Residence students give back to community through multiple initiatives

trevor.kenney — Mon, 28 May 2018 15:28:35 +0000

A host of local community organizations are in a better place today, having been bolstered by the generosity of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge residence students.

The Lethbridge Soup Kitchen was one local organization assisted by campus residence students.

As the spring semester closed and residence students moved out of their campus apartments, both clothing and food drives were held to benefit the area’s less fortunate, capping off a year of fundraising and community outreach initiatives that connected students with their adopted community.

“We placed food donation bins in all of the residence buildings during the last week of classes,” says Steve Brodrick (BMgt ’09), director of Housing Services. “Students donated non-perishable food items and we made arrangements with the Lethbridge Soup Kitchen to have these picked up. Our staff then sorted and boxed it all up and we were able to donate a ton of food.”

Residence students and Pronghorn Athletics also teamed up for a clothing drive that netted a large donation to Value Village, who in turn sponsors Pronghorn Athletics throughout the year. These were just two of a number of initiatives undertaken by residence students throughout the year that benefited the southern Alberta community.

“We recognize how much the community at large helps students and we are always looking for new ways to show our appreciation for this and to reciprocate that generosity,” says Brady Hornung, past president of the Organization of Residence Students (ORS). “Whether through our Staches for Cashes fundraiser, clothing and food drives, weekly trips to walk foster puppies, or donations to national and international organizations, it is important that we give back in any way we can.”

Residence students jumped at the opportunity to volunteer walk rescue puppies.

Hornung says students coming to Lethbridge are looking for new experiences and are eager to connect with their new community.

“The more our students can see themselves as contributing members to the greater Lethbridge community, the more comfortable they are,” says Hornung. “��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ is a time to try new things, and for many students that also includes trying community outreach and volunteering for the first time. The more we can do to facilitate this step, the more we are able to create mutually beneficial relationships between our students and the community.”

The Pies 4 Lives fundraiser helped raise money for local mental health initiatives.

Some of the group’s outreach programs included raising more than $2,400 for the Below the Belt Cancer Fundraiser, $500 for the Canadian Mental Health Association, clothing for the Canadian Diabetes Association, $450 each to the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association Community Key Tree Ornament program and Days for Girls Canada, and weekly walks for rescue dogs from Prairie Pitbull Rescue.

“ORS has always been about fostering a sense of community and belonging for students staying at the U of L,” says residence assistant Hailly Harder. “It’s important for ORS to give back to the community because it creates an environment where students can feel like they are making a difference in the world, and they can choose where and how they would like to do so.”

Students step into the future

trevor.kenney — Fri, 02 Feb 2018 22:36:22 +0000

For a group of current ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students, the future home of science became a reality recently when they took a step onto the construction site of the new Science and Academic Building.

Members of the Organization of Residence Students (ORS) and residence advisors Kate Potts, Jaylyn Potts, Brady Hornung, Adam Geib and Kya Zoretich were among those given a tour of the building. Having never been on a construction site of this size before, the students say they were left in awe after the tour.

“The main atrium when walking into the building was most impressive to me,” says ORS President, Hornung. “The obvious appeal of having a giant glass wall overlooking the coulees is going to make the space feel very open and welcoming. The way the project is built around this main atrium with offices, meeting rooms and classrooms will create such a positive energy for this hub at the heart of the Science and Academic Building.”

For Kate Potts, ORS vice-president of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall, learning how the building is designed to enhance transdisciplinary work was enlightening.

“I enjoyed seeing how bright and open the space is going to be as well as hearing about the thought that went behind each and every decision made for the project,” says Potts.

Leading the tour of the building was an especially significant highlight for Program Director, Brian Sullivan.

“Students are going to benefit so much from having a state-of-the-art facility to learn and explore in. Being able to show this group of students the spaces they’ll be getting to experience and seeing the amazement on their faces was truly wonderful,” says Sullivan.

As for contributing to the student experience, Vice-President of Coulee View, Adam Geib says the new building will be a huge positive for the future of U of L students.

“I think this building is going to improve the lives of students greatly,” says Geib. “I think it will not only allow for more opportunities to be taken by students who are in the sciences, but as well I think that it will allow other programs to expand and get new spaces of their own since the science labs will be moved over. This building will put the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in the forefront for research and will allow students to experience things they would not have before.”

UNews - Brady Hornung

Residence students give back to community through multiple initiatives

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Students step into the future

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