The SPE Port Harcourt Section was announced 2021 winner of the Ambassador Lecturer Program (ALP) Outstanding Section Award for hosting the most ALPs in their region.
The ALP is an initiative led by the SPE Young Member Engagement Committee (YMEC) to educate, inspire, and develop the skills of students. Through ALP, sections are encouraged to host events that will bridge the gap between young professionals (YPs) and students.
What motivated the Port Harcourt Section to run as many ALPs as they did was the passion and zeal to inform, educate, and develop the skills of the younger generation. The desire to share the benefits that SPE continues to provide for its members was a major contribution. Most of the volunteers have been SPE members from their university days, and through these lectures they shared their personal stories of how SPE helped them to get to where they are today.
Having experienced limited exposure and information when they were students, program volunteers saw ALPs as a way the section could relate with the younger generation and ensure students are well prepared to thrive and make an impactful contribution to society at large. They felt that they had the moral burden to reach out to as many schools as possible as a way of giving back, both in training the YPs with the necessary in-demand communication skills and positively impacting students.
This is the third time the section is receiving this recognition. “This award means a lot to the section and mostly to the YPs,” said section YP Chairperson Dorcas Otis Kuro. “We last won this award in 2019, and with the passing year not winning, we felt like we were not doing enough. This award means also to us at the section that SPE is committed to rewards and recognition of hard and excellent volunteering services. This is a very special and prestigious award and we are privileged to win it. We appreciate SPE for the recognition.”
Kuro thanked the following members for their support and contribution:
Section Chairman Amieibibama Joseph; Programs Chairman Daniel Abia; Deputy Programs Chairperson Ngozi Okonkwo; the 2021/2022 Board members and senior members of section; YP Cochairperson Ofure Ugege; the 2021/2022 ALP Team Lead Justice B. Vidigor and his assistant Iwowari Christopher; her predecessors in the role, including Ikeaka, Eelah Muzan, and Patience Abia; and YP volunteers of the ALP Team and other YPs of the section who visited various schools as Ambassador Lecturers. The section is appreciative of the support rendered by the student affairs committee chairperson and his assistant for bridging the gap between the YPs and the student chapters despite the virtual programming, which they had to embrace more often as a result of the physical event challenges of the pandemic.
Programs like the ALP provide platforms to engage and support future generations. You can find out more about this program on the SPE ALP webpage to help encourage this in your region.