The Intercultural Studies and Languages Program, also known for its acronym, ICIC, has recently organized its own group of Ambassadors in order to assist in promoting itself and its activities. Just this month, the ICIC and its parent division, the Humanities and Language Division (HLD), organized the ICIC Cultural Week (June 19-21) and participated in the MUIC Open Days (June 23-24). On both occasions, the new Ambassadors enthusiastically pitched in—helping in the actual execution of crucial tasks.

Mrs. Agnieszka Atthasit, HLD Vice Chair and Adviser of the Ambassadors, said that when they were recruiting for future members of the group, they were mainly looking for students who have certain qualities: Courteous, creative, proactive, have good communication skills, punctual, disciplined team player and open-minded. “What we soon realized was that our ICIC Ambassadors are also very optimistic and energetic, so working with them is a real pleasure,” Ajarn Agnieszka said.

For this article, we were able to interview the first five members who shared their ideas on what it means to be an ICIC Ambassador.

According to Ms. Darunporn Khamchan, a 3^rd Year Foreign Language Concentration (French) student, she wanted to “challenge myself by participating in bigger projects, to see what I would be able to do in new working environments.”

Asked what her top qualities are as an ICIC Ambassador, she replied that she is very much open to discussions and new ideas, has good communication skills, and is self-disciplined.

“Being part of the ICIC Ambassador team, I realized very quickly how we also have to consider every possible outcome when planning something. The little details are important and they cannot be ignored,” she said.

On the other hand, Ms. Boonsita Apichartviwat, a 3^rd Year, Foreign Language Concentration (Japanese) student, explained that their duties as ICIC Ambassadors are to represent and promote the ICIC program positively,  help organize events in order that they run smoothly, and transfer and exchange experiences to the juniors and others.

She added that she brings to the table her top qualities: Being passionate, courageous, and enthusiastic. Being an ICIC Ambassador, she said, can prepare her for her future career because “I would be able to gain lots of new experiences and develop my leadership, communication, and cooperation skills.”

Ms. Donraporn Khamchan, also a junior student of theLiterature and Culture Studies Concentration, is optimistic of the good things that will happen to her as part of the group: “Being an ambassador is a good opportunity for me to get out of my comfort zone and gain experience that could be helpful in the future.”

She shares her enthusiasm for the training their group is getting: “My job this upcoming Cultural Week is to take care of the registration. Other than learning about how registration works, I’ve been listening to our trainers when they give tips and tell fellow ambassador-members how they can improve their script when practicing for MC duties.”

Another junior year student, Mr. Karawat Saijanyon, who is enrolled in the Foreign Language Concentration (Japanese), is motivated to be an ICIC Ambassador “because I want to help promote my major. Moreover, participation in these activities will help me acquire specialized skills that cannot be learned in regular classes.”

He said that he learned from his trainers Ajarn Agneiszka and Ajarn Analiza Liezl P. Amurao how to interact better with VIPs by listening carefully to their speech and use it as a springboard in initiating conversations with them. “This gave me also the idea to do research about the visitors’ biography and career, as they may have some surprising and interesting stories to tell.”

During the recently concluded Cultural Week in June, he was assigned as a personal assistant for Ms. Likki-Lee Pitzen of the German Embassy and Mr. Hervé Deguine of Michelin, two of the many distinguished speakers of the three-day event.

Ms. Sasiphat Thanaphodsawee is the senior student in the group and she is enrolled in the Foreign Language Concentration (Spanish) concentration. She describes herself as a very sociable person. “Whenever I meet new people, I always greet them with enthusiasm and a smile. Though I might not be a talkative person that could easily start a small conversation, I put a lot of effort and honesty into meeting new people,” she said. Aside from that, she is also a good listener. “When I work on a group project, I usually listen to others’ opinions first to learn more about their ideas and combine them with mine, if possible.”

It is worth mentioning here that the numbers of the ICIC Ambassadors were already swelling as Cultural Week was fast approaching. Several more ICIC students joined the team and served mainly as MCs in the various events during Cultural Week. They are: Ms. Tanit A-Mornthap, Ms. Chutimon Suetorsak, Ms. Netnadda Snidvongs Na Ayudhaya, Mr. Adhipat Chirachaithumrongsak, and Ms. Alisa Wilkie.

The month of June was indeed an auspicious start for the ICIC Ambassadors. Still undergoing training, they were thrust into three main events that enriched their experience and certainly contributed to sharpening skills that would prove useful in the near future.

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Students who are very much interested in learning about the humanities, culture, and philosophy and who would like to sharpen their linguistic skills in either English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese or Thai languages can enroll in the Intercultural Studies and Languages Major also known the ICIC Program. For more details, please click here: https://muic.mahidol.ac.th/eng/programs/undergraduate-programs/humanities-and-language/