Westminster is a large and bustling school where something is always happening. Amidst the hustle and bustle it can be difficult to keep track of all that is happening on the campus so it is understandable that many opportunities can go by unnoticed. However, a new opportunity that cannot be missed has arrived to the Westminster campus this year, and it plans to finally bring well deserved attention to one of Westminster’s most unique opportunities: global partnerships.
The Global Relations Officers team allows for students to be more involved in the global partnerships than ever before. Westminster students will now have a hand in organizing events with Westminster’s partner schools and handling the relationships between the schools on a personal level.
The Global Relations Officers team is a student led approach towards Westminster’s international partnerships. The team was created and is sponsored by Dani Butler, the head of student development, and Joanna Hancock, the Global Partnership Coordinator, and together with student leaders such as Ayla White, a Westminster senior, they work to change the culture at Westminster. The GRO team plans to change this culture by increasing the awareness of the student body since according to Butler only about half of Westminster is aware of the partnerships:
“We are here to promote the partnership or a more global perspective to our students…a lot of students don’t even know that we have partner schools… [and] the biggest purpose is to raise awareness,” says Butler.
In addition Ayla emphasizes the personal impact of being a Global Relations Officer can have on a student:
“Before I had not really heard much about the sister schools… it was mentioned in passing during the tour, but I had not heard any more about it until my trip to Korea,” says Ayla.
GRO’s goals in shifting Westminster’s culture do not end at simply raising awareness. The team is aiming to encourage interaction between students and the program. Greater student participation in events related to our sister schools such as fundraising, visiting our partner schools, and volunteering as host families is the ideal for the members of GRO.
“We want our GRO officers to initiate interactions to help exchange students adjust to our school culture… our dream is that students can participate more in our partnerships through more fundraising, going on the trips in the summer, and being host families,” states Butler.
However, many are likely wondering how GRO differs from the cultural ambassadors that preceded it. While cultural ambassadors were primarily led by faculty, GRO will be student led while being advised by Butler and Hancock. Cultural ambassadors did not have much influence about what happened; the members of GRO will be directly facilitating events with the partner schools.
“Ambassadors were run by faculty, but students in GRO will actively plan and make decisions. Ambassadors were more of a service hour. This is a leadership position,” says Butler.
GRO is finally bringing a greater level of student influence to Westminster’s global connections. The team offers a way to get experience leading while also learning the ins and outs of Westminster’s international relationships, so if you’re interested keep an eye out for any of GRO’s events and make sure to apply for a position next year!
