One year as a Champlain Alumnus

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog but I have been an active follower mustering up every effort to read the numerous posts about life at Champlain College. It has been a year since I finished up at Champlain/Trent. I finished in April and graduation precipitously sneaked up on me. Before I knew it, I was wondering the streets and absorbing the urban life and excitement of Hong Kong.

Being at UBC now, I have joined new communities that I have come to cherish very much. Indeed, I live in a graduate residential community that is made up of dozens of students studying various subjects from engineering and the sciences to law, medicine and history. This community is not simply an academic home for me, but one where I interact with residents and share experiences through socials, sporting activities, theatrical performances and much more.

I write about this experience because my time at Champlain really fostered an appreciation for belonging to something special, that is, a place where residents have time to update each other on their hectic lives and talk about subjects beyond the academy. A place where residents could par-take in a weekend sporting event, social or even a lecture in a field unfamiliar to them.  These are the sorts of events that bring vitality to community and college life. They remind us that universities are not just places of academic pursuits, but places where we form incredible relationships with others and build our capacities as leaders, academics and social beings.

A year has passed since I have moved on from my undergraduate life as a Champlainer. From time to time, I reflect about my time in the concrete jungle. While I am not trying to relive my experiences as a Champlainer at UBC, I reflect about how much one can gain from their respective college and community of friends in their university journeys.

To conclude, for current Champlainers, this is the time in your young lives to enrich your university experience through getting involved in your college and participating in events. Apathy is driven by boredom, self-interest, diminished opportunities and a lack of leadership. You can overcome this by getting involved and promoting your college events to those beyond the university. The sense of belonging and appreciation of community can be highly rewarding and will stick with you for the rest of your life.

Living Learning Communities at UT Dallas

Living learning communities are continuing to take off in North American universities. Indeed, McGill University created two new LLCs this past summer. The University of Waterloo, Brock University and Ryerson U are continuing to expand their living learning communities as they recognize the many benefits of bringing students together with common interests.

In the United States, the University of Texas at Dallas has been incredibly successful with their LLCs, check out the article here. Dr. Cynthia Jenkins of UT Dallas says:

"academic and social opportunities, along with a strong sense of community offered by the Living Learning program, has a positive impact on students and contributes to their connection to UT Dallas".

Read more about the LLCs here.

The Seasoned Spoon is.....

an incredible alternative café located in Champlain College.

Attention first-years! Please take note, this is a café that you must check out as soon as you have the chance. As Dr. Mike alluded to in an earlier post, the Seasoned Spoon is not only a very pleasant eating space (with tasty food), but it helps ensure that the dynamism of Trent’s diversity is at the heart of college life.

Over my four years I indulged in delicious soups including my favourite ground nut stew and corn chowder. The wraps are equally as scrumptious - tofu, hummus and roasted vegetables just to name a few. There are so many great options and it is an excellent alternative to cafeteria food. Take it from me, other Champlain blog authors and alumni, the Seasoned Spoon really adds a unique element to the college. If the appetizing smell of baking cookies does not entice you to check out the café, in some way or another, you'll notice the vibrant community that the Spoon creates and the wonderful staff who prepare your food.

If you are participating and/or organizing an event or special talk in Champlain, be sure to check out their menu for catering the event.

While I am pleased with the restaurants and cafés here at UBC, I will certainly miss the Seasoned Spoon. Give it a shot, and see if you like it.

Outliers: The Story of Success

Trent Reads 2010 selected the book Outliers: The Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell. I read the book in February 2009 and was intrigued by many of Gladwell's stories. In fact, I still share segments of the book with friends today and at an attempt to encourage them to read it.

If you have not read the book yet, you still have a couple of weeks until Introductory Seminar Week. Borrow a copy from your friend or visit the library and take some time to delve into this very thought-provoking and engaging read.

Check out information about the Trent Reads program and why it selected Outliers as the Trent Reads book here.

For a well-written and comprehensive review of Outliers, read this November 2008 New York Times article. Below is a paragraph from the article:

"Gladwell’s latest book, “Outliers,” is a passionate argument for taking the second version of the story more seriously than we now do. “It is not the brightest who succeed,” Gladwell writes. “Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.”

