Mission Statement
Aggie Ambassadors is a program bringing together our community and Utah State University Athletics. Utah State University student athletes create a partnership with parents and teachers in reinforcing the principles taught in the home and classroom.
History
Utah State University student athletes have a long and successful history of giving back to our community. In the late eighties, football head coach Chuck Shelton and several of his football players, regularly visited youth at schools throughout Cache Valley speaking about the importance of staying in school. Coach Shelton emphasized that with an education, the world is full of opportunities.
Over the twenty years of coaching the Utah State gymnastics team, Ray Corn has been engaged in several community serving programs. Each year, the gymnasts visit public schools and put on an exhibition. Afterwards, they ended their program by speaking out against the harms of using drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
In the last few years, the Utah State Athletics Department have gone one step further in providing a service to the community. In 1995, the CHAMPS (CHallenging Athletes Minds for Success)/Life Skills program, an NCAA supported program for student athletes to develop life skills through community service, selected Utah State University to join in the second year pilot program. Under the direction of CHAMPS, student ahtletes organize themselves and are placed in charge of putting programs together for youth groups. Through organizing, preparing, and presenting these programs, the student athlete receives learning opportunities not found in the classroom. While working with the youth and their supervisors, the student athlete becomes more involved in the community that supports them in their athletic events.
In 1996, we refined this program and created the AGGIE AMBASSADORS, which was established to better support and coordinate the needs of these presentations. The Aggie Ambassadors is designed to be used by youth coordinators and educators to assist them in further educating the youth of Cache Valley with the various messages needed in today's schools as well as a wide range of nationally selected topics.
These topics included:
- Say No To Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco
- Stay in School
- Self-esteem
- Reading Assistance Program
- Promotion of National School Themes: ex. National Book Week
Thank You
"When a demonstration and a discussion can have lasting effects on the children like this one did, we need to stand up and applaud this effort." Barb Klein, Second Grade teacher at Harold B. Lee Elementary School.
How do I get the Aggie Ambassadors to visit my activity?
Please call the athletics department at (435) 797-1850 for more information and to get your event scheduled.
