Fremont Ambassador Workshop

Article written by: Natasha Gumpula & Sanvi Desai

Picture featuring Akshaj Khanduri, Shanaya Shah, Anushri Bhatia

On November 14, 2025, Cyber For Youth had the opportunity to host their first ever workshop for 6th-8th grade students at Prince of Peace through the Ambassador Program. During the session, they explored key digital safety topics, diving into cyberbullying, different types of cyberbullying, password safety, and the importance of maintaining a positive digital footprint. The ambassadors spent time breaking down the components that make a strong password, demonstrating how a simple password like "Basketball" can be strengthened into "B@sk3tB@ll!23." They also discussed what a digital footprint is, the long-term effects it can have, and worked through real-life scenarios to help students understand how to improve and protect their online presence. Students were engaged and eager to participate throughout the presentation — almost all of them were raising their hands to answer and ask questions. Towards the end of the workshop, they worked in groups to create posters on one of the three topics: cyberbullying, password safety, or digital footprint — each featuring two facts they learned and a drawing of an example scenario.

At first the ambassadors were not very experienced and could go as far as to say clueless due to the little knowledge they had on workshops. However, passionate and determined, they decided to reach out to their old middle school — Prince of Peace — and connect with close teachers, who ended up being supportive of Cyber For Youth and the program. Prince of Peace was very open to hosting a workshop especially as they had a history with cyberbullying which was heavily recognized by teachers. The timing could not have been any more perfect.

After getting confirmation of the workshop, they started with exploring the Cyber For Youth curriculum on its website, taking the time to browse through the extensive collection of middle school workshop lesson plans. After some review and research on various topics, they ultimately selected Cyberbullying, Password Safety, and Digital Footprint, recognizing its relevance and importance for students growing up in an increasingly digital world. From there, they researched each topic in depth and thoughtfully incorporated information from the resources provided by Cyber For Youth, including research reports, activities, and slideshows. They had put in extra effort to make sure this workshop would be tailored to these students so they would get the most out of it.

         Anushri Bhatia, one of the ambassadors in the program, states that her inspiration to become a Cyber For Youth ambassador and develop a workshop like this one came from her own experiences in middle and high school. For her, the most meaningful part of the project was being able to give back to the school community that supported her and shaped who she is today. Having witnessed severe bullying during her time at Prince of Peace, she felt that returning to raise awareness and support younger students was both important and deeply wholesome.

Although the idea of the workshop had been unclear at first, the passion and drive to aid younger students in their digital journey was what motivated these ambassadors. With ~90 students helping with posters, showing their work and what they have learned made the efforts worth it. In the end, Shanaya Shah, Anushri Bhatia, and Akshaj Khanduri had worked together and were able to make a tremendous impact, even though they had little experience. Especially with the digital world changing and evolving rapidly, it is important to spread awareness as well as support the younger generation.