Category Archives: Involvement/Leadership

Katika Kenya, Computers are drama couches.

It’s hard to describe what my summer has been like here in Kenya, which is partially why I have avoided blogging at all since May. It’s hard to completely explain the projects I’m working on (without making you read more than you’d want to) and It’s hard to explain the lifestyle that I’m enjoying here in Mombasa, all in a few hundred words or less. But most of all, I’ve avoided trying to put things into words because I have no idea how to explain in easy terms just how much fun living here is. [insert italtics and other normal html features in there as you see fit. I would do it for you if this computer could do that much.]

So I want to blog and I want to put something out there. Kenya’s pretty cool place, and there’s probably something I could say that would contribute to building the UBC experience (already, the greatest thing on earth). So please bare with me as I try to get back to my Tokyo Police Club in an Airport roots and producing content for this blog. So where to start? Well, my primary audience for this blog is new to UBC and prospective students, so whenever I write something here, I always try to think if there was one thing I really wanted to share with you, what that would be?

So I’ve thought of my one thing that I want to share. Everyday I make an effort to read the Globe and Mail online to keep connected to Canada. The article that really stuck out to me a few weeks ago was this one (and bare with me, I cannot hyperlink anything, so you are getting a long URL link to paste into your browser):

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/my-name-is-michael-ignatieff-and-i-am-canadian/article2079267/

In short, it’s an article by Michael Ignatieff, who speaks to what our generation has become. I’ll copy the part that for me, is everything I see UBC as, and that is a community of students who know where the world is going and want to be out there “in the heart of the action.”

Dearest Iggy said,

“The next generation is quietly redefining what it means to be a Canadian. They’re ignoring the attack ads and the chatter from the schoolyard of Ottawa politics. So many of the young Canadians I meet want to be global citizens. They want to be expatriates. They want a life that includes a couple of years in Mumbai or Shanghai, a summer teaching English in Tanzania, a year or longer working for some company in South Korea.

Young Canadians know which way the world is going, and they want to be out there, at the heart of the action. They are thinking about what a good life looks like and they know a good life might take them beyond our borders. Some won’t come home again, but others will, because they realize being away made them more Canadian, not less.

If this is the way the world is going, and our identity is changing, then the job for the Canadians who stay behind will be to make sure our children do want to come home again.”

Maybe that kind of describes my summer better than a long blog post could. Even more, to me, it describes the students at UBC to me and it describes who I am as a person. Currently, I’m in Kenya for the summer and returning to UBC for a term before I take part in a Go Global exchange to Australia in term 2. I want to be out there where the action is, participating, going as many places as possible, and then when I come home I know UBC and Vancouver has become the place I want to go home to.

Maybe now that I’ve gotten started, I will blog more and share some stories before this summer is over. I do have to say, I am really excited to get back to UBC and spend another year in Totem Park. I’ve never felt more connected to a place before like I have to UBC and Vancouver (sorry Ontario).

Asante sana for coping with my URL link.

Oh Hey from Toronto!

Okay so, you give me a hotel room, a king-sized bed, and a free evening in Toronto and I choose to take photos of myself with this kind of facial expression on Photobooth. Yeah, I’m not ashamed of my choices.

Right now, UBC has pulled me out of my campus habitat to share my daily experiences with prospective students in Toronto. I was flown out on Friday and spoke at two presentations at the Ontario Science Centre during the day on Saturday and man, I have to say, UBC has some pretty fantastic applicants coming their way.

For the last month, UBC gave myself and Quinn from UBC-V and Devin from UBC-O, flip cams for us to film our daily lives. Then, we were flown out of BC to Ontario to show this footage and talk about our experiences on campus. I got to brag about how amazing ubc rez is right next to the water, how one of my first year profs who currently teaching me again this term still remembers my name, and how UBC has given me the opportunity to try new things like soccer, flag football, and pole dancing through the AMS Mini School, just to name a few.

I can honestly say that I full-heartedly believe that UBC is the best school for prospective students who are thinking about university as more than just an education. It’s about experience, it’s about opportunity, it’s about being inspired, and it’s about being exposed to new ideas.

