Hello, my name is Calum, and I am one of the Welsh-language Ambassadors at Bridgend College. I came from Ysgol Llanhari, and chose to come to the Pencoed campus to study ICT, and subsequently chose to study Public Services for two years, and I'm now almost at the end of my first year.
When I applied to be an ambassador, I didn't expect to hear back, but thought it would be nice to give it a try, and to be fair I didn't expect them to accept me as an ambassador! But it was great to see that I had been accepted. I wanted to be an ambassador to keep the Welsh language in my head and not lose it, and also so that I could help the Welsh language within the College and in Wales.
The first thing I did as an Ambassador was a trip to Aberystwyth University which helped me get to know other ambassadors, and better understand my role as an ambassador. Since then, I've been helping out at open days and events on my campus, which is Pencoed, while the other half of my team is on the Bridgend campus. I thought I would struggle to take part in the open days as I'm not great when it comes to socialising, but it was a lot of fun, and it was nice to talk to some people who attended the open day who spoke Welsh.
The events I have been to as an Ambassador include the fruit kebabs 'pop-up' fair in the Public Services and Sports departments, in order to raise awareness of the Welsh language, and develop the students' Welsh-language skills by giving them healthy snacks for free!
The most recent event was our Saint Dwynwen celebration. I spoke to people there and helped with the bracelet creating activity, and helped host the quiz on our stand.
The year is flying by, and I have enjoyed the various events and being an Ambassador for the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. I look forward to taking part in further activities before the end of the academic year, and wish those who succeed me the best of luck.
It has been an enjoyable experience, and I would recommend the opportunity to everyone, even if your Welsh is not great; being an ambassador does not require you to be perfect. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you found it interesting.