Student Ambassadors CURIOSS Pattern

Author: MiaDiewald

Student-Ambassadors.md

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+# GW OSPO Student Ambassador Program 
+
+# Pattern Summary 
+
+A paid student ambassador program that empowers undergraduate and graduate students to promote open source engagement, events, and projects across the university. 
+
+ # Problem 
+
+Many universities, including George Washington University, are developing Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs) to foster a culture of collaboration and innovation; however, they struggle to connect directly with students. Students comprise an essential part of the academic community. Still, engagement can be challenging for academic offices due to the consistent presence, peer-to-peer outreach, and relevant campus projects that it entails. As it stands now, faculty and staff may have limited time for outreach, and communication directly from an academic institution can feel distant, inaccessible, or otherwise miss the mark when it comes to connecting students. Without active engagement, awareness of open source opportunities remains low, and participation in OSPO initiatives is limited. The challenge is to build consistent, authentic connections with students while advancing the OSPO’s technical and community goals.
+
+ # Pattern Category
+
+* Awareness
+* Community Building
+* Education & Skills
+* Open Source Development
+* Open Source Discovery
+* Promoting Best Practices
+
+# Context
+
+This pattern applies to university OSPOs seeking to strengthen their connections with students and build a culture of open-source participation on campus. It is particularly effective at institutions where OSPOs are newly established or lack full-time staff dedicated to outreach. The approach works best when there is administrative support for paid student positions and when project goals align with both educational and open-source values.
+
+# Forces
+
+* OSPO staff often have limited abilities to maintain regular contact with students.
+* Students respond more positively to peer-led initiatives than to top-down institutional messaging.
+* Effective outreach requires both technical expertise and social engagement skills.
+* Consistent student involvement must be balanced with academic workloads and turnover.
+* Funding and measurable outcomes are necessary to justify continued university support.
+
+# Solution
+
+Create a Student Ambassador program within the OSPO consisting of a small team of paid students; two graduate students working 20 hours per week and two undergraduates working 10 hours per week. A combination of both graduate and undergraduate ambassadors enables broader coverage across academic levels, strengthens continuity over semesters, and meets OSPO workload requirements. These ambassadors serve as liaisons between the OSPO and the student body in the following ways:
+
+* Hosting and tabling at campus events to raise open source awareness
+* Organizing community-building activities such as movie nights or coding sessions
+* Creating and managing OSPO social media accounts to share updates and opportunities
+* Leading or contributing to open source technical projects that advance university OSPO goals
+* Gathering student feedback and communicating emerging needs to OSPO leadership
+
+# Resulting Context: 
+
+Implementing this pattern creates a visible, student-led initiative for the OSPO on campus. The ambassadors increase awareness and participation in open-source initiatives while also delivering tangible technical outcomes. At GW, early results have demonstrated increased event attendance, successful launches of social media channels, and ongoing student-led technical projects aimed at promoting open-source use across departments. Challenges lie in maintaining consistent engagement as students graduate and ensuring sustained funding for paid positions; however, the benefits of authentic outreach and student leadership outweigh these concerns.
+
+# Known Instances
+
+* **The George Washington University OSPO:** Two graduate and two undergraduate student ambassadors work part-time alongside OSPO staff to promote open source awareness, organize events, and contribute to open source infrastructure at GW.
+* **University of Vermont, Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA):** Run by the University of Vermont’s OSPO (VERSO), [ORCA](https://verso.w3.uvm.edu/orca/) connects undergraduate students with faculty, graduate researchers, and local partners to create open-source tools that extend the reach and impact of academic research. Students work in small “Pods” of 4–5 members, gaining real-world experience in open-source development while translating research outputs into accessible, community-focused applications. The program strengthens open research practices and cultivates workforce-ready skills in open source. 
+
+
+# Contributors & Acknowledgements
+
+Mia Diewald (George Washington University OSPO) [https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8123-1832](https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8123-1832)