Issue #6, September 2009
A-Team Career Peer Educators
E-Team Equity Ambassadors
FAACT Program Leaders Go Global Ambassadors
International Peer Program SCI Team
Science Peer Academic Coaches URO Crew
UBC Student Ambassadors Wellness Peer Educators
VPS Emerging Leaders Program
HIGHLIGHT
UPDATES ON YOUR PEER PROGRAMS
Keynote Speaker for Sunday!
Group training for all members of Peer Programs
will wrap up this Sunday, September 20th. At this
session of training we will be focusing on the
mental health of students and are pleased to
welcome a special guest speaker Robert Aitken
to provide further insight into the topic.
About the Speaker:
Robert Aitken is with the School of Instructor
Education at Vancouver Community College. He
teaches in the Provincial Instructor Diploma
Program offered by VCC. He has a Med in
Curriculum and Instruction and is a doctoral
candidate in Adult Education. He travels
extensively working with students, faculty and
staff in the colleges and schools; trainers in
corporations, as well as government and non-
profit organizations to help them realize the
value of brain research to learning, teaching,
working and living.
Learning With the Brain in Mind
Scientists tell us that 90% of what we know about
the human brain has been discovered within the
last 5 years. In this presentation, Bob will look at
how this new research can be helpful to all of us
as learners and peer leaders. How does stress,
diet, sleep, multitasking, drugs, friendships, love,
etc. impact our lives as learners? How can we
become more effective and efficient as students
and help others to do the same?
Find out more this Sunday and be prepared to
follow up the talk by engaging in an activity
designed to discuss your own thoughts and ideas.
UPCOMING EVENTS /
INVOLVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
sculpt innovative, holistic solutions toward social,
environmental, and economic sustainability.
In October of 2009, we will be launching our
second annual Act NOW! Playwriting
Competition. This national sustainability-themed
competition is open to youth aged 13 to 26 (ages
13 to 18 is Junior Category, 19 to 26 is Senior).
The winning playwright from each category gets
$ 500 cash prize. Their plays will also be
performed to an estimated audience of 10,000
people all over Canada and aired by
Sustainability Television.
HOW: Check out the Act NOW! Website for
more information: www.now-org.com
Call For Nominations: Faculty Of
Arts Leadership Team
Are you looking for an opportunity to become JOB POSTINGS:
involved in the Faculty of Arts?
There is a call for nominations for 24 student
representatives from the Faculty of Arts to
participate in meetings, proceedings and relevant My name is Amelia
business in the Faculty. The 24 elected students Boultbee, I am the Event
will include: Coordinator for the
International Relations
a) 20 third- and fourth-year and graduate Students' Association's
students in the departments and schools in the annual anti-landmine gala,
Faculty of Arts Night of a Thousand
Dinners. The event is an
b) 4 first- and second-year students annual gala which raises
much needed funds for the
WHEN: Nominations open on Tuesday, Canadian Landmine
September 8, 2009 and close on Friday, Foundation.
September 18, 2009
The N1KD Planning Committee is now recruiting
HOW: For more information and to nominate a for the following four new volunteer positions:
student, download the nomination
form: 1) Head of Sales Team - “The Smooth Talker”
 Nomination Form A (PDF): for third- and - This person will have the opportunity to
fourth-year students and graduate lead their own team and help us reach
students our 400 attendee goal- making this the
 Nomination Form B (PDF): for first- and biggest Night of a Thousand Dinners to
second-year students date
- This position requires innovation,
If you have questions, please call the Office of creativity and the ability to motivate
the Assistant Dean and Associate Dean others
- Tonnes of positive attitude a must!
- Personality should be outgoing yet
professional
Sustainability Playwriting
Competition 2) Sales Team (2 people needed)- “The Closers”
The NOW! - These people will have the opportunity to
Organization is a liaise with our VIP partner organizations
youth-run, by selling tables
environmental organization founded by a current - Enthusiasm and understanding of sales
needed
UBC student. Run entirely by volunteers, NOW!
- Professionalism and great attitude a must
bridges people from diverse backgrounds to

3) Media Liaison- “The Media Guru”
- Knowledge of local and provincial papers
- Ability to write a press release
- Ability to speak to the press confidently
- Willingness to acquire high level of
knowledge re: the event in order to be
able to convey our message
4) Special Events Coordinator – “The Guerilla
Marketing Pro”
- Now here is a very special position
requiring a distinct person. This person
knows that rules were made to be….bent
slightly, and that the bigger and more
meaningful the publicity stunt, the better.
Requires thinking outside the box,
previous experience recommended- will
work closely with Media Liaison when
Special Events arise.
WHEN: The event takes place on November
24th. Applications for positions are due
by September 30th.
HOW: Please submit cover letter and resume
to ameliaboultbee@gmail.com by
September 30th.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
H1N1 and
UBC
University of
British
Columbia is
preparing for
the fall term and, along with the rest of the world
we are preparing for an epidemic of HI N1
influenza. Our campus is a gathering place for
people from around the globe, so we are bound
to experience some illness with H1N1. Any
influenza, whether the H1N1 or our regular
“seasonal flu”, may temporarily hinder your
academic work. Student Health Service
recommends that you wash your hands often,
avoid sharing objects like pens with each other,
cough into your sleeve or a tissue that you
immediately dispose of, and keep away from
University, work and other public places if you
are ill with a fever and other cold and flu
symptoms. You can keep up to date on the
University’s plan and practical advice on how to
limit the likelihood that you will get sick by
visiting: www.ubc.ca and following the H1N1
links.