The best way I can describe my university experience is by telling you that I’m not trying to rush my degree and count down how many days I have left until I graduate, rather I’m trying to get as much as I can out of those days and I’m even consider staying longer than four years for those experiences. When choosing a university, the school you choose should feel that way to you, and for me UBC makes me feel that way and more. You’ll probably have to drag me out of this place kicking and screaming.

I want to say two things. The first, if you are a prospective student interested in UBC and want your questions answered about student life, that’s what I’m here for. Please contact me, even if you’re wondering where to get twin xl bed sheets. I’m your girl. The second, is that I want to thank UBC for giving me the opportunity to fly to Toronto and speak to prospective students. I’m passionate about UBC, the new-to-UBC experience, and the transition from high school to university. This event has been another opportunity for me to contribute to easing those experiences and transitions for others and has given me the opportunity to help those students get the right start they need going into their post-secondary education. UBC, you’re the best.

My mind was just blown by UBC REC

If there is anything you do today, be it that you watch this video, produced by UBC REC (that deserves a Matt Corker “Boom!” to describe it).

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A huge kudos goes out to the entire Media Team at UBC REC, my past RA and current best friend Alyssa Koehn, Advising teammates in Totem Park David Protheroe and Warren Springer (the man in the video all the ladies love), who were all a part of making this video happen.

Here are other tidbits from their video shoot you might enjoy as well.

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If I was anywhere near the definition of athletic, I’d so want to do TriDu 2011 just because of these videos. If anything, I might try to drink a little more water and get a little more physical because of it.

Will there be a Block Party this year?

Once again, the AMS is in the red when it comes to its budget. The Ubyssey reports that the AMS ran a deficit of close to $375,000 last year and this year it is projected to reach close to $150,000. That’s major $$$.

With Block Party being the big hole in their pocket, the plan is to cut down the budget for the event from $115,000 to $18,500. Still, it is estimated that Block Party won’t create any sort of revenue whatsoever once again and will burn close to $20,000. Better than last year’s loss of $103,000 from the event known as “that-time-the-Barenaked-Ladies-played-at-UBC”, aka Block Party. Other ideas for making sure that there is no loss at all include cutting the end of the year event all together if the Student Life Committee, chaired by Crystal Hon, can’t prove that the event  won’t be a big black hole for cash money to be sucked into.

So what kind of game plan does the Student Life Committee and the Hon have? Marketing the event through the SLC. My thoughts? I like it. Block Party, to myself, is a sign of UBC community, unique to our campus that deserves to have someone cheering it on to being a financially-healthy and popular event (it should be considered to be an important part campus community if it is the decedent of ACF, something that happened while I was probably still in grade nine but I am told about all the time. That’s how important that event was to the lives of UBC students).

I have a few ideas in my mind of what we can do for our friend, Block Party. For one, can we try to find a way as a campus to shape Block Party into something that has more visible differences from the AMS Welcome Back BBQ? For students who aren’t a part of the bzzr garden scene, what can we offer them besides the non-drinking side of the fence? If these things are already offered, how can students know more about them to attract a wider audience to the event?

My other suggestions include giving me one of those beautiful pink lemonade Block Party shirts from last year to help promote and look fabulous in, inviting the xx or Bon Iver to play, and reaching out to other communities on campus (like SLC) to promote in new ways. I believe in the Hon, the Student Life Committee, and their ability to turn this “in the red by Block Party” thing around. By the end of it, I hope Block Party/some similar ACF event will stick around and be an annual joy/splurge event for UBCers on that last day of classes for years to come.

My Big News- I’ve Started A Company

Dear friends,

A few months ago, I incorporated my own company, which is why this website exists as of today. It’s called The Collaboration Company. I wanted to give an official announcement on my UBC Blog because this blog has acted as my home for the last year and a half that has been the place where I have shared details of my story with all of you, my friends.

So why did I start this company? When I was 15 years old, I became Youth Mayor of my city. I recognized the need for more opportunities for youth in my community and that someone had to address the negative discourse that some of my peers were applying to the world around them. Big changes had to happen. I worked on many projects from deciding where bike lanes would be painted on city roads, at one point I was working on forming a Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee, and most of the time I was seeking out others who had the same drive I had to give new ways for youth to interact with their community.

