student ambassadors
The Ambassador Program provides an opportunity for undergraduate student leaders to participate in various recruiting, public relations and marketing activities at Saint Mary's College. Ambassadors provide general admissions support by guiding daily campus tours, facilitating a telecounseling project and assisting with campus recruitment events, college fairs, and high school visitations. By developing a personal connection with potential future Gaels, Ambassadors assist prospective students in making an informed college selection decision. Ambassadors are one of the first contacts prospective students have with SMC, and hence serve as a very important college representative and pivotal member of the admissions team.
Lyawna Archie
Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Current Year: Junior
Major: Accounting
Favorite Seminar Book: King Lear, On Christian Liberty, La Respuesta, Lysistrata, Say I Am You
Campus Involvement: BSU (Events Coordinator), Sistas
Hobbies: Watching Real Housewives of Atlanta, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Martin and NBA games; exercising; taking pictures; relaxing with family and good friends.
Why I Like SMC: Our school is a very close community. I love the friends that I have made with both the students and faculty here at Saint Mary's. I also like the small class sizes, which enable the students to have easy access to and close relationships with their professors.
Alana Armstrong
Hometown: Manteca, California
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Biology
Favorite Seminar Book: Dante’s Inferno
Campus Involvement: St. Luke's Pre-Med Society, Peer Health Exchange
Hobbies: Being a nanny, hiking, curling up with a good book and talking to my little sister
Why I love Saint Mary’s: The one thing that has always held me captivated by Saint Mary’s is our community. Without all the wonderful people that stand behind, next, and in front, of me, I would not be growing into the person I am today and would not be the person I hope to be at graduation.
Alex Branch
Hometown: Columbia Falls, MT
Current Year: Senior
Major: Integral
Minor: Mathematics
Favorite Seminar Book: Anselm - Proslogion
Campus Involvement: Resident Advisor, Student Rank and Tenure Committee, Academic Honor Council, SMC Jazz Band, GaelForce, The Collegian, Student Senate, Habitat for Humanity and Sports Band
Hobbies: Hiking, kayaking, reading, traveling and playing music
Why I love Saint Mary’s: Saint Mary’s College has afforded me opportunities I never dreamed of, especially through my experience volunteering with the De La Salle Brothers. Living and working with them in New Zealand for 11 weeks was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had.
Chris Campbell
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Current Year: Senior
Major: Business Administration - Financial Services
Favorite Seminar Book: Confessions By Saint Augustine
Campus Involvement: Resident Advisor, Treasurer for Pulses Hip Hop Dance Club, and Secretary Officer for the Saint Mary’s College Business Club.
Hobbies: Running the Saint Mary’s trails, listening to music and drawing.
Why I love Saint Mary’s: For the January Program, particularly traveling abroad during January Term and the highly involved faculty and staff.
Samantha Davison
Hometown: Livermore, California
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Communication
Minor: French
Favorite Seminar Book: The Divine Comedy
Campus Involvement: Campus Activities Board (CAB), Performing Arts and music ensembles.
Hobbies: Playing the violin, acting, dancing, singing, reading, cooking and traveling.
Why I love Saint Mary's: I love Saint Mary's because of the sense of community here. I am also a valued member of the community, not just a student with an ID number.
Steven Espinola
Hometown: Tulare, California
Current Year: Senior
Major: Accounting
Favorite Seminar Book: Don Quixote and Dante’s Inferno
Campus Involvement: President of Pulses Dance Club, Senior Ambassador, Executive Team of Residence Hall Association (RHA), Supervisor of Campus Bookstore
Hobbies: Listening to music, dancing and hanging out with friends
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I love Saint Mary’s because of its beautiful location in the Bay Area and its sense of community. Saint Mary’s also offers individuals many experiences and challenges in their lives.
Kelly Fisher
Hometown: Pleasanton, CA
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Marketing
Favorite Seminar Book: Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
Campus Involvement: SMCAMA (SMC American Marketing Association), Honors Program, staff writer for The Collegian
Hobbies: Web design, horseback riding and hanging with friends
Why I love Saint Mary’s: My professors and the school’s administration give me personal attention to help me with my goals and help me succeed in my classes. Saint Mary’s classes prepare me for my career with real world examples and problems.
Mayra Flores
Hometown: Inglewood, CA
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: International Area Studies and Spanish
Favorite Seminar Book: Dante’s Inferno
Campus Involvement: Hermanas Unidas – Treasurer
Hobbies: Traveling, hanging out with friends and going to places that we’ve never been to.
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I love Saint Mary’s because I feel that I honestly have a great connection with all my professors. I love how gorgeous our campus is and how much I feel part of the Saint Mary’s community.
