Meet Alayna Baker, a veterinary nursing student in the College of Veterinary Medicine who is also a Protect Purdue Ambassador! Alayna is one of over 200 Purdue students who signed-up for the program which was developed after the need was recognized for peer encouragement to get the entire student body aligned with the Protect Purdue Pledge. Typical duties fulfilled by the ambassadors have included standing at various stations around campus to hand out masks to fellow Boilermakers and posting reminders on social media to practice social distancing guidelines. Additional duties involve working in smaller groups to create fun activities for students that are still within the guidelines of the Protect Purdue Pledge.
A senior in the Veterinary Nursing Program, Alayna had a personal motivation for getting involved as a Protect Purdue Ambassador. “I decided to apply for the Protect Purdue program because I have several family members who are immunocompromised, and I am very concerned about keeping them safe and healthy,” Alayna said. “I wanted to be a part of the initiative to keep Purdue students and staff safe, which in turn will help to keep my family members safe as well.”
The number of students involved in the program is a testament to the commitment of Boilermakers to keep the campus safe. Alayna is one of two students in the College of Veterinary Medicine who successfully applied to serve as Protect Purdue Ambassadors. The other is Amanda Martin, a veterinary student in the DVM Class of 2022.
A third Purdue student with a connection to Purdue Veterinary Medicine serving as a Protect Purdue Ambassador is the college’s communications intern, Jonathan Martz, a senior in the Brian Lamb School of Communication.
Click here for more information about the Protect Purdue Ambassador program and a request form that can be used to ask for an ambassador to speak to a group or class.