{"id":187,"date":"2015-10-04T21:30:11","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T05:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/?p=187"},"modified":"2015-10-04T21:40:58","modified_gmt":"2015-10-05T05:40:58","slug":"imagine-ubc-2015-powered-by-arts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/2015\/10\/04\/imagine-ubc-2015-powered-by-arts\/","title":{"rendered":"IMAGINE UBC 2015: POWERED BY ARTS"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Imagine Day Pep Rally<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I get to welcome our entering classes each year at “Meet the Dean” on Imagine Day. This year our entering class was so large that we used up all the seats in the Chan Centre for both ceremonies and had to seat hundreds of students on the stage!<\/p>\n

Introduction: Making your own history<\/strong><\/p>\n

We begin all official ceremonies at UBC with this short declaration:
\n\u201cUBC is located on the traditional, ancestral and un-ceded territory of the Musqueam people.\u201d The Musqueam are a Salish First Nations people who remain our neighbours, and so we take advantage of these moments to recognize our debt and our close relationship \u2013 I hope that during your time at UBC you\u2019ll have the opportunity take advantage of their hospitality to learn some things about First Nations cultures or languages, perhaps in the new Institute of Critical Indigenous Studies, or you could start just down the street at MOA, a museum of aboriginal and global arts and culture that is one of UBC\u2019s \u2013 and Vancouver\u2019s \u2013 leading attractions.<\/p>\n

But first, let me welcome you to UBC, and welcome to its largest and most diverse faculty, the Faculty of Arts. It\u2019s an auspicious year to be joining UBC. It\u2019s our 100th birthday, and all year long we will be celebrating the incredible achievements of the last century, and envisioning the possibilities for the next 100 years. We\u2019re 100 years old but still growing strong.<\/p>\n

This is where you come in. You are creating the next part of our history as well as your own\u2014 you are the first entering class of the next hundred years!! We invited you to join UBC\u2019s Faculty of Arts because we believe you have what it takes to succeed, grow and flourish here. We expect that each of you will make a great contribution to our remarkable community. <\/p>\n

I was reminded just last night about the contributions our students are making in the world. My daughter, my niece and I were out kayaking, trying to squeeze in one more bit of summer enjoyment, and afterwards we stopped in to our neighborhood convenience store. The owner, whose son graduated just last spring from UBC in Arts, asked me about the start of school. In turn, I asked her about how her son was doing. <\/p>\n

It turns out that he went to Europe to teach English in Spain\u2014I remember him telling me this on stage as he graduated\u2014but as he was travelling in Serbia, the Syrian refugee crisis began to peak. He found himself volunteering in Belgrade, providing food and clothing to this massive movement of people through Europe fleeing conflict zones and overpopulated refugee camps. Apparently he is heading soon to Budapest in Hungary to continue in his volunteer role before starting his job. His mom is very proud of him\u2014as am I. You may not all find yourselves helping in the middle of a global crisis, as he has, but you should find yourself with new skills and a new worldview, ready to engage with the world.<\/p>\n

\"Overflow<\/a>
Overflow students on stage at the Chan Centre break the ice.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nLet\u2019s get acquainted<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re feeling overwhelmed, you\u2019re not alone. Clever tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts aside, I can assure you that virtually everyone here is at least little nervous \u2014 myself included. I\u2019m a bit shy by nature and it\u2019s not easy to talk to 2,000 students at once on stage at the beautiful Chan Centre.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s break the ice. In a minute I\u2019m going to ask you to turn to someone to your right, or left or behind you \u2014 someone you don\u2019t know \u2014 and introduce yourself. Tell them something about you\u2026 maybe your current Netflix binge-watching obsession, your pet\u2019s name, something about your family, or your 10-second take on the meaning of life. <\/p>\n

