Volunteer & Community Involvement

I was appointed to be one of fourteen cross-country representatives to further the mandate of the CCHL while actively addressing the HR healthcare crisis in Canada by identifying and developing solutions to the common challenges new or young health sector leaders face. I was appointed to the committee based on my expertise, diverse professional skills, and lived experience and bring a unique collaborative "health and social care" perspective.

I solicit and represent the concerns and voice of peers on various committees and action groups to enhance student experiences, act as an agent of change, and guide students toward appropriate and relevant resources. I provide policy and procedure suggestions to relevant bodies and relay information from university management and governance to students. 

I facilitated knowledgeable and engaging sculpture site tours for guests to learn about granite sculpture and our artists' progress, promote our generous sponsors, and encourage donations. I offered general Saint John area tourism information for visitors, including the thousands who arrive on cruise ships. I also helped to coordinate and facilitate sculpture field trips for local children to interact with sculptures.

I was invited to prepare a lesson for students and church officials regarding their role in reporting suspected child abuse and neglect, how they can create a safe faith environment, and how to interact with the child protection system within a historic culture of silence around these issues as current and future church leaders. 

I was a co-organizer for the annual release of the State of the Child report that the New Brunswick Office of the Child and Youth Advocate produces annually.  The report is released during a breakfast that hosts stakeholders, politicians, youth, and child-serving organizations at the Crowne Plaza Ballroom in Fredericton, NB. 

I volunteered with NOII, an international migrant and justice organization, to support newcomers in New Brunswick with precarious immigration status to ensure their rights are respected and to shift public rhetoric regarding immigration policies and practices. 

I worked with first-year students to help them adjust to university life, be successful in academia, access appropriate resources, and be a listening ear when they needed to talk. 

I volunteered my restaurant and hospitality skills preparing, plating, and serving food, setting tables, and cleaning up during the annual Camp Medley fundraising dinner to ensure that any child, regardless of their financial situation, can attend summer camp for a week.  

I sit on a committee with two other students, MBA programme leaders, and University administrative staff to discuss the various challenges of facilitating a global Master's level program. We work collaboratively to formulate and enact plans to remedy these challenges and ensure strategic long-term success.

I was invited to present in this BSW course on how social work interacts with law, the challenges of ethical dilemmas when social work practice is at odds with systems of law, and to share my experiences in the Court of King's Bench and provincial criminal court systems.

A cross-sector community response to the meth epidemic in Carleton County led by Woodstock Police Force.

This non-profit advocates for the rights of children in NB as per the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and offers knowledge sharing, networking, and advocacy to child-serving organizations and the general public. 

I volunteered as a liaison between students and faculty and brought concerns to faculty meetings on behalf of the student body. 

I was invited to present to conference delegates about child rights and their role in implementing and bringing awareness to these rights as community leaders and future professionals. 

I volunteered every Monday morning before university classes to help prepare food and other goods for those experiencing extreme poverty and homelessness.  If someone expressed a particular need, we would do our best to help with finding and delivering furniture, drives to medical appointments, or offering extra support in times of difficulty.  Help was also provided to aid service-users access community services and resources.    

To bring awareness to mental health issues and reduce stigma across the Fredericton university campuses, I volunteered to share my story and act as an ambassador for mental health awareness.  Following the success of this campaign, it was launched provincially and subsequently nationally to campuses across Canada.