PR Staff Team Up With Students
This is the fifth in a series of interviews with student ambassadors of universities in the country. _ ED.
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
The more students value privacy, the more schools need promotion ambassadors. Lee So-young, a public relations official at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) told The Korea Times why student ambassadors are a must for the school today.
``In the past, schools could take pictures or videotape images of students whenever they need to make promotional pictures or videos. However, it is not easy these days as some students are uncomfortable about being in front of the camera,’’ Lee said. ``This is why we need students who are willing to contribute to promoting the school.’’
Although the school is looking for ordinary students, the students need to be trained for a certain period of time in order to show a better image of the school.
``The media sometimes request students who can show up for TV programs or newspaper stories, it is better for us to train dedicated students how to say and pose for pictures for school promotion,’’ Lee said. ``It is very efficient and convenient for us to cooperate with trained students. Students are a core part of schools and they are best suited for school promotion. This is why we should team up with them. ’’
Lee Joo-hyun, 21, president of the student ambassador group, said that not only the school benefits from the program. ``I want to be a TV announcer in the future. Through this opportunity, I can appear on TV programs and learn how to deal with the camera,’’ said Lee who is studying Italian.
The ambassador group, ``Saeromi,’’ is comprised of multi-lingual members.
``HUFS has every foreign studies department, hence VIP guests around the world visit our school, so it is also a good opportunity for us to meet important people and practice the language we have learned with them,’’ Lee said.
Founded in 1999, ``Saeromi’’ recruits about 10 new members every year. The selected students also get scholarship that amounts to one million won a year.