After a banner (if virtual) year, MacEwan’s student leadership programs are ready to welcome a new group of volunteers. Students interested in gaining experience, donating their time to a series of organizations and building campus connections are invited to apply to the MacEwan Ambassador and First-Year Mentorship programs.

“Even though many of the experiences of our ambassadors and mentors happened online, students really embraced getting involved in their communities and learning about the challenges they face,” says Justine Dogbe, leadership education specialist with Careers and Experience.”We’re looking forward to continuing to support students, and to growing and evolving the programs we offer to reflect current needs and make them accessible and inclusive for all students.” 

Reach into the community

The university's longest-running leadership program, more than 550 MacEwan Ambassadors have been actively involved on campus since 2008 – leading tours and volunteering with a wide range of university activities and initiatives. 

But ambassadors don’t limit their contributions to the MacEwan community alone. Since 2020, the university’s 60 student ambassadors logged over 1,000 hours with community organizations, including the Edmonton Food Bank; Habitat for Humanity; the Flying Canoë Volant, Deep Freeze and Fringe festivals; the United Way; the Somali-Canadian Cultural Society Homework Club; Youth Empowerment and Support Services; and more. 

“Being an ambassador has helped me understand the world around me, become more open-minded and find out my own strengths and weaknesses,” says Eniola Ajagun, a fourth-year Bachelor of Science student. “The program gives you a sense of responsibility and empowers you to help others.”

Learn more and apply to become an ambassador before April 7. 

Make life easier for first-year students

The brand new First-Year Mentorship program creates new opportunities for experienced students to support the university’s newest community members. For the first eight weeks of each term, first-year mentors work with new students to help establish a strong sense of belonging and community.

During the summer of 2021, 85 first-year student mentors each completed 80 hours of training preparing them to organize virtual meetings and activities, and to position themselves as role models.  

“We wanted almost every incoming first-year student to have direct access to a peer mentor,” says Dogbe. “This experience isn’t about academic mentoring or tutoring – we drew very clear lines on boundaries – rather, mentors are essentially friendly faces who can welcome and support students through their first weeks of university.” 

Omar Wazed says that being a mentor allowed him to discover his passion for helping others and skills that will serve him well in his future career. 

“I developed communication, time management and delegation skills, but most importantly, I learned how to be a leader,” says the third-year Bachelor of Arts student, who is also a MacEwan ambassador. “The experience helped me truly understand what it means to help and care for others.”

Learn more and apply to become a first-year mentor between March 28 and June 30.

Build your leadership skills before you try them out on the world

The new Emerging Leaders Certificate is a three-part program open to all MacEwan students. Level one of the program is a series of six bi-weekly workshops that run throughout the Fall and Winter terms. Students can explore leadership, wellness, public speaking, communication styles, managing conflict and restorative practices. The program’s second level involves a Student Leadership Summit in April (the inaugural summit is scheduled for April 23), and participants wrap up the certificate with a community-engaged leadership challenge where students help a community partner solve a challenge they are facing. 

Get the grades and an invitation to join an international organization

The university’s chapter of the Golden Key International Honours Society sends a personal invitation to students in the top 15 per cent of their class to help implement service projects and participate in leadership development. 

Not sure which program to choose? 

Whichever leadership program you opt for, says Dogbe, the goal is the same. 

“These experiences are part of our students’ career journey. As students support the community – inside MacEwan and beyond – they are developing transferable skills to help them pursue their career goals.”

Emilee Cowan-Nelson (BSc '20), agrees. The alum, who is completing her master’s in neuroscience at the University of Calgary, says that her time as an ambassador not only brought a sense of community to her university experience, it has an important place on her resume.  

Today, Cowan-Nelson is sending off her applications for medical school, which, of course, mention her experience volunteering as an ambassador.

“My legacy project as an ambassador involved organizing funds and recruiting volunteers to prepare meals for families at Ronald McDonald House,” she says. “As someone interested in medicine, that is an experience that stays with me. Being able to help people who were going through so much, talking to them about their experiences is something I will never forget.”