October 19, 2022 • 26 mins
Norseman staff writer Katherine Keyser sat down with Dr. Brian Merrell, Executive Director of School Leadership, and Mr. Lester Banks, head monitor, to talk to them about the Bryan ISD ambassador program. Look for a more in-depth newspaper article in the first edition of the BHS Norseman newspaper coming out soon.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey Vikings. I'm Katherine Keyser with the Bryan High Norseman newspaper and
I'm here with Dr. Brian Merrill, the executive director of school leadership for Bryan ISD,
and Mr. Lester Banks, head monitor for the high school campuses. Thank you for being with us
today to talk about the Ambassador program.Absolutely. We appreciate the opportunity
to come out and speak today. Clearly, I've got the campus celebrity with me,
(00:23):
Mr. Banks, who is in and around everything. He's got his hands in everything so we're very
honored and privileged to be here today.What is the Student Ambassador program?
The Student Ambassador program is a group of students that have decided or we've encouraged
to lead out on their campus. We've challenged them in various ways to take on the idea of agency,
(00:48):
leadership, and improving their campus. We've put together a group of some of the best teachers and
staff members that we have in Bryan ISD, including Mr. Banks, and asked them to lead out and give
the kids the opportunity to serve not only on their campus but in a larger sense the district.
There are 16,800 students in the district and we've asked about 250 to be ambassadors
(01:11):
and we're asking those students to take a lead, an initiative, in all different kinds of ways.
I joked before we began that we could have named the Ambassadors the Lesters simply because so
much of what Lester Banks does in and around this community is what we're patterning the ambassadors
off of, serving the greater good and giving back.When there's an event that takes place in this
(01:34):
community it's inevitable that Mr Banks is going to be standing there with his keys leading out
with a vest on, making sure that everything runs properly and that everything takes off.
This community is better because of the Lester Banks of the world and we just want to create
the next generation of Lester Banks through Bryan High, Rudder, Bryan Collegiate, Davila, and SFA.
(01:56):
We're giving them the agency; giving the students the agency to make the changes
that they want to see. Asking them what they want to do. Asking them what they want to
improve. Asking them what they want, what they will commit to, and then giving them not only
the leadership but the support and financial support to be able to make those changes happen.
That may be a long answer for what the student ambassadors are,
but they're just a group of students that are committed to making Bryan ISD a better place.
(02:22):
What are some of the things that students do as ambassadors to make things better?
The first initial events that we had were the Back to School Bash at Fannin and they were
out leading, making sure that every student was prepared for school. We have the Habitat
Build that Mrs. Carribine set in front of us, to build a house for a deserving family in Bryan ISD.
(02:43):
They're helping at the games, Lester's been a part of that. You know Lester sets up all
of Meryl Green, I mean he and Chris Gibson and a few other people are out there making sure
that Friday night takes off and it's just done at a top-notch level and it's more than just
a football game. A football game happens, but you've got the band, the drill team,
the cheerleaders, our Color Guard. You've got so much of the student body, it's just a full campus
(03:08):
experience so we are handing out flyers for the Habitat Build there. We've also done convocation,
we've participated in convocation. I think one of the things that, moving forward, that I think when
we considered who we needed to bring on board in leadership and we thought about Lester as they're
going to decide a campus initiative and that could look different depending on each campus,
(03:32):
but they're going to think about maybe what's something we want to improve,
what's something that we want to be different, what's something that we can maybe start or really
just take off and whatever that campus initiative is you can bet that Lester is going to be there.
As they're deciding those things and as they're thinking about maybe putting up a military wall
or for example we had a Special Needs Prom that we put on at the end of last year it could be
(03:55):
redecoration of the bathrooms those are all things that the ambassadors have thrown out.
I know that Lester is going to be there supporting with keys and those types of
things so just depending on where they go what rabbit hole they hop down and where they take
off to we know where we're going to be.What are some of the things that have
been brought up for the campus initiative?I appreciate you asking. So I've already
(04:22):
mentioned some. Definitely one of them would be the redecoration of
the bathrooms. I think that when we went to Katy and we went to a student event
back at the end of last school year and the speaker talked about the campus culture and
climate of the school and he asked them what was working, what was not working,
what do you want to improve, and what's something that you could support.
(04:45):
One of the things that the kids referenced was sometimes the bathrooms maybe aren't as
nice. If you would sometimes they’re maybe not treated as kindly as they would want and so the
gentleman who was speaking said you know if you redecorate those maybe if you come in and
you paint and you put up graphics and murals and you really take ownership of the bathrooms
(05:05):
possibly the kids will follow as well. So we've talked about a military wall dedicated to all
those men and women that have joined the military from Bryan High or from Rudder,
that have committed to the program and list their names. They've talked about college walls where it
(05:25):
shows you know college selection and colors and that types of things where they put up banners.
They've talked about the special needs prom was really the first event that came out of
that and Lester can talk a little bit about that because, again, we look up and Lester's literally
at the boys and girls club and so Lester talks a little bit about that event and your involvement
in what you saw that night if you would.Well, we had several kids with our special
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needs that came out and were very thankful and happy that we had a group of people that took
time out to give back to them to give back to the community. Our student ambassadors,
our main program like Dr Merrill said it's the leadership we're trying to grow in the community.