Edgar Gascon
Hometown: Santa Maria, California
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Psychology
Favorite Seminar Book: Plato’s Apology
Campus Involvement: Academic Honor Council, Psychology Club and Intramural Sports
Hobbies: Playing basketball and watching movies.
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I love Saint Mary’s because of the personal devotion given to each student by professors and staff members. Along with that, the natural environment which Saint Mary’s is nestled in adds a relaxing atmosphere to the campus.
Sarah Goeckel
Hometown: Alameda, CA
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Accounting
Favorite Seminar Book: Collections from Sappho
Campus Involvement: Gaelforce and HAPA club (Humans Actively Practicing Aloha)
Hobbies: I love to dance, hang out with friends, and paint.
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I love Saint Mary’s because of the community feel, small class sizes and location in the heart of the Bay Area. I love being close to cities, especially San Francisco, but also having the country and suburban feel.
Grayson Hurd
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Current Year: Junior
Major: Business & Music Split Major
Favorite Seminar Book: Dante’s Inferno
Campus Involvement: Santiago Community
Hobbies: Guitar, Graphic Design and Traveling
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I chose Saint Mary’s College because it has a strong, inclusive community atmosphere and a care for each individual student. The small class sizes and warm learning environment also add to the personal touch I was looking for in a college.
Brianna Merihue
Hometown: Downey, California
Current Year: Senior
Major: Integral Liberal Arts
Favorite Seminar Book: The Clouds by Aristophanes, Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, and Paradise Lost by John Milton
Campus Involvement: Pulses Dance Team
Hobbies: Writing short stories, dancing, baking, cooking, and watching movies
Why I love Saint Mary's: Saint Mary’s has become my home over the last four years. The environment at Saint Mary’s is a wonderful conglomerate of student activities, intellectual pursuits, and supportive faculty and staff. I love Saint Mary’s simply because I have made some wonderful friends, had strange adventures, and still was able to thrive in my education.
Angelina Pasley
Hometown: Vacaville, CA
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Communication
Favorite Seminar Book: Lysistrata
Campus Involvement: SMC Honors
Hobbies: Eating, going to see shows in the city and hiking around Saint Mary’s with friends
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I love the community feeling I get here. Saint Mary’s is not just a school, it is a family.
Jordan Raya
Hometown: Brentwood, California
Current Year: Senior
Major: Kinesiology- Health and Human Performance
Favorite Seminar Book: Candide, by Voltaire
Campus Involvement: Resident Advisor
Hobbies: Watching movies, going to baseball games and laughing
Why I love Saint Mary’s: I love Saint Mary’s because I feel like I can become who I want to be. I am recognized in my small classes, get to know my professors, and express my opinions in many different ways.
Jose Manuel Ruiz
Hometown: San Jose and Merced, Ca
Current Year: Junior
Major: Business Administration and Religious Studies Split Major
Favorite Seminar Book: The Allegory of the Cave
Campus Involvement: Class of 2011 President, Santiago Community Co-Leader and Co-Chair for Our Lady of Guadalupe Festivities
Hobbies: Hanging out with friends, Socializing with people and making dinner with friends
Why I love Saint Mary’s: What I love about Saint Mary's College is its location because we are not in the city yet close enough to enjoy and interact with the city life. I also love the sense of community which Saint Mary's offers not just to students, but to its faculty and staff as well.
Drew Williams
Hometown: San Ramon, CA
Current Year: Junior
Major: Politics (Pre-Law Concentration)
Favorite Seminar Book: The Prince, by Machiavelli
Campus Involvement: Executive Commissioner of the SMC Honors Program, Disciplinary Hearing Board Member, Justice on the ASSMC Judicial Tribunal, Student Representative on the Library Design Advisory Committee, Weekend of Welcome Leader and Member of the SMC Chapel Choir
Hobbies: Golfing, fencing, going to San Francisco with friends, watching good movies, traveling and reading
Why I love Saint Mary’s: The campus is such an amazing environment – a place where a tight knit community of students meets an accomplished, accessible, and interested faculty, all set in a serene valley location. I can live, learn, have fun, and most importantly succeed all in one place.
Dorothy Winslow
Hometown: Pacific Grove, CA
Current Year: Sophomore
Major: Undecided
Minor: Italian
Favorite Seminar Book: Plato’s Analogy of the Cave
Campus Involvement: Honors Program, ASSMC Finance Committee, Dante Club
Hobbies: Reading, watching baseball, and theater
Why I love Saint Mary’s: On my second day on campus, a bunch of us went up to the SMC letters and painted them with our bodies. Students at Saint Mary’s will spontaneously break into deep theoretical discussions about various topics such as quantum physics and whether or not the women in the Odyssey are “wusses.” That just doesn’t happen anywhere I’ve ever been.
