Liberty High School hosts a wide variety of clubs and activities for students to participate in. One of the most recently established clubs is Eagle Ambassadors. Eagle Ambassadors is a club that consists of upperclassmen and focuses on peer tutoring, peer mediation, and peer mentorship. Students go through a training course, provided by the Piedmont Dispute and Conflict Resolution Center, that teaches them how to resolve conflict between two or more people and how to help them come to a mutual agreement. “It is a place for people to seek help with conflict, make new friends, learn about ways to handle things, and become a person for people to lean on and look up to,” said senior Amya Tapscott. Students who are in the Eagle Ambassadors club are required to have an open mind when it comes to performing mediations and helping students. A vast majority of students do not want to be judged while they are trying to receive help from an individual they wish to confide in. Eagle Ambassadors is about teamwork and coming together to assist and motivate peers in coming up with solutions to the challenges they are facing. Members of Eagle Ambassadors also must have a good relationship with their peers. “Anybody who thinks they are a good person and are good with people,” said senior and club president Cole Hoffman, when asked what type of person would be best fit for the club.
One of the most vital aspects of the club is that members can get along with everyone in the club. This is important because if a student seeking help sees that the leaders are not getting along, they might have second thoughts about receiving help, especially if the club is founded on the principles of helping students resolve conflict.
Eagle Ambassadors is meant to improve the school environment by allowing students to communicate the problems or challenges they are potentially facing. “[Eagle Ambassadors] gives people a place to go if they feel as though they are in conflict. It can be used as a safe space for people to seek help and mediation, as well as allows making new friends and acquaintances,” said senior Amya Tapscott.
Peer mentorship consists of members giving their peers a safe space and comfortable environment to talk to them and share how they feel. “Peer mentorship is essentially about students who are seeking help from adults who are not completely open,” said club sponsor, Chase Beasley. It is also important for students to feel comfortable sharing their feelings and emotions with others. For Liberty to have a group of students that are trained in helping others and being a listening ear is very helpful for other students. It can also help the school community by bringing the students together. “If you feel like someone is gossiping or bullying and you feel uncomfortable at school, then it is best that you reach out to an Eagle Ambassador sponsor or leader to get help,” said Beasley.
As the Eagle Ambassadors club gains more recognition, more students are likely to join. “I usually get teacher recommendations or select students that have good leadership qualities and can communicate amongst different social clubs at Liberty and also do well in school,” said Beasley. Students who are considering joining Eagle Ambassadors should note that this is not a group where members can take sides when performing mediation. When performing mediation, students must focus on reaching a mutual agreement between both parties and find a solution to the conflict. “We help students feel comfortable and it is an avenue to succeed whether it is social, emotional, behavior, and also academically as well”, said Beasley.
Although there are many clubs and activities at Liberty, Eagle Ambassadors is one of the only clubs that guide students who intend to pursue counseling in the future. Mediators act as resolvers of conflict, a listening ear, and assist students in thriving on a personal level.