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We're trying to reach out to people in the community. We want people to know that we do have
students in our schools that care and who want to make a difference in our schools and someday they
can come back and look back at the schools that they were at, whether it's Bryan High, Collegiate,
or Rudder. I'm so thankful that we were able to give back and that's what the kids are all about.
(06:37):
I couldn't agree more. I appreciate you saying that Lester. You know we had, from the ground up,
that problem was designed for our students. The CTE program got involved, we had our cosmetology
department do makeup and hair and the home ec department, as I know it, it's culinary science,
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obviously made the food. We had a photographer that was there too. Boys and Girls Club opened
it up, and Lester again was there making sure that everything ran properly, and we had a DJ that came
out for free. The kids were so excited and so were their parents. Not only the students that
it was created for, but Lester, I would say, our ambassadors had as much fun as anybody. They were
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just out dancing, having a great time and so you know it's one of those things, yes the kids could
come to the regular prom, no problem then come to both and what we hope is that both proms become so
popular that they just are incredibly attended so that would be kind of events that we're doing, and
as Lester said, that we just want to create the environment for kids to lead and to know that they
(07:46):
can give back, that they have an opportunity to really serve this community, and I mean the Brazos
Valley needs to know that the Bryan kids are here. They're a force, they're phenomenal, they're great
kids, and they're going to literally not only change Bryan High and Rudder and Bryan Collegiate,
the Brazos Valley, and then we're going to send them off into the world and given that opportunity
with the right direction I really don't think there's anything that they can't accomplish.
(08:12):
How long have the student ambassadors been at Bryan High?
Are we talking minutes or days because it really is just a few months. We started at the end of of
May and then we've hit the ground running. We've jokingly said we launched the plane and then
started to to build it, but that's pretty much what's happened and so this is the first year.
(08:35):
What was the inspiration for bringing the ambassador program to Bryan ISD?
I'm not joking, when you think about those people you want to be like, I mean you start thinking
about people that you look up to and Lester is is one of those individuals. You start thinking about
just what it takes to to make a difference and so you just start looking around. You know it's the
(08:58):
right thing to do. I would give Mrs. Carrabine full credit for this. You know she really
wanted a student movement. She wants a student movement. She knows that for the district to move,
to continue to move, in the direction, the positive direction, in which it's going,
it's not only going to take the adults pushing and pulling, and working really hard to make sure it
goes there but like I said with Lesters out there we want more. So you have to involve the students
(09:24):
and you have to give them the the permission in so many ways to to lead, to dream, to problem solve,
to step into action, whereas sometimes we just solve it for them or we we roll it out and it's
already done and we don't want to do that. We want to give them, it's their school I mean,
and Lester said it, I mean he said it a minute ago, they need to know they can give back,
(09:45):
they need to know that they can make a difference, they need to know that they can serve, they need
to know that they can do these things and we have to give them permission and then support
them and not only just say, ‘hey go do it’ and be like, ‘oh good luck’ and step back but say
good luck and then what do you need and uh what do you need us do, you need money, do you need,
do you need a ride, do you need need a bus, do you need flyers, what do you need, a set of keys,
(10:07):
what exactly do you need to pull this off, and it's been fun to watch them run that
route and figure out how to get it done.The main thing we want to do is leave no
child behind. That's right, I mean at the Bryan Independent School District our goal
is to make sure every child, on every campus, feels safe and feels at home.
(10:30):
With the ambassador program, I think we have kids that really want to be a part and have the heart
to get involved. I know when we started out with 40 people in a program and we're up to
180 kids that want to be part of our program and that says a lot right there. We challenged
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our kids each day, who are you when no one's looking, and we tell our kids we want you to
be able to say you're somebody. Giving back is one of the things that we're looking into.
One of our big projects coming up, like you said, on Friday night game is Habitat Humanity
(11:16):
we want to give back to the community. We want people to know that our school and our student
body come first but extracurricular activities besides sports and other activities. We want
the kids to know that we want to give back to the community that stands behind us and supports us.
(11:37):
As of right now how many members are in the program?
As he said 180 at Bryan High, we probably have another 100 at Rudder, you've got another 70 at
Davila and SFA, we've got 44 specifically at Bryan Collegiate so that adds up to 3,400,
probably somewhere in that range and you've got as any organization that large, you've
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got a lot of them who are fully committed. Some that are because of extracurricular activities
may not be able to participate right now, but they're waiting in the spring or they will,
when maybe that season kind of tapers off, so we're looking for kids that want to make a
difference and we're looking for a diverse group of kids. As Lester said we don't leave any kids
behind so if you want to make a difference we'll take you. We'd love for you to be a part of it.
(12:21):
What are some of the other goals for the ambassador program this year?
That's a great question, so we had our first collaborative and a collaborative is where we
bring our ambassadors over. We brought them over to the performing arts center next to SFA and we
adopted them out to elementary schools. All of our ambassadors were divided into groups and
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then adopted to an elementary and the goal here is for our secondary ambassadors to develop the
same set of skills and talents and give back in the elementary and support the traditions a
lot of the schools already have, celebrations that the campuses, the elementary campuses,
are doing except with the student influence. For example, we're considering, or they're doing,
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pep rallies, academic pep rallies at elementary schools. They also may be involving some of the
student ambassadors in their fourth grade reading night or their third grade reading
nights so they're figuring out authentic ways for the kids to go down to the elementary
services and serve. They're going to work with the student councils. On many of our campuses,
we already have student councils, on other ones we don't and so we will
develop a student council there. They will be our junior ambassadors and then at this,
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the intermediates will have our young ambassadors that will eventually start to rotate and fill up.
