With today being Leap Day, we thought it only appropriate to reflect a bit on what a week in the life of a LEAP Ambassador looks like. We get a lot of questions about what LEAP Ambassadors do, and the answer isn’t easy, because our activities are diverse and numerous. Perhaps a look at our last week will provide some insight!
The LEAP Center has only two staff members, so our job is to assist the Center with the events. In the process, we have the benefit of networking, gaining professional skills, and learning new things. So, here’s our week leading up to LEAP Day:
Monday: Every other week, we begin with a general meeting, which usually lasts around three hours. Much planning goes into this meeting, and it allows us to maintain an every-other week meeting schedule (we have advisor-less meetings on off weeks) and be prepared for our upcoming events.
Tuesday (Afternoon): We offered a Mock Law class taught by South Texas College of Law Professor, Val Ricks. You can read about it here, and as usual, Professor Ricks did a great job teaching. This event also gives an insight into the LEAP process.
Note: The above event provides some insight into how LEAP works. More than 45 students attended the event, plus a local judge and a teacher from HHS. All attended without being given credit, “service/engagement hours,” or extra credit. Moreover, some had to take off work, and all had to do readings before hand. If you offer quality programs, people will attend without artificial inducements, and they will get more out of the program.
Tuesday (Night): That evening, a few of our Ambassadors volunteered at the Reagan Dinner, enjoying dinner with Judges Smith, Moorman, and Johnson and seeing some old friends, while others did additional preparations for our upcoming photography exhibit at the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library.
Wednesday: We had our first Pre-Law Society meeting of the semester. With a record 96 members (!), we showcased LEAP Alumni, including first-year attorney Victoria McClendon, 3L student Quinn Kobrin, and Blake Roach. Afterward, we had a chance to catch up additionally over dinner. We also did a photo-op for a recently established pre-law scholarship following donations of $25,000!
Thursday: This was just our regular day of classes, office hours, and work. Among the five LEAP Ambassadors, they have 7 jobs–and a collective 3.70 GPA!
Friday: On Friday, we attended “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” written by Tom Stoppard and performed by SHSU’s Theatre Department.
Saturday: We joined 25 other community members to plant trees at Huntsville Elementary. This event, which you can read about here, was with our friends at Trees for Houston. And we met new friends at Huntsville Elementary, where we discussed with Principal Cross the possibility of returning in the fall to do social studies presentations to students and a “Mock Election.”
In all, we participated in events with more than 750 people, we hosted a program for the University, and developed our (and others) knowledge of pre-law, politics, theatre, the sciences (the environment and botany), landscape architecture, and event planning! A typical week in the life of a LEAP Ambassador!
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 