When I applied to be an NASSP ambassador last year, I was focused on what I could contribute to the group and on being fully committed to the experience. I knew there would be regular meetings over many months, and I wanted to make sure that I arranged my schedule to participate, which, as all principals know, is sometimes quite the feat. I knew to expect focused sessions where I’d collaborate with other ambassadors to help NASSP design professional learning experiences that were meaningful to the membership. What I didn’t anticipate is all that I would get out of the experience and how incredibly meaningful it would turn out to be. Here are five ways being an ambassador helped me grow as a leader.

Kate Williams, back row at left, with ninth graders at Cordova Jr/Sr High School last school year.
PHOTO COURTESY OF KATE WILLIAMS

1. It challenged me to rise to a new professional level. In our very first meeting, I realized right away that I was surrounded by hard-working, intelligent, capable individuals who were at the top of their game. They offered thoughtful commentary and brought diverse and rich perspectives to the conversation. And they were quick on their feet. You might be used to being top dog in your school. Get ready to be with an entire pack of top dogs. The benefit? You’re challenged to rise to the very high level of everyone in the group. And everyone knows that without a challenge, you cannot grow.

2. It gave me the chance to make my school board and community proud. As principal, I provide a monthly report to our school board, and I included my selection as an NASSP ambassador as an item of note. I was proud of having been selected as one of 10 principals and five assistant principals in my ambassador group from across the nation, but I didn’t stop to think that the school board, superintendent, and staff would also be proud of me. One commented that it was a “feather in the cap” of the school district to have our school represented in this way on the national stage. Those moments don’t come along very often in the principalship, and I soaked it in. Those feelings and that support can get you through the tough times.

3. It offered the opportunity to meet great school leaders from across the country. As a rural school principal, the isolation of being a single-site administrator is real, and there’s little you can do about it day to day. Being an ambassador gave me the opportunity to connect with other principals experiencing the same challenges and successes, whether they were in Hawaii or Kansas. Our meetings meant that we established professional connections that have grown into professional friendships. It’s an exchange of information on a whole other level.

4. It made me appreciate the work that goes into our professional association. Being an ambassador has given me insight into (and respect for) the work that goes into our professional association. I’ve been a member of NASSP for seven years, from the very first year I became a principal. I looked forward to reading Principal Leadership every month and attending NASSP’s annual conference was a goal of mine. Being an ambassador gave me the courage to successfully advocate to our superintendent and school board to attend NASSP’s annual conference in Denver last summer. I knew I’d have to go alone as a single-site administrator, but I was so motivated to meet the other ambassadors and NASSP staff in person after months of seeing each other virtually that my apprehension melted away. And I’m so glad I did.

Being an ambassador gave me the opportunity to connect with other principals experiencing the same challenges and successes, whether they were in Hawaii or Kansas.

That first morning, I headed downstairs in the hotel to grab coffee at what can only be described as an ungodly hour, expecting to be the one person awake. I was shocked to see the lobby buzzing with excitement and the line for espresso snaking around the escalators. At every other out-of-town meeting I’d been to, I was the only early bird—the one who wanted to get up and be prepared and not be late. Here, I was surrounded by people of the same mind and habits. As I chatted in line, it occurred to me, “These are my people—my tribe.” We were all middle and high school principals. We were all used to being up bright and early—often the first ones in our buildings—and we were all ready to squeeze everything we could out of this national conference.

Another principal told me that attending the NASSP summer conference was life changing for her professionally, and she was absolutely correct. I’m so proud of the work we did as ambassadors to identify the most pressing concerns facing principals and review session proposals for the 2024 UNITED conference in Nashville with those concerns in mind. Before this experience, I really had no idea all that went on behind the scenes. The conference is first-rate because there are first-rate people working on it all year long.

5. It gave me the push I needed. Collaborating with principals from all over the country made me reconsider what was in my own backyard. In my first year as principal, I would reach out to other principals in the same region of Alaska or those in similar-sized coastal communities whenever I had an urgent problem and wasn’t sure how to approach it. It was always helpful and would point me in the right direction—maybe the direction I was already headed or maybe something entirely different.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped doing that. After five years in the principalship, I finally felt like I knew what I was doing. Every crisis became some variation of a previous crisis that I’d successfully dealt with. So, I didn’t feel the same sense of helplessness or urgency that pushed me to reach out to others. I had come to the point in my journey where I needed to reach out to other principals, not because I couldn’t do it without them but because it would make me a better principal if I did.

When I was struggling with the curriculum review process and course credit by exam last school year, I contacted a curriculum coordinator in Fairbanks at a huge high school, wanting to find out how they dealt with the same issues. We ended up in an hour-long conversation, sharing stories that solidified just how connected all people are who work in public schools. We know the challenges, and we appreciate when someone else recognizes them and—even more importantly—can help us to do better. I found myself on the receiving end of those calls with a principal and superintendent from a nearby school who were curious about our innovative four-day school week with the fifth day focused on tutorials and a Multi-Tiered System of Supports.

Instead of being nervous or downplaying our success, I was able to recognize the value of our experience for others. I found myself becoming an ambassador for the four-day school week, for our forward-thinking dress code proposed by students, for all of the things that make our school an incredible place to be. NASSP had stirred something in me with the ambassador initiative.

Every principal is an ambassador, every school its own nation, with its own culture and traditions. I was able to embrace and embody the role of ambassador in all areas of my professional life. Last spring, Cordova Jr/Sr High School was ranked the number one high school in Alaska by U.S. News & World Report, and you can bet I’ve been the best ambassador I can be for our students, staff, and community. Being an NASSP ambassador expanded my horizons in the best possible way and made me further appreciate the network of principals there for us, made up of us.
I encourage you to tap into it whenever you’re ready.

Learn more about NASSP’s Ambassador Program at nassp.org/ambassadors.

Kate Williams served as the principal of Cordova Jr/Sr High School in Cordova, AK, for seven years and is a former NASSP ambassador. Kate Williams served as the principal of Cordova Jr/Sr High School in Cordova, AK, for seven years and is a former NASSP ambassador.