Bryan Collegiate has adopted the intermediate campuses and then all of the Byran, Rudder,
Davila, and SFA adopted all of the elementary campuses. There are roughly 20 kids per elementary
campus. They won't always be able to go, but they will so for example tomorrow at Johnson
they've got a student council meeting and our ambassadors are showing up just to encourage them,
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just say like ‘hey, this is what student council does at the high school, and what are your goals,
what are your projects what are you hoping to do here at Johnson’ and just to encourage the kids so
that's one of the projects that we're doing. One of the other things is that we challenge
each campus to come up with a plan of ambassadors that they want to do and Dr. Merrell, as he said,
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he's there to support. He challenged each campus to come up with ideas to make our program better
and the kids are so excited right now. I mean they coming up with some great ideas to
support our program and I just can't wait to get involved and help them out and see where it goes.
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How do you choose ambassadors for the program?We put it out to the staff and we asked them
for selections. We asked for a diverse group of students not only racially and gender but also
just with their organizations and clicks and friend groups. We wanted to make sure we had
representation across the campus. If we're trying to create a student movement you want to make sure
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that all the students are represented and so we've done that and that's why you know part of it is
just the numbers that we have and then we had kids that once they saw it was starting and they saw
what we were about they asked to be a part of it and then we included those and so we're kind of at
a point now where we're capping it. We're circling back around, we're making sure that everybody's
fully committed and they understand what they're fully committed to, and then we're going to move
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forward. Eventually, what we'd love to do is still have that representation but also anyone that
wants to participate. I will tell you this, we're looking to set a standard for letterman jackets.
We want to include a route through the ambassador program to achieve and receive a letterman jacket.
We're also looking for graduation regalia, whether that be a cord or whether that some
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kind of a stole but the kids are giving back in a similar way to the National Honor Society or
other types of things that we want to include and celebrate and so hopefully that will make
this. We'll continue to make this a worthwhile organization when they start to see oh I can get
a letterman Jack because as Lester said you don't leave anybody behind and so I may not play sports
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or I may not be in CTE, but if I can do this then I could have a letterman jacket. I could be a part
of Bryan, how I could be a part of Rudder, that's really you know just another thing we want to do.
How do you hope to see the program grow in the future?
Well I can, Lester thinks about this one as well, I think one of the biggest deals is we just keep
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adding to it so once an ambassador hopefully always an ambassador. We have academic and
behavioral expectations and so if we could get everyone to meet those expectations that would
be incredibly powerful and as we move through the years obviously kids will graduate. When
they get to their senior year but we would just continue to add to it so let's say we
have 300 this year and you know 75 graduate but we add another 150, you could see where
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the numbers start to grow and you really get a kind of collective ideal of what it means to be
a Viking. It may not be necessary. just I'm an ambassador it's now this is just how as a Viking
we act and I'll just say by word of mouth I mean you know because the kids see it and really and
truly I have seen so many kids have come back and encouraged some of their friends and pass it all
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about until you get involved and they challenge one another to encourage, to push one another,
to help them grow and be strong, and they even encourage them to go talk to their principals to
see what they need to do to get in that ambassador and that's what the program is all about.
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Can you tell me a little bit about the Bryan ISD build a program specifically?
Yeah, we can. So obviously, Habitat for Humanity is in this community. They've built multiple homes
for a deserving family. It's not a handout, it's a hand up, and it's a zero interest loan,
but they definitely do pay for that mortgage and so what we've decided to do, Mrs. Carrabine has
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put the vision in front of us, the goal in front of us to have basically a Bryan ISD build. We
would fundraise, we would fully support that home, we would be able to, the 65-70 whatever the cost
of the home would be, and then we would actually build it. So as a community, as a district,
we would be out there hammering, we'd be literally building this home and our students can pick up a
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hammer. They could pick up a paintbrush, they can do the same types of things, and so we're wanting,
they've assured us that it'll be a Bryan family, and hopefully, they'll have a Bryan ISD student
in the home and we'd be able to give them a set of keys and that we would all just have ownership
of. We'd be able to look back and say ‘hey we did that.’ You know our time here was definitely about
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academics, definitely about these things, but we were able to build a home for a family and that's
just an amazing thought. When I came to college at A&M, my first introduction to Habitat was in
Bryan. I helped build a couple homes down in Bryan and so just that thought, I can remember going
down painting the ceiling getting it all over me, going down with my friends, and really having
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that experience. and that's what we want we want that experience for our kids and for our staff.
How are you hoping to get the ambassadors involved with the build?