I know it can be uncomfortable to talk to a total stranger, but Arts UBC is a place where we take risks and stretch out of our comfort zones, so let\u2019s start today. I\u2019ll get the ball rolling. Here\u2019s some things few people outside my family know about me (except you, now): I cut my own hair. My favorite song: probably \u201cPsycho Killer\u201d by the Talking Heads (before your time), and when I was a very little boy my father called me \u201cA walking compendium of useless facts and trivial knowledge\u201d, anticipating, I think, that I would someday be a professor. <\/p>\n

Okay, now it\u2019s your turn. Find a neighbor or two, introduce yourself and tell them something about you. Great\u2014that was the easy part of my talk \u2013 I didn\u2019t have to do anything! Now that we all have someone we can say hi to, let\u2019s get down to why you\u2019re here. <\/p>\n

Making a difference<\/strong><\/p>\n

Show of hands \u2014 how many of you know what you want to do with your life? My guess is that even if you do know, you may have no idea what that actually looks like, or how you\u2019re going to get there. That\u2019s okay. Actually, that\u2019s fantastic, because it means that you have the flexibility to grow and change along with your interests and the rapidly changing world around us. Most of us don\u2019t have a long-term vision of what we want our lives to look like or a plan to get there. <\/p>\n

I still ask myself what I\u2019m going to do when I grow up. I started out in Forestry, before dropping out of university to become a community organizer, and then radio deejay, festival organizer, musician, and tractor driver. Eventually, I went back to school and found my passion for ethnomusicology, the study of the world\u2019s music in its cultural and social context. When I discovered ethnomusicology, I knew I had found something that I could do for the rest of my life and not get bored.<\/p>\n

Whether you have a plan, or are open to taking a circuitous route like I did, one thing most of us do know is that we want to be relevant, we want to make an impact on the world, make a difference and make our lives count, and we also want to enjoy what we\u2019re doing. Asking yourself through your university years how you can build on your passions and interest to make a difference will help you to fashion the path ahead for yourself. Your Arts UBC degree will ground you in new ways of thinking. It will give you the latitude to explore your interests and to sharpen your focus. It will power your life and career. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Pep Rally in the year of UBC’s 100th Anniversary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Exploring your interests and passions: toward a personalized education<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Arts education is a powerful tool in your arsenal as you consider your future career and lifetime of learning. We don\u2019t know which specialized skills will be in demand in the future. But we do know that as technology and economies change rapidly, general intellectual and analytic skills are at a premium. <\/p>\n

Here at Arts UBC we are not training you for your first job\u2014or even for a job that exists now! \u2014 but rather giving you the skills you\u2019ll need to be prepared for a lifetime of successful transitions and new challenges. <\/p>\n

An Arts UBC education will heighten your cultural sensitivity, carry out research, organize your thoughts and communicate them clearly, effectively and persuasively. Whether you go onto graduate school, a professional program like Law or Business, or seek employment after graduation, an Arts education is the edge that will position you broadly and allow you to make a real contribution to your community. <\/p>\n

The diversity of Arts is an advantage: it will allow you to create your own personalized program to emerge from the university life-ready and world-ready. There are countless options to choose from. We are home to four institutes, five schools, 16 departments, 750 faculty and thousands of courses. You can choose majors and minors from dozens of options in social sciences, creative and performing arts, humanities, interdisciplinary programs and more\u2014and you are encouraged to take courses in other faculties. From this extensive and diverse platform, the opportunities for a unique educational journey are literally innumerable. <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re interested in helping communities preserve and make sense of their cultural resources \u2013 you might consider combining studies in History, Anthropology and some Computer Science courses. A degree that combines Political Science with Religious Studies will prepare you to understand regional and international conflicts. Putting together Economics and Asian Studies, you could contribute expert perspectives on trade and globalization. Seriously, the possibilities are endless. The secret is to take control of your education. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not trying to scare you. My goal is to excite you about the possibilities the next few years hold and your chance to design and chart your own course. This path most likely won\u2019t be a straight line, but I promise you that it will lead to a deeper understanding of yourself and the world around you. <\/p>\n

