Living in residence during my first year was one such experience. I remember walking into the dining centre for the first time, unsure of where to sit, only to run into the most amazing group of people—who I now happily call my best friends. Exploring Calgary together, randomly walking over to West Campus Park in the middle of the night to catch the northern lights, and attending all the fun events in residence are memories I’ll always hold dear.

Then came getting more involved on campus by joining clubs and volunteering. From very timidly walking into my first-ever debate practice hosted by the UCalgary Debate Club to being elected as the club’s Vice President of Outreach for the second year in a row—I cannot state how much I’ve learned and grown. More importantly, I cannot overstate how much fun I’ve had! Traveling to tournaments at other universities across Canada (and almost missing our flights a couple of times!), staying in hotels together for multiple days, and at the same time sharpening my critical thinking, analytical, and public speaking skills has been incredibly valuable.

Being a social media delegate with Enactus UCalgary allowed me to work directly under the marketing manager of a non-profit organization and develop my technical skills. As for volunteering, I remember walking through the hallways on my way to class and seeing a poster that said, “Become a Campus Tour Guide!” Learning fun facts about the university and showing prospective students around was enjoyable on its own—but later running into first-year students I had previously given tours to made it all the more rewarding. Volunteering also gave me the chance to connect with the student recruitment team more closely—which eventually led to my first co-op job as a Digital Student Recruitment Ambassador!

Attending networking events hosted by clubs in my faculty—like Alliances in Marketing’s Industry Night, Rainbow Roundtable sessions, and the National Pride in Business Conference hosted by the Business Pride Club—were also amazing opportunities to connect with industry professionals and other students in my field.

Academically, I’m really grateful to be at a university that prioritizes community building and hands-on learning. Being in business, I got to take courses like Entrepreneurship and Innovation 317, where we had the chance to develop our own innovative business ideas—some of which were selected to participate in the RBC Fast Pitch Competition!

All in all, these past couple of years have been absolutely wonderful, and I can’t wait to see what other cool things I get to do in the years I have left! My advice for future students is to get involved! Whether it be joining different clubs, volunteering with the university, doing research or even just attending different events on campus-—you never know when you'll end up making a new friend or making a valuable professional connection!