Yeah well, they've already reached out and they're going to do a photo shoot, photo op,
coming up they've scheduled it out to be able to bring some attention and some advertisement,
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and as Lester said we're fundraising. Currently, Lester's not going to say this, but I'm going to
say it, you know Lester's going to support it so he's already put his own personal commitment in
the ring. He's already said he's going to help fundraise. We've got every elementary which has
decided to do some type of fundraiser and then all the other schools are as well. It's just
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that every school in Brayn ISD is doing it. Not this Friday, but next Friday the ambassadors will
be running the concession stand and all of the donations that would normally go to the non-profit
will go to the build so we'll hopefully get at least a thousand dollars from that, but we could
get tips. There's a QR code that you could donate so we're just reaching out to the community and
letting them know what we're doing and hopefully bringing attention, bringing some notoriety,
(20:17):
to it. I believe the funds will follow so that's kind of where we’re heading. Then out of that,
we'll just start to build it. Hopefully in January, by then we'll have the money that
we need and we can start actually constructing the house. And actually, it is this Friday,
the football game against Bryan and Temple concession we will be running a concession
stand. But one of the things that I really want to say is that habitat is a community-wide program
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that really does help out people and I am so thankful and blessed that we have the opportunity
at Bryan ISD because my dream was one day too, I'm always helping other organizations and I
want to give some back so one of my big ideas is to challenge the high schools to kids because I've
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challenged them to really take this seriously and participate and then whatever we raise,
I'm going to go along and double it because I want a challenge and a lot of kids already
said as long as you're involved I'm gonna help.With you, that's actually terrifying to think
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because Lester, you may or may not know this, obviously, you know this
he gives away scholarships every year that he personally raises the money for. Lester,
how many scholarships did you give Lester?Thirty-two individual scholarships last
year to deserving kids in Bryan ISD, not just Bryan High School, but all four high schools.
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So you know it's one of those things that I joked about it like being called the Lesters,
but the reality is Lester's leading. He's not the only one, we have other people that are doing it
but when you look across this campus and you see Lester at events, you see him fundraising
you see him doing these things he's like well we can do that why can't we. Just keep doing it,
keep moving forward, and we'll have other folks just like Lester that will want a match,
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that will want to donate, that will want to profit share, that will want to do those things,
so our kids are just stepping up and saying look well we'll do it, we'll raise the money,
you match it, we'll do the work will you give us the profit shares we'll do the concession stand
we'll do those types of things.I appreciate him saying that.
What are you hoping that the Bryan ISD students gain out of helping with the build?
(22:41):
Lester help me answer this one. I think there's a host of things. I think just the fact that
they can give back. I think there's an altruistic attitude and a mindset that comes with just seeing
other people and feeling a need that really is outside of yourself, that gives back to yourself,
and so I think that would be one thing, I mean secondly just giving a family home,
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I mean the ability for the kids to help them get into a home for them,
to have a permanent place to stay, that's their own that they own, that they can commit to,
that they can start to lay down roots that they can you know, just have memories in. I
think that is incredibly powerful. I think that's the build more importantly than that though it's
just this idea of being an ambassador and just giving back. I think looking beyond yourself,
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I think really is something I'm excited about. I don't know if you can think that's the key
it's just giving back. I mean the kids are excited that they can come to school,
make good grades, and take care of that, but most importantly they can make a difference in
somebody's life by giving back and that's the key. Yeah, it's fun honestly, I mean it really is. I
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mean I love coming to school I love, you know, I sort of like math, I sort of liked reading,
I sort of like science, I sort of like those things, but I really love my elective classes.
This would have been something I would have loved to have done to be able to go to elementary school
to get to know those kids, to give back, to hang out, to be able to do something just different
during the day and to have things with my friends to do at night on the weekends like those are
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things that I enjoy as an adult that I know the kids are going to want to do and it really starts
to develop even stronger community as opposed to just a bunch of people that live in a town.
Is there anything else that either of you would like to add?
I’d just like to personally thank the administrator's staff and the students
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of Bryan Independent School District because they have made an impact on my life. The thing
that makes me feel good is every morning I get up, I don't care where I'm going McDonald's or
at one of the elementary schools, bus barn, or whatever when you have a kid
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walk up to you and give you a hug and say ‘I appreciate what you do for us,
thanks for making a difference in my life you know that really touches my heart and
it goes back to what I said from day one (25:16):
if you can reach out and touch one person's life
and make a difference in their life you've done your job and that's what I'm all about. I don't
care what it is, and I always tell the kids and I will continue to tell you if you need anything,
anything that I Lester Banks can do to help you be successful in life, you call on me any day,
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any time of the night, I'll be there for you.He says one person, we know that that's like one
person a day for Lester. So you know I would just want to say thank you to Lester, Jennifer Smith,
Laura Stafford, and Kristen Regan. I think through all the people that really have made this program
what it is already and all the hard work of the campus facilitator,s the leaders, that are
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just having the conversations and are developing the relationships and are doing the hard work I
really appreciate it. I appreciate Mrs. Carrabine giving us the vision and the direction and the
expectation of where we're going to have a student movement. I thank the school board as well for
putting that on us and expecting more from us and so anyway I think if I was going to say anything
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I would just say thank you to those people.Okay, thank you, Dr. Merrill and Mr. Banks
for being with us today highlighting the ambassador program. Well,
we appreciate you doing our first ever podcast, I've never done one before so thank you.
