Dear Graduating Student Leaders,
Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking at quite the event! For 5 years now, the President’s Office of UBC has hosted the Student Leadership Recognition Event, an event to bring together incredible student leaders from across campus that were nominated by their peers, faculty, staff or alumni. Besides reconnecting with some incredible students I had the pleasure of working with over this past year, the highlight for me was being introduced by Brian Sullivan (Vice-President, Students) as “that kid from Aurora.” Small town, big dreams right?
As I know not all the student leaders invited to attend were able to make it, I wanted to post the thoughts I shared with the group yesterday. It’s not the same in copy, but you get the gist. Read. Enjoy. Pass it on.
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Good afternoon everyone. My name is Matt Coker and I work for UBC Alumni Affairs as the Alumni Relations Manager for Students and Young Alumni. In this role, I help facilitate connections between students and alumni – be that in a tangible way at an event on-campus or around the world, or more indirectly by acting as a resource person to recent graduates, and through the managing of the activities of the Future Alumni Leaders Council. Besides the events, communications, and services that we at Alumni Affairs provide, I sometimes think that my job is to make being a UBC alum relevant and cool for recent grads.
I should also tell you that, like 6000 other staff members here in Vancouver, I am also a young alumnus from UBC and stood where you are standing now at this event when I was a student leader. But I always framed my leadership and involvement as just that – as a “student” leader. I never considered the role I would play in this community I was so invested in after my title changed from student to alumnus.
I didn’t consider the fact I could be apart of my faculty’s governance or academic advisory committee – helping shape the student experience I worked so hard on improving as a student. Or that I would be called upon to mentor students as a speaker, panelist, or workshop presenter of an event I once helped organize. I was also unaware of the fact that there were alumni boards and councils that advocated for and provided guidance to the University that I could sit on.
I never considered that being a “student leader” here at UBC was just the beginning of my leadership career within this community.
Now some of you are probably thinking, I am graduating and I need a break. Or I need to get comfortable in grad school or in my new job first. Some of you may even wonder why you should continue to give back to UBC as you are trying to redefine and distinguish yourself as a University graduate.
I could easily tell you the value you receive by staying connected to your University and its network, but I’ll save you the sales pitch. Today. Instead I will say this. You need to stay involved because the student leaders beside you need you to. I’m sure all of you at some point in your experience here at UBC needed someone – an alumnus preferably – to deliver a keynote address, to provide guidance or advice, or to come out to an event that needed their support. And you couldn’t find anyone.
Well now, to those of you becoming alumni, you need to be that somebody. It is your duty to ensure that tomorrow’s leaders do not experience the same hardships in this area that you did. As an alumnus, you will need to raise your hand to volunteer, be proactive in offering to help and continue to lead within this community. You can be that alumnus for a student that you wished was there for you.
And to those students who aren’t graduating this year, I encourage you to get to know the other incredible leaders in our UBC community, starting with the ones beside you – I know they will be more than happy to help you when you call upon them in the coming years.
On that note, on behalf of UBC Alumni Affairs, I want to congratulate you on your achievements this past year and I look forward to celebrating many more of your successes with you in the years ahead. After all, this is just the beginning.
Thank you.
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