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A new generation of leaders

Recap of Douglas College
leadership retreat

Meagan Schlee-Bedard, Contributor

 

he Douglife Leadership

Retreat, one of the greatest
and least-known experiences
offered by the Douglas College
Centre for Campus Life and
Athletics, took place from
October 4 to 6. The goal of the
retreat is to let students grow
personally and professionally as
leaders outside of the classroom.
As one of the 39 students and six
staff to participate in this year’s
Leadership Retreat, it was one
of the best moments of my life.
From the moment you walk
through the hallway with your
duffel bag there is a new sense
of belonging; everyone wants to
meet everyone because nobody
knows anyone.

“Within the first two hours
everyone had bonded,” said
Steven Wang, a participant of the
leadership retreat, when asked
about his experience.

Arriving at Camp Summit
in Squamish at around 8:30
p-m.,, it was dark, cold, and there
was a bus full of excited but
hungry college students. After
some food, it was time for team
building. You know those silly
little games that apparently no

one wants to play? These silly
little games motivated campfire
conversations and card games
that sometimes went until 5 a.m.
The next day was more
athletic: high ropes, rock
climbing, and low ropes. The
team work and encouragement
involved meant so much more
than personal growth alone.

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Douglas College Leadership Retreat 2013 | Photo courtesy of Chris Ray Side

The mind-blowing power

of encouragement is largely
what helped each participant
climb as far as they did. Some
people faced their fear of
heights and others like me had
to face physical barriers, while
environmental elements and
even the task itself presented a
challenge.

The next challenge
tomorrow’s leaders had to face
was that of public speaking.
We had a workshop on what
constitutes an excellent public
speaker and what doesn’t, but
the most beneficial part was
the practice time. We had to
do a one-minute presentation
and were given a safe place to

  

receive high quality feedback—
feedback which we will continue
to learn from as we continue in
professional environments.

We also had a healthy living
workshop where we learned
about all things health-related.
Both the public speaking and
healthy living workshops
allowed us to ask meaningful
questions and set goals for
ourselves that we could reflect
on and work towards after we
left the retreat.

Last but not least we did
trust workshops, as we took the
falling trick to new extremes and
fell from tables into the arms
of our new companions. The
most personal growth happened
during this exercise, because of
the very real danger of not being
caught. I was the last one in my
group to drop, tears hanging
out of my eyes, but the relief of
conquering my biggest fear was
well worth it. Opening my eyes
and realizing that I was perfectly
okay left me speechless.

Overall, an amazing week!
Some of the fun things that in
my more profound personal
account of events I] didn’t cover
include the staff at the campfire
dancing and the salsa energizers
we had to do at 7:30 a.m.

Thanks to everyone who
went to the leadership retreat
and to all the organizers. I hope
everyone that reads this is as
excited as I am for next year!

 

Serving the needs of global students

DSU to host International
Student Open House

Cazzy
=)  Lewchuk
) Staff Writer

       
   
 

=i

n October 24, the Douglas

Students’ Union (DSU) will
be hosting an open house for
international students. The event
will take place from 4:30-6:30
p-m. in the DSU lounge at the
New West campus. The event
will feature food, door prizes,
entry games, and workshops. All
international students of Douglas
College are welcome, and the
DSU hopes as many as possible
will attend.

The event will serve as
an excellent opportunity
for students to have their
voices heard. International
students face several unique
challenges in addition to the
ones already apparent for all

4

Douglas students. These can
include much higher tuition
rates, language and cultural
barriers, adjustment to living
in anew country, and even
discrimination. There is

no “standard international
student”—every international
student has unique needs and
issues facing their education.
Many feel alone or unable to
express themselves in dealing
with these issues. The services
required for international
students are much greater, yet
their barriers are also greater
than ever.

This open house hopes to
unite the many international
students at Douglas College
and help them understand the
resources available to them.

The open house will feature
25 language interpreters for non-
native English speakers. Anyone
who has an opinion, question,
or concern will consequently be
able to speak at the open house.
The DSU hopes to hear from as
many international students as

possible and get some feedback
as to how the DSU and Douglas
College can assist them in
making a seamless transition
into post-secondary education in
Canada.

There is no registration
necessary for the dinner, and
all are welcome to drop by.
Representatives from the DSU
will be in the concourse on
October 16, 17, 22, and 23 with
information. Information can
also be found on the Douglas
College Facebook page and
group. A Facebook event for
the open house has also been
created, called the International
Student Open House & Dinner.

In addition, a survey about
what can be done to improve
international student experiences
is available. The DSU would like
to encourage as many as possible
to fill it out, especially those
who are unable to make it to the
dinner. The survey can be found
at www.surveymonkey.com/s/
DsSUIntlSurvey

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Photo courtesy of Joel McCarthy