Family Ambassadors. A group of phenomenal students at Northwestern who have had a range of experiences and cannot wait to share them all with the family members for our newest Wildcats. Family Ambassadors assist with the execution of Parent and Family Orientation during Wildcat Welcome and will interact with family members throughout the program to ensure all questions are answered and needs are met. 

Meet the 2013 Family Ambassadors below; you'll be meeting many of them while you are on campus.

Allison Ortega

Hometown: Denver, CO
Year: Class of 2015 (Transfer Student)
School: Weinberg

What do you wish your family members would have known about your first year(s) at Northwestern? What did you really appreciate from your family members?

I wish my family would have known the value of good old fashioned snail mail. Almost nothing is more comforting than a piece of mail from home, especially if it includes food. I cannot stress the food part enough.I definitely appreciated my parents foresight in packing for the winter, and their insistence about packing mittens, hats, scarves, all plural, and all necessary.

Ashley Gilmore

Hometown: Elizabethtown, KY
Year: Class of 2015
School: Medill

What is your favorite thing to do when your family is in town?

Explore the campus. My parents love seeing the buildings, the lake, and sitting in on classes. It is like they are students again.

Carly Pablos

Hometown: Dallas, TX
Year: Class of 2016
School: SESP

What is one piece of advice you wish you would have received the summer before starting at Northwestern?

Take chances. It's easy to fall into the trenches of the familiar and expected, but the best things come along when you embrace vulnerability and try something new.

Christine Smith

Hometown: Cedar Rapids, IA
Year: Class of 2014
School: Weinberg

What do you wish your family members would have known about your first year(s) at Northwestern? What did you really appreciate from your family members?

I wish they could have seen for themselves some of the great classes I was taking and the awesome interactions I always have with other NU students outside of class. I would constantly be telling them about what I was doing in class and how amazing all my professors were, but I would have loved to have them sit in on my classes so they could have experience it for themselves.

Courtney Marcusson

Hometown: Lake Forrest, IL
Year: Class of 2015
School: SOC

What is your favorite thing to do when your family is in town?

My dad likes to bring brownies for me from Foodstuffs on Central Street to my sorority house.  It's a great little cafe, gourmet food store, and bakery.  Their brownies are incredible!  I also love taking friends out to dinner with my family, and when my friends' parents are in town, I go out with theirs.  It's nice to get off campus and have a nice dinner with parents: Trattoria Demi and Todoroki are my favorite spots.

Darien Wendell

Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Year: Class of 2016
School: SESP

What do you wish your family members would have known about your first year(s) at Northwestern? What did you really appreciate from your family members?

I wish they knew more about the structure and the going-ons at Northwestern. I really appreciate their support.

David Williams

Hometown: Houston, TX
Year: Class of 2016
School: MEAS

Now that you are settled at Northwestern, how often do you go home? Call home?

Being from Houston, I only go home during the breaks between quarters and for Thanksgiving. I call or skype home once a week, or when I need advice/need to talk. My parents especially like being able to see me over skype or other video chats.

Doug Chang

Hometown: Tampa, FL
Year: Class of 2015
School: Weinberg

What resources on campus or in the community were most helpful to you as you adjusted to college during your first year?

My freshman adviser and my friends were the most helpful to me as I was adjusting to college. A lot of my friends are on the pre-med track just as I am and it was nice to know that I was not the only one having a hard time adjusting to college life. My freshman adviser really encouraged me to continue to pursue my goals and she was a great person to talk to whenever I needed to be heard.

Gaby Ake

Hometown: Highlands Ranch, CO
Year: Class of 2016
School: Medill

What resources on campus or in the community were most helpful to you as you adjusted to college during your first year?

My academic adviser is AMAZING. Medill can be overwhelming and hard to manage, but I could literally email or even text my adviser at any time and she would get back to me really quick. Use your adviser! They are there to help you! They want to be an adviser to new students, so they really care about helping you succeed.

Haley Hinkle

Hometown: Warsaw, IN
Year: Class of 2016
School: Medill

Now that you are settled at Northwestern, how often do you go home? Call home?

I live in Indiana, but I don't go home very often because I hate to miss anything that's happening on campus or in Chicago! I call home every Sunday to talk to my parents about my week, and sometimes once or twice during the week when I have a question or need help.