Hey Vikings. I'm Katherine Keyser with the Bryan High Norseman newspaper and
I'm here with Dr. Brian Merrill, the executive director of school leadership for Bryan ISD,
and Mr. Lester Banks, head monitor for the high school campuses. Thank you for being with us
today to talk about the Ambassador program.Absolutely. We appreciate the opportunity
to come out and speak today. Clearly, I've got the campus celebrity with me,
(00:23):
Mr. Banks, who is in and around everything. He's got his hands in everything so we're very
honored and privileged to be here today.What is the Student Ambassador program?
The Student Ambassador program is a group of students that have decided or we've encouraged
to lead out on their campus. We've challenged them in various ways to take on the idea of agency,
(00:48):
leadership, and improving their campus. We've put together a group of some of the best teachers and
staff members that we have in Bryan ISD, including Mr. Banks, and asked them to lead out and give
the kids the opportunity to serve not only on their campus but in a larger sense the district.
There are 16,800 students in the district and we've asked about 250 to be ambassadors
(01:11):
and we're asking those students to take a lead, an initiative, in all different kinds of ways.
I joked before we began that we could have named the Ambassadors the Lesters simply because so
much of what Lester Banks does in and around this community is what we're patterning the ambassadors
off of, serving the greater good and giving back.When there's an event that takes place in this
(01:34):
community it's inevitable that Mr Banks is going to be standing there with his keys leading out
with a vest on, making sure that everything runs properly and that everything takes off.
This community is better because of the Lester Banks of the world and we just want to create
the next generation of Lester Banks through Bryan High, Rudder, Bryan Collegiate, Davila, and SFA.
(01:56):
We're giving them the agency; giving the students the agency to make the changes
that they want to see. Asking them what they want to do. Asking them what they want to
improve. Asking them what they want, what they will commit to, and then giving them not only
the leadership but the support and financial support to be able to make those changes happen.
That may be a long answer for what the student ambassadors are,
but they're just a group of students that are committed to making Bryan ISD a better place.
(02:22):
What are some of the things that students do as ambassadors to make things better?
The first initial events that we had were the Back to School Bash at Fannin and they were
out leading, making sure that every student was prepared for school. We have the Habitat
Build that Mrs. Carribine set in front of us, to build a house for a deserving family in Bryan ISD.
(02:43):
They're helping at the games, Lester's been a part of that. You know Lester sets up all
of Meryl Green, I mean he and Chris Gibson and a few other people are out there making sure
that Friday night takes off and it's just done at a top-notch level and it's more than just
a football game. A football game happens, but you've got the band, the drill team,
the cheerleaders, our Color Guard. You've got so much of the student body, it's just a full campus
(03:08):
experience so we are handing out flyers for the Habitat Build there. We've also done convocation,
we've participated in convocation. I think one of the things that, moving forward, that I think when
we considered who we needed to bring on board in leadership and we thought about Lester as they're
going to decide a campus initiative and that could look different depending on each campus,
(03:32):
but they're going to think about maybe what's something we want to improve,
what's something that we want to be different, what's something that we can maybe start or really
just take off and whatever that campus initiative is you can bet that Lester is going to be there.
As they're deciding those things and as they're thinking about maybe putting up a military wall
or for example we had a Special Needs Prom that we put on at the end of last year it could be
(03:55):
redecoration of the bathrooms those are all things that the ambassadors have thrown out.
I know that Lester is going to be there supporting with keys and those types of
things so just depending on where they go what rabbit hole they hop down and where they take
off to we know where we're going to be.What are some of the things that have
been brought up for the campus initiative?I appreciate you asking. So I've already
(04:22):
mentioned some. Definitely one of them would be the redecoration of
the bathrooms. I think that when we went to Katy and we went to a student event
back at the end of last school year and the speaker talked about the campus culture and
climate of the school and he asked them what was working, what was not working,
what do you want to improve, and what's something that you could support.
(04:45):
One of the things that the kids referenced was sometimes the bathrooms maybe aren't as
nice. If you would sometimes they’re maybe not treated as kindly as they would want and so the
gentleman who was speaking said you know if you redecorate those maybe if you come in and
you paint and you put up graphics and murals and you really take ownership of the bathrooms
(05:05):
possibly the kids will follow as well. So we've talked about a military wall dedicated to all
those men and women that have joined the military from Bryan High or from Rudder,
that have committed to the program and list their names. They've talked about college walls where it
(05:25):
shows you know college selection and colors and that types of things where they put up banners.
They've talked about the special needs prom was really the first event that came out of
that and Lester can talk a little bit about that because, again, we look up and Lester's literally
at the boys and girls club and so Lester talks a little bit about that event and your involvement
in what you saw that night if you would.Well, we had several kids with our special
(05:49):
needs that came out and were very thankful and happy that we had a group of people that took
time out to give back to them to give back to the community. Our student ambassadors,
our main program like Dr Merrill said it's the leadership we're trying to grow in the community.
(06:11):
We're trying to reach out to people in the community. We want people to know that we do have
students in our schools that care and who want to make a difference in our schools and someday they
can come back and look back at the schools that they were at, whether it's Bryan High, Collegiate,
or Rudder. I'm so thankful that we were able to give back and that's what the kids are all about.
