Category Archives: Second Year

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.

I’m back!

ebakes and jbakes (my little brother who’s in Grade 12)

After a long hiatus of exams and winter break, I’ve been back to Niagara Falls, Toronto, and now I’m all snugglly-warm in my Totem Park dorm room. My apologies for being non-existent for the last little while but now I’m here.

What’s on the horizon?
Film photography class, finding out the results on my Go Global application (crossing my fingers for the University of Queensland, Australia), WTFL (Women’s Totem Football League) and learning how to snowboard! Oh so much fun.

This term, I’ll be filming more and more of little bits of my life for this blog. Here’s the first taste of that. Meet my family, momma bakes and jbakes. Also, the second video is a hilarious telling of a story from my mother’s childhood for all of those momma bakes fans out there. The ending is the best part.

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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.

Music Monday+

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Rich Aucoin- Push

More goodies for perspective/first year university students: Here is a first year university student’s blog from the globecampus.ca website who attends Laurier University in Ontario. Currently, he’s discussing the drinking age for university students.

University Lesson of the week: A semester will pass you by quicker than you think. It’s important to do your readings regularly, instead of letting them all fall in your schedule within a few days of your exams.

Life Lesson of the week: Sleep is your best friend. Don’t go without it. Everything else can wait. Make sure you make room for your school work so you get more of it.

A Website You Should Check Out: kittehroulette.com

The Best of Vancouver: Granville Island Winter Ale

3 more days of classes
1 week until my exams start
2 weeks until my exams end
2 weeks until my birthday
3 weeks until I’m back in Niagara Falls