As I took on all these projects, different organizations and institutions noticed this need as well and asked me to collaborate with them on conferences for youth, connect with the Chair of the Region about youth needs, and asked me what they could do for our generation. I’ve been pulled into numerous board rooms, had many meetings and I’ve exchanged many emails that have lead me to realize that my skills in leadership development, awareness of youth needs, and knowledge on student engagement had grown so highly that I was prepared to contribute to my community in a new way- through a business.

The Collaboration Company draws its strength through the synergy that is created when top young leaders come together to build the best opportunities for youth. Using networks such as the Loran Awards and Top 20 Under 20, The Collaboration Company brings Canada’s leading young leaders into the conversation of leadership and youth development. These leaders are experts in their respect fields which could be in politics, international development, non-profit work, or athletics, that gives our development process different perspectives on youth needs. That’s what makes this venture unique.

So here I am. A few months after incorporation. The last three months since have been spent working for Youth University at Brock University developing a four year long high school leadership program for students in the Niagara Region, all from my dorm room in Vancouver. The things that are being built are worth sharing and that’s what I hope to use this website as a venue for.

Please check out our website. If you would like to contribute to future projects, have any ideas you would like to share, please leave a comment or send me an email. It’s erica@collaborationcompany.ca. I value your input because I hold my friends, family and peers dearly. All of you have contributed to who I am, each in your own way, and I thank you for helping me get this far. I want to include you in future conversations about youth development and I know that we’ll make a mark on communities across Canada with our collective voices coming together as one.

Your biggest fan and friend,

Erica

One more reason for collaboration. Watch this TED Talk about radical innovation.

The Dean proves to be cool once again

Today is your first day of work as the chair of your department at NYU. You are new to New York City and your institution. You hear a large rumbling above you. Today is 9/11. What do you do?

You never know when you will be called upon to be a leader. For Dean Gage Averill of Arts at UBC, his leadership abilities were challenged that day in New York City. I’m proud to say that he did well under pressure. When he didn’t know the staff, the students, or the campus, he knew what to do. He had to make the decisions of getting emergency housing for faculty, staff and students within hours of starting his new job. He had to make quick decisions about canceling classes for the day. He had to make the most difficult discussions with no experience at NYU at all. Can you imagine doing that on your first day of work?

I’ll never stop saying it, but our Dean is so cool. He even blogs.

I asked Dean Averill how do Arts students face the trend of others dismissing the value of our degree? His answer was that our degree recognizes that we are human and we are learning how to flourish in the modern world. We are learning how to command communication across cultures. True say Dean Averill, true say. I believe that we are building dynamic leaders in arts that can adapt and flourish in any environment after post-graduation.

What do you think the strengths of an Art student is? I see us as a dynamic and powerful group. The biggest, the loudest, and the ones who are faced with life’s biggest questions in the classroom on a daily basis. Everyday. I go to class to analyze colonial dispossession. Everyday, I question why the world is the way it is. Everyday, I am challenged to read some article that I often I can’t understand at all (it’s a daily struggle) but I’m pushed to expand my way of thinking. I see value in our degree. I understand why we study the human condition. I’m proud to be in Arts.

I will make you proud and I won’t forget where I come from

My love for the OSLC team. I send you my thanks.

I’d officially like to thank Ontario for inviting me back once again to present at the Ontario Student Leadership Conference. More specifically, Angela from YLCC and the conference organizer, for inviting me back to present for a second year in a row. A few days before Remembrance Day I flew back to Ontario to present to student council members from high schools across Ontario about youth in politics. Trip highlights included sleeping in and missing my first flight to Toronto, meeting a cute boy who works at Wendy’s (how perfect for me, I love Frosties), and  having dinner with my family from my home away from home: the Toronto MOB.

During my presentation, there was this one girl with blonde curly hair who always made eye contact with me and was totally into the nerdy-student-leadership-thing I had going on. Maybe she even got excited when I mentioned longboards. Afterward my presentation was finished, she walked up to me and told me that we are absolutely the same person. She is who I am, but in high school form. WICKED. I gave her my card and I just received an email from her not too long ago. Megan’s working hard to rock a Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee in her city of Cambridge (holla to Cambridge) and wants some advice on how to take it to a new level.