(06:37):
I couldn't agree more. I appreciate you saying that Lester. You know we had, from the ground up,
that problem was designed for our students. The CTE program got involved, we had our cosmetology
department do makeup and hair and the home ec department, as I know it, it's culinary science,
(06:57):
obviously made the food. We had a photographer that was there too. Boys and Girls Club opened
it up, and Lester again was there making sure that everything ran properly, and we had a DJ that came
out for free. The kids were so excited and so were their parents. Not only the students that
it was created for, but Lester, I would say, our ambassadors had as much fun as anybody. They were
(07:26):
just out dancing, having a great time and so you know it's one of those things, yes the kids could
come to the regular prom, no problem then come to both and what we hope is that both proms become so
popular that they just are incredibly attended so that would be kind of events that we're doing, and
as Lester said, that we just want to create the environment for kids to lead and to know that they
(07:46):
can give back, that they have an opportunity to really serve this community, and I mean the Brazos
Valley needs to know that the Bryan kids are here. They're a force, they're phenomenal, they're great
kids, and they're going to literally not only change Bryan High and Rudder and Bryan Collegiate,
the Brazos Valley, and then we're going to send them off into the world and given that opportunity
with the right direction I really don't think there's anything that they can't accomplish.
(08:12):
How long have the student ambassadors been at Bryan High?
Are we talking minutes or days because it really is just a few months. We started at the end of of
May and then we've hit the ground running. We've jokingly said we launched the plane and then
started to to build it, but that's pretty much what's happened and so this is the first year.
(08:35):
What was the inspiration for bringing the ambassador program to Bryan ISD?
I'm not joking, when you think about those people you want to be like, I mean you start thinking
about people that you look up to and Lester is is one of those individuals. You start thinking about
just what it takes to to make a difference and so you just start looking around. You know it's the
(08:58):
right thing to do. I would give Mrs. Carrabine full credit for this. You know she really
wanted a student movement. She wants a student movement. She knows that for the district to move,
to continue to move, in the direction, the positive direction, in which it's going,
it's not only going to take the adults pushing and pulling, and working really hard to make sure it
goes there but like I said with Lesters out there we want more. So you have to involve the students
(09:24):
and you have to give them the the permission in so many ways to to lead, to dream, to problem solve,
to step into action, whereas sometimes we just solve it for them or we we roll it out and it's
already done and we don't want to do that. We want to give them, it's their school I mean,
and Lester said it, I mean he said it a minute ago, they need to know they can give back,
(09:45):
they need to know that they can make a difference, they need to know that they can serve, they need
to know that they can do these things and we have to give them permission and then support
them and not only just say, ‘hey go do it’ and be like, ‘oh good luck’ and step back but say
good luck and then what do you need and uh what do you need us do, you need money, do you need,
do you need a ride, do you need need a bus, do you need flyers, what do you need, a set of keys,
(10:07):
what exactly do you need to pull this off, and it's been fun to watch them run that
route and figure out how to get it done.The main thing we want to do is leave no
child behind. That's right, I mean at the Bryan Independent School District our goal
is to make sure every child, on every campus, feels safe and feels at home.
(10:30):
With the ambassador program, I think we have kids that really want to be a part and have the heart
to get involved. I know when we started out with 40 people in a program and we're up to
180 kids that want to be part of our program and that says a lot right there. We challenged
(10:55):
our kids each day, who are you when no one's looking, and we tell our kids we want you to
be able to say you're somebody. Giving back is one of the things that we're looking into.
One of our big projects coming up, like you said, on Friday night game is Habitat Humanity
(11:16):
we want to give back to the community. We want people to know that our school and our student
body come first but extracurricular activities besides sports and other activities. We want
the kids to know that we want to give back to the community that stands behind us and supports us.
(11:37):
As of right now how many members are in the program?
As he said 180 at Bryan High, we probably have another 100 at Rudder, you've got another 70 at
Davila and SFA, we've got 44 specifically at Bryan Collegiate so that adds up to 3,400,
probably somewhere in that range and you've got as any organization that large, you've
(11:58):
got a lot of them who are fully committed. Some that are because of extracurricular activities
may not be able to participate right now, but they're waiting in the spring or they will,
when maybe that season kind of tapers off, so we're looking for kids that want to make a
difference and we're looking for a diverse group of kids. As Lester said we don't leave any kids
behind so if you want to make a difference we'll take you. We'd love for you to be a part of it.
(12:21):
What are some of the other goals for the ambassador program this year?
That's a great question, so we had our first collaborative and a collaborative is where we
bring our ambassadors over. We brought them over to the performing arts center next to SFA and we
adopted them out to elementary schools. All of our ambassadors were divided into groups and
(12:42):
then adopted to an elementary and the goal here is for our secondary ambassadors to develop the
same set of skills and talents and give back in the elementary and support the traditions a
lot of the schools already have, celebrations that the campuses, the elementary campuses,
are doing except with the student influence. For example, we're considering, or they're doing,
(13:08):
pep rallies, academic pep rallies at elementary schools. They also may be involving some of the
student ambassadors in their fourth grade reading night or their third grade reading
nights so they're figuring out authentic ways for the kids to go down to the elementary
services and serve. They're going to work with the student councils. On many of our campuses,
we already have student councils, on other ones we don't and so we will
develop a student council there. They will be our junior ambassadors and then at this,
(13:32):
the intermediates will have our young ambassadors that will eventually start to rotate and fill up.
