Marquis Grant – Staff Writer
If you’ve ever been swamped with balancing your work and wished there were some sort of Siri like service for your schoolwork, then look no further than the Broward College Ambassadors.
The Broward College Ambassadors are members of a new service at Broward College introduced early this year that functions as students have said, like “the Siri or Alexa of the college.” This references how the ambassadors, with just a call, are able to get students what they need for a smooth and efficient higher education experience.
Andrea Alvarez is one of the ambassadors whom students have called “amazing” due to her helping them with their college process by doing things such as checking in, reminding them about deadlines and informing students about signing up for classes, financial aid, and best use of online services such as on the Broward College website.
Alvarez aims as an ambassador to be a “voice that can patiently stay with students as long as needed to make sure they are assisted properly and correctly, continuing throughout their time at BC and beyond.” This goal has been successful as affirmed by students including Leonardo Rendon and Algin Peralta.
Rendon, a freshman criminal justice major, appreciated in particular the fast responses and stated that Alvarez is the only person he goes to for information at Broward College. She has reminded Rendon of deadlines such as signing up for classes and informed him of opportunities and financial aid.
Peralta has been at BC for several years, possibly since 2013, and currently is working on a music technology degree. He has stated that Alvarez, through the ambassadors, has helped stop a lot of desperation for a smoother, more effective college process. Alvarez informed him about Q-less through the BC website, which allows for faster help with questions about advising and financial aid, which can be utilized rather than going in person to campus and having to wait in line. Peralta called the service “amazing”.
While Alvarez and other ambassadors do not currently have a physical location, they are normally available Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. If an ambassador has reached out to you, you can call them whenever you need them at these designated times for help with managing your college needs.
Ambassadors have reached out to students via phone call and email and focus on outbound calls to students rather than receiving incoming initial calls in order to keep the call stream manageable.
The ambassadors are an additional service to the ones that have already been present at Broward College such as financial aid and the academic success center which ambassadors may direct students to when the help is relevant to these departments.
Students can still reach these departments when not in contact with an ambassador by going on campus to building 46 at North Campus, building 19 on Central and building 68 on South Campus. For all other scenarios, the Broward College ambassadors are a new addition to our school providing a service for a smoother and more efficient college experience.