I’m THRILLED to talk to people like Megan and all the students who attended my presentation. I know in my heart that if I continue to talk to these student leaders that massive amounts of change will happen back in my home province. I believe in them 100% and I see how passionate they are about their big ideas that will have no problem becoming reality.

When I was in selection interviews for a scholarship while I was back in grade 12, I was asked by the man interviewing me why I should be chosen for the scholarship. My answer was simple. “I will make you proud and I won’t forget where I come from.” The man smiled, slammed his hand on the table as a symbol of agreement, and shook my hand. I ended my day at regional selections with that interview, went home and awaited to hear if I would move on to national selections.

I will make you proud and I won’t forget where I come from. I haven’t forgotten my past as a student council president, a youth mayor, and a student leader pushing to change the dynamics of her high school. I’m honoured that I’ve had more than one opportunity to return to OSLC, where I was once a delegate, to share my knowledge and “student council wisdom” with hundreds of young versions of myself. I may be in Vancouver, but I haven’t forgotten the other students just like me back in Ontario who are creating a positive impact on their communities. OSLC is my way of giving back.

Angela, if you ever find this on the world wide web, thank you for letting me return to share my knowledge with others. And to the man who did send me to national selections for the Loran Award, I want you to know that I haven’t forgotten where I came from and I hope that I’m making you proud.

Sincerely,
Erica Baker
Loran Scholar ’09

“Erica to CPs, Erica to CPs, Over.”

This is the hardcore look of a crowd pumper. A team of 280 out of 700 volunteers at We Day.

Lessons learned from We Day:
Peanut butter never tastes good on olive flavoured bed.
Noise canceling headsets are never flattering.
CTV cameras will avoid you and your awkward headset at all costs.
Your closest friends can surprise you.

This has been my third year leading crowd pumping at We Day. I’ve been to We Days in both Vancouver and Toronto, I’ve pulled the sleepless We Day prep nights many times, and I’ve been hanging out behind the scenes for a long time. This year surprised me.

The surprise was my friends. Not a lot of my friends see what I do with Free The Children and Me to We. The worlds don’t usually mix. This year, they did. Many of my friends and Totem Park residents signed up to crowd pump and had the experience of having me as their staff lead. My golly, the passion and enthusiasm they showed in their outfits and energy stunned me. It’s awkward leaving residence at 5 in the morning in neon spandex, I know, and they not only did it but enjoyed themselves.

It’s so moving to have people walk up to you in residence and thank you for getting them involved in We Day. It’s so powerful to hear people tell you that the speech they heard made a difference in their life. It’s so wonderful to hear that someone got to meet Al Gore or shake Jesse Jackson’s hand. It’s absolutely inspiring to see the ripple effects that has happened since I first demonstrated the We Day dance to Vancouver.

Let’s back up here, since I first demonstrated the We Day dance to Vancouver?

You might recall a video of all the Totem Park advisors doing the We Day dance back in August. Since then, Place Vanier and UBC REC has learnt the dance too. For the last month and a half, I have been working on crowd pumping dance rehearsals and encouraging people here in the west to volunteer for Vancouver We Day. Slowly, the numbers went from 75 to 280 crowd pumpers signed up and attending practices.

It all started with a dance in my friend’s dorm room. Then, bringing it to my advising team. Then, flash mobbing the residence advisor orientation talent show with my team and Granville Island with the MOB. Then, running crowd pumping rehearsals and getting Totem Park involved. Now, inviting my friend Michel Chikwanine to hang out with residents in Totem and share his story while he’s here in Vancouver. It keeps going. Next week, we’ll have a Me to We workshop in the Haida House lounge. Next month, the Global Citizenship Committee will be bringing the Vow of Silence to Totem Park.

It all started with me showing Mark the We Day dance in his bedroom, a bbm from Jobin asking me to work for Me to We, and the best neon spandex wearing friends a girl could ask for. Look at how far we’ve come.