Bryan Collegiate has adopted the intermediate campuses and then all of the Byran, Rudder,
Davila, and SFA adopted all of the elementary campuses. There are roughly 20 kids per elementary
campus. They won't always be able to go, but they will so for example tomorrow at Johnson
they've got a student council meeting and our ambassadors are showing up just to encourage them,
(13:56):
just say like ‘hey, this is what student council does at the high school, and what are your goals,
what are your projects what are you hoping to do here at Johnson’ and just to encourage the kids so
that's one of the projects that we're doing. One of the other things is that we challenge
each campus to come up with a plan of ambassadors that they want to do and Dr. Merrell, as he said,
(14:19):
he's there to support. He challenged each campus to come up with ideas to make our program better
and the kids are so excited right now. I mean they coming up with some great ideas to
support our program and I just can't wait to get involved and help them out and see where it goes.
(14:43):
How do you choose ambassadors for the program?We put it out to the staff and we asked them
for selections. We asked for a diverse group of students not only racially and gender but also
just with their organizations and clicks and friend groups. We wanted to make sure we had
representation across the campus. If we're trying to create a student movement you want to make sure
(15:03):
that all the students are represented and so we've done that and that's why you know part of it is
just the numbers that we have and then we had kids that once they saw it was starting and they saw
what we were about they asked to be a part of it and then we included those and so we're kind of at
a point now where we're capping it. We're circling back around, we're making sure that everybody's
fully committed and they understand what they're fully committed to, and then we're going to move
(15:27):
forward. Eventually, what we'd love to do is still have that representation but also anyone that
wants to participate. I will tell you this, we're looking to set a standard for letterman jackets.
We want to include a route through the ambassador program to achieve and receive a letterman jacket.
We're also looking for graduation regalia, whether that be a cord or whether that some
(15:53):
kind of a stole but the kids are giving back in a similar way to the National Honor Society or
other types of things that we want to include and celebrate and so hopefully that will make
this. We'll continue to make this a worthwhile organization when they start to see oh I can get
a letterman Jack because as Lester said you don't leave anybody behind and so I may not play sports
(16:13):
or I may not be in CTE, but if I can do this then I could have a letterman jacket. I could be a part
of Bryan, how I could be a part of Rudder, that's really you know just another thing we want to do.
How do you hope to see the program grow in the future?
Well I can, Lester thinks about this one as well, I think one of the biggest deals is we just keep
(16:33):
adding to it so once an ambassador hopefully always an ambassador. We have academic and
behavioral expectations and so if we could get everyone to meet those expectations that would
be incredibly powerful and as we move through the years obviously kids will graduate. When
they get to their senior year but we would just continue to add to it so let's say we
have 300 this year and you know 75 graduate but we add another 150, you could see where
(16:56):
the numbers start to grow and you really get a kind of collective ideal of what it means to be
a Viking. It may not be necessary. just I'm an ambassador it's now this is just how as a Viking
we act and I'll just say by word of mouth I mean you know because the kids see it and really and
truly I have seen so many kids have come back and encouraged some of their friends and pass it all
(17:24):
about until you get involved and they challenge one another to encourage, to push one another,
to help them grow and be strong, and they even encourage them to go talk to their principals to
see what they need to do to get in that ambassador and that's what the program is all about.
(17:48):
Can you tell me a little bit about the Bryan ISD build a program specifically?
Yeah, we can. So obviously, Habitat for Humanity is in this community. They've built multiple homes
for a deserving family. It's not a handout, it's a hand up, and it's a zero interest loan,
but they definitely do pay for that mortgage and so what we've decided to do, Mrs. Carrabine has
(18:09):
put the vision in front of us, the goal in front of us to have basically a Bryan ISD build. We
would fundraise, we would fully support that home, we would be able to, the 65-70 whatever the cost
of the home would be, and then we would actually build it. So as a community, as a district,
we would be out there hammering, we'd be literally building this home and our students can pick up a
(18:31):
hammer. They could pick up a paintbrush, they can do the same types of things, and so we're wanting,
they've assured us that it'll be a Bryan family, and hopefully, they'll have a Bryan ISD student
in the home and we'd be able to give them a set of keys and that we would all just have ownership
of. We'd be able to look back and say ‘hey we did that.’ You know our time here was definitely about
(18:51):
academics, definitely about these things, but we were able to build a home for a family and that's
just an amazing thought. When I came to college at A&M, my first introduction to Habitat was in
Bryan. I helped build a couple homes down in Bryan and so just that thought, I can remember going
down painting the ceiling getting it all over me, going down with my friends, and really having
(19:12):
that experience. and that's what we want we want that experience for our kids and for our staff.
How are you hoping to get the ambassadors involved with the build?