Hayley Glatter

Hometown: Buffalo Grove, IL
Year: Class of 2016
School: Medill

What do your parents say is their favorite part of Northwestern?

My parents really like all of the diverse opportunities I have a chance to experience as a Northwestern student. Whether it's sitting in the student section of a Big 10 football game, enjoying the city of Chicago, or learning from top-notch faculty, they like that there are many outlets to try new things.

Jacob Skaggs

Hometown: Corte Madera, CA
Year: Class of 2015
School: SOC

What is one piece of advice you wish you would have received the summer before starting at Northwestern?

Try to spend as much time meeting people as possible, because you will never be placed in a location with so many incredible people again.

Jamie Valente

Hometown: Des Plaines, IL
Year: Class of 2014
School: SESP

Looking back at your first year, what stood out as the best memory or most impactful? Why?

My favorite memories of freshman year are those spent with my best friend and dorm-mate.  We had the best adventures between eating together in the dining hall and participating in crazy philanthropy events like the Mud Olympics.

Joe Dubas

Hometown: Falls Church, VA
Year: Class of 2016
School: BSM

What has been your favorite memory with your family at Northwestern?

Bringing my dad to get real deep dish pizza!

Kacie McGoldrick

Hometown: Perrysburg, OH
Year: Class of 2015
School: SOC

What do you wish your family members would have known about your first year(s) at Northwestern? What did you really appreciate from your family members?

My family members are really able to keep me grounded and centered while I'm away at school. College is a big place, but encouraging calls, letters, and packages reminded me that I am never alone. My family allowed me to grow on my own and find my independence while still supporting me.

Morgan Monahan

Hometown: Erie, PA
Year: Class of 2014
School: SOC

What is your favorite thing to do when your family is in town?

Experience Chicago. It's a great motivator to get me to actually go into the city. It's easier when you have tourism as a scapegoat.

Nick Dotzenrod

Hometown: Plymouth, MN
Year: Class of 2015
School: MEAS

What do you wish your family members would have known about your first year(s) at Northwestern? What did you really appreciate from your family members?

I wish they would have realized that Northwestern can be stressful at times, and that if I sounded short on the phone, it was not because I did not want to talk with them, it was simply because I had a lot on my mind. I really appreciated all the care packages my mom sent me!! Almost weekly my mom would send me cookies or other necessities in the mail, including 7th Heaven episodes, my favorite show!!

Nikita Ramanujam

Hometown: Fremont, CA
Year: Class of 2015
School: SESP

What do your parents say is their favorite part of Northwestern?

What I really like about Northwestern is that they give students the latitude to discover who they are and what they excel in and then give them the support and training they need to achieve their goals.

Olivia Probetts

Hometown: Denver, CO
Year: Class of 2015
School: SOC

Looking back at your first year, what stood out as the best memory or most impactful? Why?

The memories I made with the people who lived on my floor were the best. They really became my family because they were the people that I lived with all the time, and so the memories that we shared became really important to me.

Rachel Leshin

Hometown: Newton, MA
Year: Class of 2015 (Transfer Student)
School: Weinberg

Now that you are settled at Northwestern, how often do you go home? Call home?

Being a plane ride away, I generally only come home for breaks, but my parents came out twice this past year. I try to call or Skype home at least once a week to make up for it, though!

Sarah Munger

Hometown: Greenwich, CT
Year: Class of 2016
School: SESP

Looking back at your first year, what stood out as the best memory or most impactful? Why?

Dance Marathon was an extremely impactful part of my year. It stood out as the time when I most felt like a part of the greater Northwestern community. We all worked so hard for one common goal - we were all sweaty, tired, and sore together, but we kept each other going because we knew what we were dancing for. It was so emotional in the last hour and I know I'm going to do it all four years.

Tom Hyman

Hometown: Glen Ellyn, IL
Year: Class of 2016
School: MEAS

What resources on campus or in the community were most helpful to you as you adjusted to college during your first year?

My peer adviser served as a fantastic resource not only during Wildcat Welcome, but for the rest of my freshman year. He was able to provide me with firsthand experience as well as helpful tips and tricks about the transition to NU.

Tiffany Tran

Hometown: Chicago, IL
Year: Class of 2015
School: MEAS

What has been your favorite memory with your family at Northwestern?

The first time we went to a sports event together.  It was really nice seeing my parents start to really show off their purple pride!