When I got the email saying I'd been selected as a Google Student Ambassador, my first thought was "this is going to look great on my resume." Six months later, that's the least important thing about the experience. Here's what actually matters.
The Selection Process
Google Student Ambassadors are selected based on a combination of technical knowledge, community involvement, and communication skills. The application involved demonstrating how you'd use Google technologies to make an impact on your campus.
What I didn't realize at the time was that the selection wasn't really about what you already know. It was about your potential to learn and your willingness to teach others.
What You Actually Do
The role is part evangelist, part teacher, part community builder:
Workshops and tech talks. I've organized sessions on Google Cloud, Android development, TensorFlow, and general career guidance. The key isn't being the smartest person in the room. It's making complex technology feel approachable.
Mentorship. This ended up being the most rewarding part. Helping second-year students navigate their first hackathon. Reviewing resumes. Talking through career decisions. These one-on-one conversations create more impact than any workshop.
Bridge building. Connecting students with Google resources, events, and opportunities they didn't know existed. The information asymmetry in tech education is staggering. Many talented students simply don't know what's available to them.
What I Learned About Communities
1. The best communities are built around shared learning, not shared knowledge.
I initially tried to position myself as the "expert" who teaches beginners. That's the wrong model. The best tech community events are those where everyone, including the organizer, is learning something new. I started framing workshops as "let's figure this out together" instead of "let me teach you," and engagement tripled.
2. Consistency beats spectacle.
A weekly study group of 8 people creates more lasting impact than a one-time event with 200 attendees. The students who grew the most were the ones who showed up every week, not the ones who attended the flashy events.
3. Representation matters more than you think.
As a woman in tech in India, being visible matters. Every time I stand in front of a room full of engineering students and talk about AI or cloud computing, I'm not just teaching technology. I'm showing other women that this space has room for them. I didn't fully understand this until a first-year student told me, "I didn't think I could do this until I saw someone like me doing it."
4. Teaching is the best way to learn.
Preparing a workshop on TensorFlow forced me to understand it at a level I never would have reached just by using it. Every question from a student exposed a gap in my own understanding. Teaching made me a significantly better engineer.
The Google Ecosystem
Being an ambassador gives you unique access to Google's ecosystem:
Google Cloud credits for student projects
Early access to certain Google technologies and events
Network of other ambassadors across the country, many of whom become close friends and collaborators
Google employees who serve as mentors and are genuinely invested in your growth
But the ecosystem isn't the point. The point is what you do with access. The ambassadors who make the most impact aren't the ones who collect the most badges or attend the most events. They're the ones who take what they learn and bring it back to their campus.
Advice for Future Ambassadors
If you're considering applying:
Don't wait until you feel "ready." You won't. Apply with what you have and grow into the role. That's literally the point.
Focus on impact, not impressions. Google cares about what you actually changed on your campus, not how many LinkedIn posts you wrote about being an ambassador.
Build something real. The best ambassadors don't just organize events. They build projects, create study groups, start clubs, and leave infrastructure that outlasts their tenure.
Connect with other ambassadors. The peer network is incredibly valuable. Other ambassadors face the same challenges, have solved problems you're struggling with, and can collaborate on events and initiatives.
The Bigger Takeaway
The tech industry talks a lot about "community" but often reduces it to Discord servers and Twitter followers. Real community building is showing up consistently, helping people who can't help you back, and creating spaces where learning is safe and encouraged.
That's what Google taught me. Not through any official training, but through the experience of trying to build something meaningful on my own campus.
Whether or not you become a Google ambassador, the principles apply. Find a technology you care about. Teach it to others. Show up consistently. The community will build itself.