The Harvard Extension School Global Ambassadors Program (GAP) is a program for degree candidates to exercise their leadership, planning, and execution skills, through hosting local gatherings for students.
Designed for admitted degree candidates with a passion for building networks and a desire to strengthen our student communities around the world, Global Ambassadors host local and online gatherings for their fellow degree candidates. Global Ambassadors exercise their leadership, planning, and execution skills and represent Harvard Extension School in their local communities.
The program was proposed by a team of students in the inaugural Dean’s Community Building Challenge in early 2017 and was piloted in the Spring of 2018.
Students from select degree programs within key cities will be invited in August of each year to become ambassadors. The events hosted by these students will be open to all degree candidates to attend.
The goals of the program are to:
- Create leadership opportunities for students with a passion for building networks, communication skills, and events;
- Strengthen community among our degree candidate population;
- Support our students in representing Harvard Extension School in their local communities.
Meet the 2024-2025 Global Ambassadors
Heerraa Ravindran is expected to graduate from the Harvard Extension School with her Bachelor of Liberal Arts in Humanities in 2027. Currently, Heerraa is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and, in her words, her favorite part of being a Global Ambassador is “representing the Southeast Asian region and acting as a link to facilitate further connection within our HES community.” Heerraa is actually an international and award-winning singer-songwriter, and her mission in life is to change the world with music by embedding life lessons and solutions into catchy pop songs. Heerraa loves hearing people share how her music has positively impacted their lives.
Jaqueline “Jax” Shelton is a Department of Defense federal civilian and an Air Force Veteran, currently residing in Alexandria, Virginia. She is also a graduate student majoring in International Relations at the Harvard Extension School, where she is concluding her thesis work on short-term food security in Puerto Rico after a disaster. Jax finds fulfillment in community building and connection, and currently serves as a Harvard Global Ambassador, receiving recognition for her community service and peer development efforts. Her expected graduation date is November 2024. Jax’s fun fact is that she has visited every Museum of Ice Cream in the United States!
Punit Kaur is currently serving as a HES Global Ambassador and also pursuing an ALM Management degree, specializing in strategic business management, innovation, and entrepreneurship. By day, she serves as a distinguished digital product management leader with over 15 years of experience and thrives on building relationships and executing projects in the advertising and marketing technology realm. Beyond her professional life, she is a dedicated mom and also a musician. Punit’s goal as a Global Ambassador is to create vibrant communities by orchestrating events that encourage interaction, learning, and the exchange of diverse perspectives and ideas.
Scott Schoenwaelder joined the Global Ambassadors Program in Fall 2024 because, in his words, “A great education is bolstered by the entire learning community.” He’s most excited about helping to build a stronger Harvard Extension School community for fellow students in the San Francisco Bay Area. Scott is expected to receive his Master of Liberal Arts in Sustainability at the Harvard Extension School in May 2026. In between his courses, Scott loves to recharge with mountain biking or backpacking trips.
Aminta Ford Sosa is expected to graduate from the Harvard Extension School in May 2025 with an ALM in Management degree. Aminta is located in Panama City, Panama and serves as a Global Ambassador for the whole of Latin America, in collaboration with our other Global Ambassador, Fabiola Venture Pachecho. Aminta’s favorite part of serving as a Global Ambassador is the creativity behind planning online events to meet other students and working with other ambassadors to promote networking between each other. Something you may not know about Aminta is that she grew up dancing as a hobby and continued through college, where she joined a dance company that raised funds for dance therapy through the Andrea Rizzo Foundation.