"The Trent Reads program was inaugurated in the summer of 2008. Incoming first-year students read Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and attended seminar sessions during ISW to talk about the book with each other and a faculty member who facilitated discussion. Later in September, Joseph Boyden came to Trent to meet many of the students and faculty who read and enjoyed his book. The Trent Reads program was inaugurated in the summer of 2008. Incoming first-year students read Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden and attended seminar sessions during ISW to talk about the book with each other and a faculty member who facilitated discussion. Later in September, Joseph Boyden came to Trent to meet many of the students and faculty who read and enjoyed his book. "

The Collegiate Way

Dr. Robert O’Hara, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University, has a website called The Collegiate Way.

"The Collegiate Way seeks to improve campus life by creating small, faculty-led residential colleges within large universities. It’s the leading resource on the worldwide residential college movement."

While Trent is a small university, it nonetheless has a college system. Dr. O'Hara's website has lots of great information about University Colleges from around the world including those at Harvard, Oxford and Yale to name a few.

Trent's colleges are featured on his website with some information regarding history and architectural inspiration.

Champlain College (and other colleges at Trent) are unique and different than the colleges from Harvard and Yale. Indeed, Trent's colleges are more than just residential colleges. Champlain specifically fosters inclusivity and will continue to grow as a community of students, alumni, college admin and faculty who live on campus, off-campus and around the world.

Getting involved in first-year and beyond…

Hello fellow Champlainers!

When you arrive in September, you’re going to enter a new phase of your life. A phase that has the potential to help you grow academically, socially and personally. I say "potential" because it all depends on what you make of your experience and whether you take advantage of the opportunities made available to you. Indeed, attending university is all about learning and growth. Learning takes place from lectures and your professors, your seminars and your fellow-classmates and of course, your books. However, a whole other dimension of learning comes from extra-curricular involvement through student groups and varsity sports.

Trent is home to numerous student groups. You can view the list here. You can get involved with groups as diverse as your academic department’s association (Trent Anthropology Society, for example) to the Jiu Jitsu Club and other athletic groups, to the World University Service of Canada and Sustainable Trent. During my time at Trent, I was involved with a few groups and gained tremendously, especially learning how to develop and utilize leadership and team work skills. Each Champlain student will have the chance to get involved and make a meaningful contribution to the group, and the university.

I am always extremely cautious when it comes to giving advice, however, my one recommendation to incoming first-years to Champlain is to get involved with just one student group. Feel free to join more if you are so daring and ambitious, you will indeed benefit insofar as you can balance your academics with your extra-curriculars. However, one group is a safe bet and that is exactly what I did in my first-year.

Even if the commitment is 2 hours a week (which might seem like a lot in first-year) the rewards, benefits and networks created can add a lot of value to your education (especially first-year) at Trent. You'll meet new people and discover a new world that you didn't even know existed, that of a community where others share similar interests as you.

In addition, getting involved in first-year will open the doors to many opportunities in your upper years at the university. While extra-curricular involvement can help develop academic skills (presentation, writing and debating skills, for example) it will also help you with your future employment prospects and most definitely when/if you apply to graduate school as I did.

Our very own community of Champlain College is conducive to learning in many ways. Among them is learning within a community of friends, your peers, college mates and classmates. The college will act as a first step to meeting other students and finding a community. Indeed, you will be a part of several communities at Trent and a student group will take your experience that much further.

Belonging to a community such as a student group, can be an avenue to success and to a more enjoyable and fulfilling undergraduate journey.

Remember, in your undergrad, it’s more important to embrace the journey than solely focus on the destination.

Ever heard of Nomadic Massive?

Nomadic Massive is a Montreal-based band. The song displayed above, "Moving Forward" is one of their recent and very famous pieces. It would be really awesome if we brought them to Champlain/Trent one of these days. Their interest in facilitating social change via performances and workshops, creating awareness over international issues, dedication to open-mindedness and their multi-cultural appeal would make for a perfect fit in Champlain or the University in general. The group is quite popular internationally. They have initiated socio-cultural exchanges with like-minded artists all over the world.

Del F. Cowie writes:

"Montreal’s Nomadic Massive are probably one of the most aptly named bands around. Boasting 12 members and vocalists that rap and sing in five different languages (English, French, Spanish, Creole and Arabic), Nomadic Massive provide a truly multicultural listening experience. Predictably, with such a diverse number of influences in a group made up of artists who were previously pursuing solo careers, the album’s musical approach rarely settles into one groove. Incorporating their diverse cultural backgrounds, Nomadic Massive successfully transfer traditional musical forms to hip-hop’s intrinsically syncretic approach with polished production skills."

Overall, they look like a pretty dynamic band and would be excellent for Champlain.

A short story about WUSC...

The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a non-governmental organization committed to fostering human development through education. This NGO has active programs in South America, Africa, and Asia, focusing on poverty alleviation, delivering clean water and sanitation, strengthening civil society, and promoting education.