Yeah well, they've already reached out and they're going to do a photo shoot, photo op,
coming up they've scheduled it out to be able to bring some attention and some advertisement,
(19:32):
and as Lester said we're fundraising. Currently, Lester's not going to say this, but I'm going to
say it, you know Lester's going to support it so he's already put his own personal commitment in
the ring. He's already said he's going to help fundraise. We've got every elementary which has
decided to do some type of fundraiser and then all the other schools are as well. It's just
(19:54):
that every school in Brayn ISD is doing it. Not this Friday, but next Friday the ambassadors will
be running the concession stand and all of the donations that would normally go to the non-profit
will go to the build so we'll hopefully get at least a thousand dollars from that, but we could
get tips. There's a QR code that you could donate so we're just reaching out to the community and
letting them know what we're doing and hopefully bringing attention, bringing some notoriety,
(20:17):
to it. I believe the funds will follow so that's kind of where we’re heading. Then out of that,
we'll just start to build it. Hopefully in January, by then we'll have the money that
we need and we can start actually constructing the house. And actually, it is this Friday,
the football game against Bryan and Temple concession we will be running a concession
stand. But one of the things that I really want to say is that habitat is a community-wide program
(20:45):
that really does help out people and I am so thankful and blessed that we have the opportunity
at Bryan ISD because my dream was one day too, I'm always helping other organizations and I
want to give some back so one of my big ideas is to challenge the high schools to kids because I've
(21:08):
challenged them to really take this seriously and participate and then whatever we raise,
I'm going to go along and double it because I want a challenge and a lot of kids already
said as long as you're involved I'm gonna help.With you, that's actually terrifying to think
(21:28):
because Lester, you may or may not know this, obviously, you know this
he gives away scholarships every year that he personally raises the money for. Lester,
how many scholarships did you give Lester?Thirty-two individual scholarships last
year to deserving kids in Bryan ISD, not just Bryan High School, but all four high schools.
(21:51):
So you know it's one of those things that I joked about it like being called the Lesters,
but the reality is Lester's leading. He's not the only one, we have other people that are doing it
but when you look across this campus and you see Lester at events, you see him fundraising
you see him doing these things he's like well we can do that why can't we. Just keep doing it,
keep moving forward, and we'll have other folks just like Lester that will want a match,
(22:14):
that will want to donate, that will want to profit share, that will want to do those things,
so our kids are just stepping up and saying look well we'll do it, we'll raise the money,
you match it, we'll do the work will you give us the profit shares we'll do the concession stand
we'll do those types of things.I appreciate him saying that.
What are you hoping that the Bryan ISD students gain out of helping with the build?
(22:41):
Lester help me answer this one. I think there's a host of things. I think just the fact that
they can give back. I think there's an altruistic attitude and a mindset that comes with just seeing
other people and feeling a need that really is outside of yourself, that gives back to yourself,
and so I think that would be one thing, I mean secondly just giving a family home,
(23:03):
I mean the ability for the kids to help them get into a home for them,
to have a permanent place to stay, that's their own that they own, that they can commit to,
that they can start to lay down roots that they can you know, just have memories in. I
think that is incredibly powerful. I think that's the build more importantly than that though it's
just this idea of being an ambassador and just giving back. I think looking beyond yourself,
(23:31):
I think really is something I'm excited about. I don't know if you can think that's the key
it's just giving back. I mean the kids are excited that they can come to school,
make good grades, and take care of that, but most importantly they can make a difference in
somebody's life by giving back and that's the key. Yeah, it's fun honestly, I mean it really is. I
(23:53):
mean I love coming to school I love, you know, I sort of like math, I sort of liked reading,
I sort of like science, I sort of like those things, but I really love my elective classes.
This would have been something I would have loved to have done to be able to go to elementary school
to get to know those kids, to give back, to hang out, to be able to do something just different
during the day and to have things with my friends to do at night on the weekends like those are
(24:16):
things that I enjoy as an adult that I know the kids are going to want to do and it really starts
to develop even stronger community as opposed to just a bunch of people that live in a town.
Is there anything else that either of you would like to add?
I’d just like to personally thank the administrator's staff and the students
(24:41):
of Bryan Independent School District because they have made an impact on my life. The thing
that makes me feel good is every morning I get up, I don't care where I'm going McDonald's or
at one of the elementary schools, bus barn, or whatever when you have a kid
(25:03):
walk up to you and give you a hug and say ‘I appreciate what you do for us,
thanks for making a difference in my life you know that really touches my heart and
it goes back to what I said from day one (25:16):
if you can reach out and touch one person's life
and make a difference in their life you've done your job and that's what I'm all about. I don't
care what it is, and I always tell the kids and I will continue to tell you if you need anything,
anything that I Lester Banks can do to help you be successful in life, you call on me any day,
(25:41):
any time of the night, I'll be there for you.He says one person, we know that that's like one
person a day for Lester. So you know I would just want to say thank you to Lester, Jennifer Smith,
Laura Stafford, and Kristen Regan. I think through all the people that really have made this program
what it is already and all the hard work of the campus facilitator,s the leaders, that are
(26:07):
just having the conversations and are developing the relationships and are doing the hard work I
really appreciate it. I appreciate Mrs. Carrabine giving us the vision and the direction and the
expectation of where we're going to have a student movement. I thank the school board as well for
putting that on us and expecting more from us and so anyway I think if I was going to say anything
(26:27):
I would just say thank you to those people.Okay, thank you, Dr. Merrill and Mr. Banks
for being with us today highlighting the ambassador program. Well,
we appreciate you doing our first ever podcast, I've never done one before so thank you.
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