You are making a huge investment in time and resources to be here, so by all means take some time to stretch yourself and explore your interests \u2013 our programs let you do that. These are the years where you begin to write your own unique story. If you are intentional, if you actively take a leadership role in your education, if you pay attention to your interests and take advantage of the unique power of an Arts education, opportunities will unfold. <\/p>\n

You have four years in front of you to learn about what you\u2019re interested in, leverage your talents, explore your ambitions, develop priorities and set goals. You have the privilege to do so alongside some of the very best minds out there \u2014 not just your professors and TAs but the students all around you today. We\u2019ll do our best to create a safe, supportive environment where you can take academic risks. I challenge you to do so, and to have the courage to get back up when you fail.<\/p>\n

Arts and employment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Employers want to hire people who know how to communicate, who have the ability to solve problems, and embrace teamwork. One third of Fortune 500 CEOs have Arts degrees. A recent survey on employer priorities showed that not only do employers recognize the Power of Arts, but wish more university graduates had the unique toolkit that an Arts education provides. In that survey, 82 percent of employers wanted universities to do exactly what we do here at Arts UBC \u2014 place more emphasis on teaching how to learn, including analytical reasoning skills. In addition, 80 percent wanted more emphasis on written and oral communication skills, and 91 percent wanted to see more emphasis on problem solving in diverse settings. This is not just abstract talk. There are more and more global business leaders pointing to the benefits of an Arts education.<\/p>\n

Tony Golsby-Smith, founder and CEO of Second Road, an Australian strategic planning firm, noted in Harvard Business Review that if corporations want innovative thinking, they should hire Arts graduates because they are experts at answering \u201cWhat if\u201d questions, and because, in his words,<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople trained in the humanities who study Shakespeare\u2019s poetry, or Cezanne\u2019s paintings, have learned to play with big concepts, and to apply new ways of thinking to difficult problems that can\u2019t be analyzed in<\/p>\n

Wrap-up: Making the most of your time at UBC<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make the most of everything UBC has to offer. This is a truly unique and formative time of your lives. Believe me, it goes by quickly, so soak it up. On the academic side, exploit opportunities to apply what you\u2019re learning in the classroom out into the world. Not only will this help you to retain information, but it will also give you the opportunity to make sense of it in real-life situations. <\/p>\n

You\u2019ll find that many of our programs put an emphasis on experiential learning. We offer Community Service Learning Courses where you can explore and contribute to our local communities. If you want to go further afield, Go Global exchanges can take your education around the world. You might also consider applying to the Arts co-op program where you can integrate work experience into your degree. <\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s not all learning all the time. Make sure to take the time to develop a social life \u2014 make new friends, join clubs, explore the Arts and Culture Quarter and everything it has to offer, from music to theatre to outdoor feasts (come to concerts in this great concert hall!).
\nAnd please \u2014 if you find yourself struggling, first, be kind to yourself. Next, ask for help. The Arts faculty and staff and most importantly our student advisors are here for you. We truly care about your wellbeing, and we are deeply invested in preparing you for your future. I encourage you to talk to an Arts Advisor \u2014 it\u2019s a great place to start. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve touched on just some of the many things this amazing, 100-year-old institution has to offer you as you lay the foundation for creating a rewarding and relevant life and career that will be powered by Arts. I wish each and every one of you the best for the coming year. Thanks for listening. I hope to see you later at the pep rally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I get to welcome our entering classes each year at “Meet the Dean” on Imagine Day. This year our entering class was so large that we used up all the seats in the Chan Centre for both ceremonies and had to seat hundreds of students on the stage! Introduction: Making your own history We begin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4461,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[233,7079,163110,966944,37,227017],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-education","tag-experiential-learning","tag-faculty-of-arts","tag-personalized-education","tag-ubc","tag-ubc-co-op-programs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4461"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions\/197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/artsandminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}