Introducing Our 2013-2014 Student Ambassadors

Each year, GLSEN selects a group of exceptional high school students from around the country to serve as GLSEN Student Ambassadors. These students have proven themselves to be outstanding advocates for LGBT students in schools, from leadership in their Gay-Straight Alliances to previous work with their local GLSEN chapters.

We’re thrilled that nine new students have been accepted into the Ambassadors program, joining an always-growing team of student leaders who work to achieve GLSEN’s mission nationwide.

This year’s Ambassadors hail from six different states and represent a variety of identities, backgrounds and perspectives. They have all taken tremendous strides toward making their schools safe and inclusive for all students, and we have no doubt that they will continue to be role models for LGBT youth through their work with GLSEN.

This past August, our nine Student Ambassadors traveled to Los Angeles with members of GLSEN staff for a four-day media training summit. During their time as Ambassadors, these students will come into frequent contact with the media, creating a platform where they will share their personal stories as a way to demonstrate to educators and other constituents the value of GLSEN’s work. The Student Ambassador Summit served as an opportunity for students to learn how to work with the media as representatives of GLSEN, including the different ways they can speak out about their experiences in school.

“From my experience at the GLSEN Media Summit, I took away a better sense of myself,” says Matthew Yeung, an Ambassador from northern California. “I have always been quiet and introverted, and I learned a lot more about my true, comfortable self.”

Over the course of the summit, the Ambassadors met with media professionals from KABC, HBO, the Huffington Post, The Advocate and Fandango to discuss best practices in working with the media. They also participated in various forms of media training, including interview coaching, recording professional public service announcements, touring different production studios and attending workshops on blogging, vlogging and sharing their own stories.

“I realized how much of an impact an individual can have on a cause, and that there are many ways to get a message across in the media,” says Jada Gossett, a Student Ambassador from Philadelphia.

Most Ambassadors wasted no time in using social media to their advantage throughout the summit. From the very first day, they took to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram to document their day-to-day activities and connect with each other and with the media professionals they met. Perhaps most importantly, though, they formed friendships that we hope will last into the school year and beyond as they continue to work together.

"I am excited to be a part of the GLSEN Student Ambassador team because I get the opportunity to surround myself with like-minded teens who will push me to be a better speaker, conversationalist and social media user,” says Andrew Lawless, an Ambassador from Tennessee. “The summit gave me a different understanding of how we [students] are able to be completely different, but also share the same beliefs and values.”

You’ll be hearing from our Student Ambassadors throughout the year as they contribute blog posts, videos, social media and other updates on how they are continuing GLSEN’s work in their schools and communities. We have also invited Ambassadors to reflect on their experiences from the media summit through blog posts in the coming weeks, and we look forward to amplifying their voices and making their stories heard.