Student Ambassador Council
Dear Students,
Perhaps after MLK Day, it is most appropriate to begin my proposal with “I have a dream.” However, I’m going to go above and beyond. I want to begin with “I have a vision,” “for us.”
Whether you’re an American or international, regardless of your country of citizenship, gender, religion or sexual orientation, I have some really good news for you. I invite you to carefully read on to see the amazing achievements of just some of our diverse UMass Boston graduates:
- Tom Menino was an American politician who served as the 53rd Mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1993 to 2014. He was the city’s longest-serving mayor.
- Joseph Patrick Kennedy II is an American businessman, Democratic politician, and a member of the Kennedy family. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999
- Denise Simmons is the mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, having served her first mayoral term during the 2008-2009 term, and she was the first openly lesbian African-American mayor in the United States.
- Roderick MacKinnon is a professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003.
- Amsale Aberra is an Ethiopian-born American fashion designer and entrepreneur. Her main field of design is in couture wedding gowns, and her flagship store is located on Madison Avenue in New York City.
- Joseph Abboud is an American-Lebanese menswear fashion designer and author.
- Paul M. English is the CEO and co-founder of Blade, LLC, a Boston-based consumer technology foundry. English was previously the CTO and cofounder of Kayak.com in Concord, Massachusetts.
- Dana White is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the President of the Mixed Martial Arts organization Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
- Zhu Xiao Di is a very successful Chinese-American writer. He authored the novel, Tales of Judge Dee.
- Joe Rogan is an American commentator, television host, former actor, and stand up comedian.
- Jovita Fontanez was the first Hispanic woman to serve as head of the Boston Election Commission and the first Hispanic woman to be a member of the Electoral College of Massachusetts.
- Bill Bratton is an American law enforcement officer and businessman, and the current New York City Police Commissioner, the second time he has held that position.
Are you smiling? Are you feeling that rush, that warmth in your heart? Maybe that feeling of pride? You now know that you’re sitting in the very same classrooms that these people once have attended: In the very same rooms, maybe on the very same chairs.
Now I invite you to think about this question.
How many people out there know about all of these great connections to UMass-Boston? How many people in Boston truly know about UMass Boston’s great merits and its members’ success stories?
Unfortunately, the answer is not too many.
Is it fixable? Could we be in people’s daily conversations, in newspaper headlines and academia associations as much as Harvard, MIT, NEU and BC are? Could we pull ourselves up the ladder to achieve similar reputation and recognition as these neighbor universities?
Absolutely!
Who can fix it? Us and only us.
Together with you, I envision a far brighter future for our beloved school. You and I are the only people who truly care and are willing to put our resources together. It is on us to show UMass-Boston to the world out there. It is on us to go out in the community and proudly shout the name “UMass Boston.” It is on us to be involved and get others involved.
Student Ambassador Council (SAC) will be launched this semester. Its mission is to get involved in the community by launching community service days and organizing fundraising events for charity organizations. Meanwhile, SAC would like to reconnect with our alumni to create new touch points between us and the world out there. We will go beyond existing relationships and reach out to other organizations (such as Harvard, MIT, the Big Four companies, etc.).
In order to accomplish our mission, we seek three key characteristics in our members:
Enthusiasm: Members should truly believe in our mission and be optimistic about us. They should realize the importance of SAC in our college, and they should be willing to help it grow.
Relentlessness: Members should be persistent in what they’re doing. They should be comfortable with potential rejections along the way while promoting the SAC and the school, continually value our overall goals.
Resourcefulness: Members should generously leverage their resources and networks to help SAC through its mission.
You might be thinking: “Why should I put my time into this? I’m graduating in two semesters.” I would tell you that you’d be getting a great return on your investment. This is a win-win action plan. Here are some tangible benefits:
- You would be gaining experience in organizing events and launching workshops, etc.
- You would be expanding your networks, beyond imagination, within academia society, UMass Boston Alumni (potentially even maybe with people enlisted above), and Boston’s community.
- If you are looking to continue your education, land a summer internship or apply for that first job after graduation, you’d be putting yourself in a much higher position by putting your alma mater (UMass Boston) in a higher position.
We are having a kick-off meeting on Thursday, February 4th at 5 p.m. in the Accounting & Finance Conference Room, M-5-211. We will discuss the structure and mission of SAC in greater detail. Although we are still developing the strategy for SAC, we believe it’s important to have your insights and opinions. We aim to create our finalized strategy based on the collaborative work of all our members. Please come with ideas, excitement, and some thoughts about the below points that we would like to discuss during our kick-off meeting (among other topics about which you might want to discuss):
- What is missing in UMass Boston College of Management’s strategy when it comes to creating relationships and networks with outside successful and prominent individuals, organizations, and community? Look at the other competitors (MIT, Harvard, NEU, BC) network strategy and action plans. Look at their success stories and find out how we can improve.
- How can we get more involved in the community? What kind of events could we launch that benefit both SAC members and our peers at UMass Boston College of Management?
- What are some potential organizations or individuals that we’re looking to partner with? What kind of people in the business world would we like to be associated with? And how are going to be associated with them?
- How can we get more students involved in SAC?
- Who do we want to present us? What kind of characteristics are we looking for in SAC members?
For the purpose of better organizing, please RSVP by emailing me at Fargol.fotoohibar001@umb.edu by Friday January 29th. You can also let me know if you’re interested but cannot make it to the kick-off meeting, and I will follow up with you. However, it is strongly advised that you be present in the first meeting since we’re going to decide on important issues.
Sincerely,
Fargol Fotoohi