By Christine Kramlich, M. Ed
What exactly is an ambassador? According to Webster’s, an ambassador is “an authorized messenger or representative” and that’s exactly what a PRC ambassador is as well. PRC ambassadors are device users who are willing and able to spread the message of the power of communication. This message is made even more powerful when it comes from someone who speaks the language of the device.
My first encounter with an ambassador was as a parent. About eight years ago, my daughter went to camp at Camp Jabberjaw in Mississippi and at the time she was not a proficient communicator. In fact, she was barely communicating at all. That’s because her mother (that’s me), in all her wisdom, was using her device to quiz and test her on her colors, shapes, body parts, numbers, etc and hadn’t shown her the real purpose of her device which was to tell her mom to “come here” or tell her sister to “go away” or to ask for dessert before dinner. Luckily, at camp, she met *Bac Shelton who taught my daughter the power of communicating. He showed her where to find the jokes and how to tell me what she wanted from the food line so she wouldn’t have to stand there with me. Suddenly, she discovered that she had a voice and not just a way to answer her mother’s inane questions. This was one of the defining moments in her life for learning to communicate.
Having worked for PRC for over five years now, you would think I have learned most of what there is to learn, but it seems that every day I have new opportunities for educating myself. This past year has been what I have dubbed, “The Year of the Ambassador” here in my state. Mostly that is because I have figured out how to put the amazing talent in my state to good work. **Danny, Parr and Kyleigh are three ambassadors that have gained in confidence and ability over the past year and have passed along their love for communicating wherever they go.
The ambassadors here in my state do lots of great work. They travel to conferences and speak at presentations there, field questions at the PRC booth and mingle with the people at the conference. They’ve also been invited to speak to an entire middle school during Exceptional Children Week to share about their life experiences and to answer questions. They have been on an “expert panel” and have been invited to be on several others as well to talk about their communication journey. Mentor/mentee relationships have been established both among the ambassadors as well as with new device users. New friendships have been forged and old friendships have grown stronger over time. Blogs have been written, camps have been attended, baseball has been played, cheers have been led and new friends have been made. The best kind of ambassador is the one who lives their life to the fullest, takes their device with them wherever they go and meets new people through their day to day life.
Christine Kramlich, M.Ed.; Regional Consultant in Georgia
*Bac Shelton: Thank you for changing my daughter’s life. You may never know the impact you made on her, but now she is able to do the same thing for others.
**Danny Gonsalves, Parr Burton and Kyleigh Kramlich (my daughter) are three ambassadors here in Georgia. I am thankful to them and their support system every day for giving them the opportunity to share their stories.
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