Marshall University is starting a new Social Media Ambassador Program to share the student experience.

Students accepted into the program for the rest of the 2017 spring semester will be a part of the pilot version of the job. About five to six students will be chosen this semester for the program, but starting in the fall, the program might grow to 10 student ambassadors.

The program is run off campus by Tiffany Davis, the interim assistant director of University Communications, and on campus by Kasey Madden, a communications assistant.

Davis and Madden are looking for a diverse group of students to act as ambassadors.

“We want to show various interests from degree programs, to hobbies, to interests of our students,” Davis said.

During the test run of the program this semester, the ambassadors will be given access to a shared Instagram account to post pictures of their Marshall experience. They will be given their own hashtag to set apart each students’ pictures.

Ambassadors are encouraged to attend various student activities and to be involved in campus groups. The job is open for all students, both commuters and those living in the residence halls.

The student ambassadors will not be paid for hourly work, but Davis and Madden are in the process of setting up a stipend for the students at the end of the semester. They have not finalized the amount for the stipend.

The idea for Marshall to have social media ambassadors started last year.

Madden said she and Davis had observed other schools’ social media accounts and together they came to the idea of having a student perspective on social media. This is different from other social media ambassadors, as students will not be using their personal accounts.

“We really want our social media accounts to be more social, so what better way to do that than interacting with our students,” Madden said.

Applications will be accepted until Friday, Feb. 24 and can be found online.

Karenann Flouhouse can be reached at [email protected].