Saaliha Allauddin is excited about being part of a new, select team of student leaders at Perimeter College.

“It’s a unique opportunity to improve myself personally and professionally,” Allauddin said of being chosen for the inaugural Perimeter College Student Ambassadors program at Georgia State University.

The leadership initiative will enable Allauddin and nine others to serve as student hosts and goodwill ambassadors for the college Dean, as well as engage with prospective students, alumni, college donors and community members.

The ambassadors were selected based on individual interpersonal skills, academic records and enthusiasm for Perimeter—and they’ve already had the chance to lead.

Earlier this semester, some of them served as student hosts for Georgia State’s new president Dr. M. Brian Blake during his “meet and greets” on each of Perimeter’s five campuses. They also participated in a leadership retreat hosted and facilitated by the college’s Board of Advisors.

“I decided to become a Perimeter student ambassador because it’s an excellent opportunity to share that Perimeter campuses are as good as the Atlanta campus with many benefits,” Allauddin said about why she applied for the Ambassador program.

“Also, I wanted to show how thankful I am to all the professors and other people who have helped and guided me in my career pathway and college life.”

Allauddin studies computer science and volunteers as a student assistant to, Dr. Sahithiya Reddivari, assistant chair of computer science and engineering, who is giving her the opportunity to assist with computer science research.  Allauddin also is member of the STEM and the Women in Technology clubs on Alpharetta Campus. She plans to continue studying computer science on the Atlanta campus once graduating from Perimeter.

Pre-nursing student Judith Nwigwe is another standout student ambassador. Nwigwe welcomes the leadership opportunity and sees it as a chance “to make a difference.” A proven go-getter, she attends Perimeter during the day and works in the telemetry department at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at night on her path to ultimately becoming a pediatric nurse.

Student ambassador Harsha Thottempudi is studying computer science and has his sight on someday working in cybersecurity. A native of India, he volunteers for the Red Cross, and helps teach robotics to grade school students through a program called Robotics for All.

“I like Perimeter College and being an ambassador is also a good way to meet the faculty,” Thottempudi says.

During an Aug. 27 leadership retreat for Ambassadors, Perimeter Dean Nancy Kropf stressed the value of the program and students.

“Your role as ambassadors is to help tell Georgia State and Perimeter’s story in a very important way,” Kropf said. “One of the best ways to showcase this is for people to meet you.”

The retreat also gave the students an opportunity to learn from the experiences of college Board of Advisors and alumni such as Brian Lovell (AS ’09, president, Association of Controls Professionals and board chair), Victoria Prevatt  (AS ’98, lead strategist, Good Works, LLC), Jennifer Abbot (AS ’91, director of external affairs and special projects, University of Georgia School of Social Work) and Rockdale Tax Commissioner Tisa Smart-Washington (BA ’01)  who led the students in a fun, team-building activity that involved constructing a structure out of marshmallows and spaghetti.

In addition to Allauddin, Ngiwe and Thottempudi, the full list of stellar student ambassadors includes:

Lwini Bembele, chemistry

Simin Bhanvadia, nursing

Torie Hayes, journalism

Maria Hernandez, business administration

Hala Salama, biology

Prisca Tshiakwiza, engineering

Luke Varghese, business administration

Visit the Perimeter College Student Ambassadors webpage to learn more about the program.