WUSC’s domestic services, like the Student Refugee Program (SRP), are implemented through an extensive network of over seventy post-secondary establishments, and the program has been in place at the Trent campus for over 10 years. The SRP student who comes to Trent is sponsored by the university and their first-year expenses are paid for by students fees in the form of a levy.

Currently, we sponsor one SRP student but as of next fall, we will be sponsoring two students.

The SRP student(s) live in the Trent Global Living Community in Champlain College. When I was the Student Don of TGLC in 2008-2009, the SRP student was actively involved in anchoring meaningful programming for the community. Having the refugee student in TGLC is a perfect fit because the community is open and respectful committed to global citizenship, diversity and programming that among other things, fosters student refugee support and awareness on campus and in the community.

This past academic year, the Trent WUSC local committee requested a levy increase of $2.00 to meet our dream of sponsoring a total of two SRP students. In January 2010, we were successful in getting our name "WUSC" in the ballot allowing students to vote for us for a levy increase in the March referendum.

In a nail-biting, trepidation-filled and very exciting three-day referendum, we were successful in getting our request of a $2.00 increase in the levy.

With the levy increase, we unanimously decided to sponsor a second student. Way to go, Trent! And way to go TGLC and Champlain, the home of the SRP students that provide support, encouragement and resources.

The Value of University Residential Colleges

This past February, Trent University's Ashley Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Don Markwell. Dr. Markwell is the Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford University. He is responsible for the Rhodes Scholarships around the world. The Ashley Fellowship is funded by a bequest from the late Professor C.A. Ashley, longtime friend of Trent University and an enthusiastic proponent of the role that the informal contacts of College life can play in the academic pursuits of the University.

Dr. Markwell was at Trent for about two weeks and delivered three public events including a lecture, a panel and colloquium. I was fortunate to attend all three. While all three lectures were highly interesting and full of insight, the relevant one that I will briefly discuss was titled "The Value of University Residential Colleges". The lecture had an impressive response panel featuring Thomas H.B Symons, Founding President of Trent University. John Fraser, Master of Massey College, University of Toronto. Susan Wurtele, Professor of Geography and Trent University Alumna and finally, Julia Harrison, Professor and Director of the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies.

For those that attended this lecture, I am sure they walked away as satisfied and informed as I was. You can access a copy of the lecture here.

Markwell is huge proponent of the residential college system. In his speech, he cited a number of universities that have recently revitalized their colleges including Princeton, Yale, Rice, Harvard and Oxford University. He spoke about the renaissance in the college system as even more universities have started to establish, plan and expand internal systems of residential colleges.

Markwell revealed that through his own observations, "colleges provide one of the best potential environments for encouraging mutually rewarding connection between students from many different cultures and countries – but such positive interactions do not just happen by chance, and leadership within colleges is needed to encourage them and create good preconditions for them".

He referred to a quote by Alan Gilbert (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester) that summed up his lecture quite nicely:

"the kinds of multilayered, close knit, highly interactive learning communities that good university colleges and halls of residence create are likely to remain among the hallmarks of any great undergraduate educational experience."

I would encourage everyone to read through his lecture which I found to be very informative, topical and critical for Trent University's college system.

Our College: Champlain

Champlain College was designed by an architect named Ron Thom. The College first opened in 1965 as Trent University's first residential and teaching college on Symons campus of the University on the northern edge of Peterborough. The name of the college honours Samuel de Champlain, the great explorer, adventurer and founder of New France. It is located on the banks of the Otonabee River, overlooking the waters which Champlain himself descended 350 years ago, in the autumn of 1615, in his expedition through Huronia to the Iroquois country south of the Great Lakes. Champlain is vibrant and exciting, full of great people and wonderful traditions.

Welcome to the College Blogosphere

Welcome fellow college members to the Champlain College Blog.

This is an experimental blog for the College. The blogosphere is one of many tools that can be used to revolutionize the college system. In an effort to reach out to the incoming students of Champlain, this blog will connect students to the collegial experience and act as an archive for events, talks and social functions. It's very modern, very simple, it can be very interactive and provides the net generation with a chance to access information beyond simply a facebook, twitter or MySpace.

The blog will run for this coming academic year featuring a diverse range of authors from first-years and upper-year students, to alumni and faculty of the College. We hope to have fun with this weblog and encourage the authorship of interested Champlain College members.

Do not hesitate to contact us at: champlainblog@gmail.com