A Beaufort County native, attending college in Iowa, was recently named as a student ambassador — a position of leadership for students on campus.

Thaddeus Van Essendelft, a Pantego native, is one of 20 student ambassadors for Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa, according to a Dordt press release. Van Essendelft, a senior majoring in engineering, was chosen individually by the Admissions Office because of his great leadership on campus — a trait found in all students who serve as ambassadors, according to the Dordt College website.

Ambassadors’ work is extremely valuable to the college’s recruitment process of future students and provide a glimpse into student life on Dordt’s campus, said Sarah Vander Plaats, a public relations representative of Dordt, in a press release. Ambassadors are the first people prospective students meet when they arrive on campus, and they give tours of the resident halls and apartments the first night the students arrive to welcome them and make them feel like part of the college’s community, the release said.

Last summer, Van Essendelft was awarded the Eastern North Carolina Scholarship from Dordt. The $2,000-scholarship is meant for a North Carolina resident with first preference given to a Terra Ceia Christian School graduate and second preference from the eastern North Carolina geographical region.

To learn more about Dordt College, visit www.dordt.edu.