Students at the University of Michigan are preparing themselves for life after graduation by participating in the Adobe Student Ambassador Program and taking advantage of the no-cost Adobe Creative Cloud Suite (Adobe CCS). Adobe CCS is a collection of over 20 desktop and mobile apps and services for photography, design, video, web, user experience, and more.
Summer Nguyen is one such student, who recently graduated from U-M where she earned a Bachelors of Science in Information with a minor in Asian Studies. Nguyen became an ambassador in the program during her senior year.
“One of my good friends who is involved with photography at the university was contacted by Adobe, and he referred me to the program because of my interest in the arts,” said Nguyen.
The Ambassador Program provides an opportunity for students to build digital literacy skills, as well as connect with other ambassadors, share best practices, and help each other succeed. Students gain real world experience as Adobe brand ambassadors.
The program started with one student and grew to eight students in less than a year. Participants learn various Adobe tools, host events, join workshops hosted by Adobe, encourage others to become student ambassadors, and participate in tabling.
“Ambassadors are committed for an academic year to letting the university community know that Adobe Creative Cloud is available to them,” said Nguyen. “We meet monthly online to check in with one another and discuss what everyone is doing.”
Those participating in the program are responsible for organizing activities that help represent Adobe through posting on social media, informing the university community how Adobe is being used, building relationships with campus organizations through collaborations, and leading talks with designers from companies such as Adidas, Spotify, and Nike.
“The program allowed me to hone in on my leadership skills through networking with like minded individuals and hosting events, like an Adobe Fresco workshop, where we had an audience of nearly 70 faculty and students,” said Nguyen. “Workshop participants learned how to use the application, understand what it is used for, and realize its capabilities.”
Ambassadors with high performance are recognized through a point system. Nguyen received recognition for having the most clicks on her promotion link.
“Together, my fellow ambassadors and I were awarded 7,500 points on the Ambassador platform for achieving that goal,” said Nguyen. “We also gained some amazing bragging rights.”
Students interested in learning more about Adobe CCS should visit U-M’s Information and Technology Services webpage. Information about Adobe Student Ambassador Program can be found at Adobe Creative Career Discord.
For more information about the Adobe Student Ambassador Program, please email keilaw@umich.edu.
