Stepping into a new school can be overwhelming, but doing it in an entirely different country may be even more terrifying.
The Ambassadors Program aims to help international and new students smoothly transition into and thrive at the high school. The program pairs students randomly at the beginning of each year and hosts social events to help them connect.
Junior and ambassador Daisy Huang said she was motivated to join the program because of her own personal experiences moving to and back from China as a young student.
“I just wanted to help make their transition here easier because when I was little, I was born here but I moved to China, and I remember the switch when I came back,” Huang said. “So I wanted to help them with that transition, because Brookline is an amazing place, it’s just that the switch can be a little intimidating sometimes.”
Ambassador and junior Jinann Wang said she first became interested in order to bridge the gaps she saw separating the newer students from the rest of the community.
“I was interested in helping international students because it feels like they’re kind of isolated and I was interested in helping them. I’ve been to new schools before and so I think it’s an important thing to have a person to be able to go to,” Wang said.
The program becomes more individualized throughout the year as students and ambassadors meet less, so it’s up to the pairs to connect on their own. Since then, junior and ambassador Eric Bardon said he has kept in touch with his partner as their relationship has gradually developed.
“It takes a while to build a close relationship with your student. There might not always be a perfect dynamic initially,” Bardon said. “You’re being paired with someone and being forced to be friends with them. However, once you’re willing to open up and if they’re willing to open up, you can really create lasting relationships.”
The Ambassadors Program also helps students understand the diversity within the high school.
“I didn’t realize how many international students we got, which I thought was really interesting and significant because BHS is such a big school,” Huang said. “You don’t necessarily know everyone in your grade.”
Ambassadors are assigned their partners at random, which can lead to meaningful connections and improve the high school experience for both sides.
“That’s how you start a lasting relationship, a relationship that makes the other students feel good about themselves, a relationship that makes you feel good about yourself,” Bardon said. “The most important thing, I think, in this program, is that you’re creating a bond that is making a new student feel more welcome at the school, and whether you have something in common with the student or not, it is of the utmost importance to create that bond.”
