The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Brooke R. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Tactics - Final Report
Looking back on my year in the Ambassador's League, I can hardly believe an entire year has gone by. In fact, a little over a month ago, it was even more difficult to believe, since I had only completed around ten points of work. In the middle of July, my Mom asked me, "Are you still doing that Ambassador’s League? I thought you were." To which I replied, "Um, yeah, I think so."
When the 2008 school year began, I made a plan to earn a few points each month, so that by the end of the year I would easily have finished my assignments. But with a full course load at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, as well as extracurricular activities, free time was sparse and the Ambassador's League fell to the bottom of my priorities. I asked for advice from a friend who had completed the League, who told me to write my letters to the editor and arrange my meetings with leaders and visits to events in advance; everything else could be completed on my own. I took this to heart and faithfully wrote letters to the editor every few months, attended school board meetings, and interviewed leaders. Even so, by the end of the school year, there was still much to be accomplished.
Summer began, and with my new amounts of free time, I felt sure that finishing the Ambassador's League would be simple. But my schedule took me out of town for well over half of the summer, leaving me with very little time. So, when the aforementioned motherly inquisition involving my participation in the Ambassador's League came, I had just over a month to accumulate over twenty points. Being gone for two weeks out of that time, I had to kick it into high gear and start cranking out reports.
Each section of the Ambassador's League helped me to learn or grow in a different way. The largest portion of the "Tactics" section consisted of 6 mentor meetings throughout the year. At each of these meetings, my mentor and I not only discussed my progress with the Ambassador's League, but also chatted about nearly every other topic that came to mind. By our final meeting, I had developed a strong bond with my mentor as well as a great appreciation for her personal interest and commitment to me.
The "Read" section of the League was highly informational. I chose to read Bob Briner's Roaring Lambs, which was an excellent book about transforming the culture as Christians. Norman Geisler's Why I Am a Christian: Leading Thinkers Explain Why They Believe was also fantastic, and I had the opportunity to meet one of the contributors, Francis Beckwith, as well as the compiler himself, Norm Geisler, at a summer leadership camp. Finally, I chose What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? by D. James Kennedy, after having it recommended by my mentor. I’m not sure why, but I expected it to be a dry, boring book; so, I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be a fascinating documentation of the great effect Christianity has had on all aspects of culture.
Mission: Research required eleven Bible studies to be completed on various topics. This assignment was especially interesting, since almost every topic listed was a commonly discussed aspect of Christianity. However, I found that although many Christians make statements like, "Homosexuality is wrong", or "Marriage is a sacred union", I did not always know why I believed this or where it was found in the Bible. Doing the Bible studies forced me to think through what I believed and ground those beliefs in Scripture.
The "Observe" portion of the Ambassador's League was one that required a bit of planning. I found every part of this section informational and interesting. I attended a legislative session and a committee meeting in Lansing, which was fascinating because I am interested in politics. I also attended a murder trial in which the prosecuting attorney was a friend of mine. I sat in on a school board meeting, which was especially fun, because the level of professionalism and the demand for accountability is significantly lesser on the local level. Finally, I shadowed Portage City Council member Margaret O'Brien. That led to an offer to be mentored and an invitation to accompany her to anything that was of interest to me.
The final, and most substantial, part of the Ambassador's League is Mission: Take Action. I wrote 5 letters to the editor, interviewed 5 local leaders, and volunteered for a total of over 30 hours at various political and non-profit organizations as well as a political campaign. Writing letters to the editor was possibly the best experience that the Ambassador's League provided me with. Although I had written letters before, to write five forced me to search for topics to respond to, rather than waiting until something starkly obvious appeared. Because I wanted to have my letters published, I worked hard to make sure I had a full grasp of the issue and also spent time phrasing the letters in an appropriate manner. So far, three of my letters have been published in the Kalamazoo Gazette, and I have high hopes that the letter I submitted last night will be printed as well.
Interviewing local leaders proved to be highly informational. My interviewees came from varying backgrounds with varying positions, and all had different things to say and advice to offer. I was surprised how willing the leaders were to be interviewed, because of their busy schedules, but every one of them gladly took the time out of their day to give me thoughtful, lengthy answers.
Finally, volunteering for different organizations was a great experience. I helped out with John McCain’s election campaign, which was great fun for me, the political junkie. I also enjoyed interning at Michigan State Representative Tom McMillin's office over the summer. However, my involvement at the Portage Community Center was especially nice, because it is close to my home and directly affects those in my community. Starting this fall, I plan to continue volunteering at PCC when my time permits. Also, I believe that interning for Tom McMillin helped me secure my current internship with United States Representative Fred Upton.
Overall, the Ambassador's League was an intense, but highly enjoyable, experience. Students involved, whether they earn six points or thirty six points, learn something through each assignment. I would recommend the League to anyone who wants to learn about leadership and become more aware and involved in their communities. And, looking back, I would suggest that students work slowly and steadily throughout the school year in order to avoid the frantic last-minute rush of writing papers before 5 p.m. on August 31st. But, even so, I would repeat the experience in a heartbeat.
I can’t point to a specific time when it happened, but as I sit here today, I realize that I am a much different person than I was when I took on the commitment of the Ambassador's League. Somewhere between the time when I wrote my first paper and as I now write my Final Report, I changed. The way I hear and see the world has become different. And, most importantly, the way I choose to react to the culture has changed. I no longer sit on my couch complaining about the deteriorating society. I have been trained to be act—write, serve, donate, contribute. I am an ambassador for Christ.
