to know the Arab-American student clubs on your campus and spread the word!
    • Ask Arab-American and Muslim student clubs to advertise ABPA
    • Hand out ABPA brochures and flyers in community halls, dorms, or spirituality centers
  1. Develop relationships with Career Services Officials
    • Request that University Career services distribute announcements to college list-serves about ABPA’s internship placement program
    • Ask them about college venues and resources that could be mobilized to support ABPA’s recruitment efforts
  1. Organize ABPA webinar/seminar professional development lectures on your campus
  • Thanks to ABPA’s Advisory Board members and the wide range of professionals in ABPA’s network, Student Ambassadors can and should ask ABPA’s central office to find an expert to deliver a lecture at your campus. For colleges/universities in DC region, ABPA is happy to organize seminars and workshops! For other universities, the lectures may be seminars or webinars, depending on the location of the campus and the availability of the speaker.
  1. Start a Social Media campaign to promote ABPA
    • Make posts on all of ABPA’s social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Instagram. We will give you the log-in
    • Ask Arab-American Student organizations at your school to post on their platforms about ABPA’s opportunities
    • Consider sharing information about ABPA on your personal account!
    • Instagram is the most effective tool for reaching out to students. Encourage your friends to post about ABPA on their personal Instagram accounts!
    • Organize innovative social media campaigns that attract attention
    • If possible, take over ABPA’s Instagram for a period of time (a day, a week, etc.) to post about your campus, your classes, and ABPA!
  1. Create WhatsApp groups and share ABPA’s opportunities
    • Sending private and targeted messages is a very effective strategy. Use Broadcast in WhatsApp and form a group that includes your student network! Share ABPA infographics that will be provided to you and do not forget to finish your messages with a note encouraging people to share the news.
  1. Organize recruitment events at Career Fairs
    • Request a table for ABPA and recruit students 
  1. Meet with Arab-American professors/faculty who teach subjects related to the Arab world
    • Provide faculty with ABPA’s booklet and send an introductory email to any applicable professors
    • Coordinate with professors to have them visit classes and talk about ABPA
  1. Attend events planned by Arab clubs and promote ABPA’s Internship Placement Program (IPP)
    • Explain the IPP requirements, distribute brochures, distribute and collect Q&A cards
  1. Meet with the Diplomat in Residence (DIR) in your locality to discuss ABPA!
    • Diplomats in Residence (DIRs) are career Foreign Service Officers and Specialists located throughout the U.S. who provide guidance and advice on careers, internships, and fellowships to students and professionals in the communities they serve. DIRs are available to answer questions for those interested in Foreign and Civil Service careers, internships, and fellowships.
    • Find your own DIR contact info here: https://careers.state.gov/connect/dir/
  1. Student Ambassadors in University of California system campuses (UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz) and University of Michigan should work in tandem with UCDC local campus representatives.
    • ABPA has a partnership with UCDC, which also hosts University of Michigan students in their Washington program. More details about the partnership will be provided to student ambassadors on these campuses.

Hear from our Student Ambassadors!

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Kenza Sandi

University of Maryland, College Park

"Being part of the ABPA family as their ambassador to the University of Maryland has been such an enriching and challenging experience. It provides me with the unique opportunity to empower students in my community by sharing the wide array of professional opportunities and internships that ABPA has to offer as well as being a voice on campus to young Arab professionals and to the great organization that ABPA is. It surely involves a lot of communication and commitment but also a lot of fun."

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Sabrina Afana

University of California, Santa Cruz

“I love the Student Ambassador Program because I have the opportunity to help other Arab-American students get involved in internships with the government. I hope this will lead to Arab-Americans becoming increasingly involved in the government, so that the voices and concerns of our community can be met."

Fajr

Fajr Delane

Howard University

“What I love about our Student Ambassador Program is that it allows us to connect with so many different networks and create a sense of family.”