University of Pittsburgh students need not look far for a snow shovel to borrow, fresh flowers for their porches in springtime, or guidance on renters’ rights.

In fact, these services, and more, are provided right in their backyards — literally.

That’s thanks to Pitt’s Oakland Community Ambassadors, a group of Pitt students whose aim is to lend a helping hand and foster connection throughout Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

Fifteen student ambassadors work closely with both Pitt students and other Oakland neighbors to ensure the bustling neighborhood is safer, healthier and better-connected.

“I wanted to get more involved in the community and get to know more people in my neighborhood and around campus,” said ambassador Jules Depro, a senior studying psychology. “I wanted to give back to Oakland, too, because I’m living in it.”

Pitt launched the program in fall 2022. A paid position, student ambassadors are assigned to one of Oakland’s five neighborhoods: North Oakland, South Oakland, Central Oakland, West Oakland or Oakcliffe. Most students live in the neighborhood that they serve.

Once they receive their neighborhood assignment, it is then each student’s duty to immerse themselves in the community. Ambassadors frequently make rounds throughout their neighborhood, talking to residents about their needs and concerns.

“The biggest way that we engage with the community is just being out there,” said ambassador Cate Lecrone, a junior studying natural sciences. “It’s a way for us to gauge what the problems are or what the community members want. We can connect our resources to that.”

Ambassadors also regularly organize events focused on service, socialization and beautification.

Service events can look like trash clean-ups — which occur often — and the borrow-a-snow-shovel program, which came about after ambassadors noticed that many Oakland sidewalks weren’t being cleared because students didn’t have access to shovels.

Ambassadors have also organized book swaps, planned a “chalk the walk” event in which students decorated sidewalks in colorful chalk, and handed out donuts during finals week. On Valentine’s Day, they passed out roses, and in the spring, they gave flowers to students for their porches.

These community engagement events are key in Central Oakland, where most residents are students, said Ms. Depro, who represents that neighborhood.

“We’re helping to create a sense of community in Central Oakland,” she said. “Most of the time, students are there for two or three years and then they leave. You don’t really know all your neighbors.”

Connection with non-student neighbors is vital, too, and the community ambassadors regularly attend local neighborhood meetings. This engagement helps to “bridge the gap” between long-term residents and students, explained ambassador Jasir Chavis, who serves South Oakland.

“The community members actually want more engagement from students,” said Mr. Chavis, a senior studying political science. “I think South Oakland residents feel more comfortable talking to us now… They’ll want to plan things or see what they could do to foster more community and bridge the gap between long-term residents and student residents.”

And, in addition to promoting community engagement and encouraging students to be good neighbors, the ambassadors provide resources to students on tenants’ rights and habitability. In many cases, these students are signing leases and working with landlords for the first time in their lives.

Last year, ambassador Marilyn Warren, a senior studying exercise science, was able to provide assistance to students who had flooding and mold in their apartment. Pitt’s Off-Campus Student Services office will also review leases for students before they sign anything.

Ultimately, the ambassadors’ goal is to uplift and support both students and the greater Oakland community, Mr. Chavis said.

“You’re instilling a sense of community,” he said. “Hopefully, through the work we've done, when people do move off of campus, they bring with them the idea [that] it’s their community.”

First Published: March 14, 2025, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: March 14, 2025, 7:51 p.m.