Once In A Life Time Experiences as a Student Leader

My fourth and fifth years were the greatest of my life and I knew that I had made the right decision in choosing York. Why? Because I became even more involved in my College life. I became Vice-President and later President of McLaughlin College Students' Council. In these roles, I was able to work with a fantastic group of students to put on events, sports, and activities that brought a lot of fun and life to the university. We did trips to Montreal ($100), Niagara Falls ($25), Blue Mountain ($25), Canada's Wonderland and much more for dirt cheap prices. We were able to create an amazing frosh week which included: a large carnival; trip to Wasaga Beach; alcohol and inclusivity training; a Blue Jays game; team building exercises; a campus tour; a football game; dance parties; dozens of free meals and much more. Throughout the year, we also did paintball for $2, free coffee houses, movie nights, pub nights, raptors games, and more. Our Council was able to build a community that was a home away from home for hundreds of students. The amount of fun was unreal, unlike anything you will ever experience in your life. That's why I'm glad I chose York and got involved. It wasn't just the events friends, and parties that made the experience so worth it but also the once in a life time opportunities given to me as a student leader. I got to meet dozens of faculty members on a personal level and work with them on various projects. I was able to sit on committees that directly and indirectly benefited the lives of students. These were opportunities that I knew I wouldn't have at any other university. Man, student life is a wild ride.

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The life of student leadership is a wild ride. I can’t believe how far I’ve made it over the last 5 years. I was once nervous about attending university and doubtful that I would ever succeed. The thought of being just a number in a large organization scared the hell outta me. But what has allowed me to develop as an individual and battle my fears? I’d have to say that the first step was signing up for Frosh Week. Frosh Week allowed me to come out of my shell and meet hundreds of new people and friends, many of them that I still talk to today. Frosh week allowed me to get familiar with the campus, bond with frosh leaders, and develop an understanding of how university life worked. Due to my hectic work and course schedule, I wasn’t able to get too involved my first year but I still had a lot of fun with my new friends and my College events. I was invited to awesome parties and join some amazing student clubs. I was even able to attend a leadership retreat in Windsor with one club, it was an eye opening experience.

 It was in my second year when I flourished as an individual. I managed to become a frosh boss and man was it a blast. After that experience, I got to meet hundreds of more friends including A LOT of student leaders who had a big impact on my life. I was able to get more involved in student politics and was even offered a job at the Student Centre by a friend that I met as a frosh boss. This was the first time that I realized that getting involved could really pay off, not just socially, academically, or emotionally but sometimes financially as well. In my third year, while assisting some friends in a student government election, I managed to meet a few student activists who later become some of my best friends. Sometimes I reminisce and wonder how things in life just work out without you knowing. It was also at this point when I learned that getting involved was a necessity for a full university experience. One in which I could be happy, involved, and do well in school. I remember some students that I met who had no friends or social life at York. This wasn’t because they weren't social or nice people, it was because they made no effect to get involved. I used to tell them that it was very easy to meet people at York. All they had to do was talk to people in class, walk into their college council/YFS office, join any of the 350+ clubs on campus but they just wouldn’t listen.  It was also around this time that I learned about the amount of power that students had in influencing university policy. I joined the Student Council of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies and was a student representative for the Tenure and Promotion Committee. On this committee, I was able to vote on whether or not a professor was qualified for promotion and whether their student evaluations demonstrated their ability to teach. These experiences influenced me to become a better leader and take on an active role in the university.

My fourth and fifth years, they were an experience of a life time! I guess I will have to share them in my next blog……

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