- Student Health
THE SOUND OFF:
Welcome to the section of the newsletter dedicated
to providing exciting and interesting articles written
by active student leaders on campus (like yourself!).
If you want to have an article featured in future
newsletters please send it to me
peer.programs@ubc.ca with information including:
1) Your name
2) What your taking at UBC and your year
3) Groups on campus you are involved with
(clubs, organizations, peer program..etc)
4) A picture of you that we can put up
Featured Student: Eric Ma
Faculty/Program: Science
ISCI: Cancer Biology, Biochemistry
and Microbiology
Affiliated Groups: SPAC, PPEC, iGEM Club, DURO
Eric is in his 4th year
in the Integrated
Sciences program
here at UBC. Eric
continues to be a very
involved member of
Peer Programs and
has been one of the few students working hard on
developing our new website. When Eric isn’t
designing our website or helping students to succeed
through his lessons as a Science Peer Academic Coach
(SPAC) he is acting as a pianist and vocalist for his
church group, researching how T cells aggravate
intestinal inflammation through his lab work,
following Manchester United on the Tv or snapping
timely photograph around campus.
Changing Views: Peer Programs
Leadership Retreat
I have felt the urge to write this ever since I came
back from the PP leadership retreat, which I must say
was an amazing time to reflect on being a UBC
student and the empowerment and responsibility
that brings.
I would describe the PP
leadership retreat as
both an inflection point
and a logical progression.
Inflection point in that
it’s provided me with the
opportunity to take stock
of what I’ve done over
the past few years and
see how much I’ve
obtained from this
university. Logical progression in that it was the next
step in my progress as a student at UBC, and how I
could contribute back to the community.
I think what influenced my thoughts the most was the
quote from Brian Sullivan, VP Students, when he cited
Doug Mitchell. To paraphrase it, Doug Mitchell
reflected back on his years as a UBC student, and
realized that he had gained so much more from the
university than he had given to it. Reflecting back on
my meagre three years compared to Doug Mitchell’s
innumerable years of experience with UBC, I
recognize that I’ve received so much, so much from
this university than I thought I would have. I have
been given an empowering environment, where I
discovered my passion for research and education. I
have been given many opportunities to achieve, in
varying disciplines, and I have been empowered with
the chance to further shape the undergraduate
learning landscape.
Going through the retreat opened my eyes to the
massive opportunity available to the Peer Programs
to engage the university administration to bring
about positive change in the community. As Peer
Program leaders, we have an access to the university
administrative leadership that many students don’t
at
have. We have, in particular, access to Student
Development through our program advisors. If we
need to go up higher, we have access to Brian
Sullivan, VP (Students), whose portfolio is concerned
with students’ wellbeing.
Issue #6, September 2009
We also have opportunities to connect horizontally
across departments, rather than work simply
vertically within our faculties. As a community of
learners, we were brought together at the leadership
retreat. This, in particular, was the first time I had
met and interacted so deeply with individuals in other
peer programs. Through the intellectual discussions
and philosophical chats, I had a chance to get to know
a solid number of fellow leaders at a level somewhat
deeper than most people I’ve met. Perhaps it’s true,
the comment that living together in a lodge helped.
Through working on problems in a PBL (Problem-
Based Learning) format, I had the chance to see the
different styles of thought in action. The differences
in thought, stereotyped by the science vs. humanities
divide but enacted in a mechanistic (process) vs.
holistic (relational) view of the world, really let me
appreciate the diversity of opinions held by people at
the retreat.
What I think was the most empowering at the retreat,
really, was the tone that was set at the beginning of
the whole retreat. Before we even jumped into the
matters of discussion was to set the environment
straight for empowerment. There was little sense of
competition but rather a greater sense of
collaboration instilled in the teams. With the advisors
stating upfront that the learning environment should
be safe but yet challenging, we set the basic tenets of
respecting each other’s opinions, dealing with each
other with humility, and being sensitive to others’
feelings, while also being open to others’ instruction
and criticism, and being
genuine in interaction. With
that foundation laid, I felt
that the potential for
conflicts of personality was
greatly reduced, and that
we became more open to
differing opinions, which we
didn’t necessarily have to
agree with, but at least we
could have the environment
to try to understand and
appreciate what others
thought. That’s something I’m incorporating into my
next meetings…
I guess I will conclude with the most concrete new
thing I learned at the retreat – de Bono’s six thinking
hats. In my usual style, while the six thinking hats
were being introduced at the retreat, I checked up to
see if there were any criticisms of this framework of
thought, and indeed there were fairly solid criticism
on its application (potential rigidity) and basis
(unscientific). However, the one thing that’s nice
about this thought framework is that it’s simple and
makes sense, and doesn’t require additional abstract
concepts to understand it, and that’s just like many
truths in life – simple and founded on common sense.
I recognized that my “Red Hat” (emotions, feelings
etc.) is fairly ‘underdeveloped’, as being a scientist I
have a strong focus on White (facts), Black (criticisms)
and Blue (holistic view). And hence since the retreat, I
have focused a lot more on noticing when my “red
hat” starts to surface. Perhaps one thing that held me
back before was my need to justify how I felt –
coming from a rationalist and debating background –
but now I recognize that there’s not always a rational
need to justify my own feelings, and that there needs
to be an environment where feelings can be
expressed without the need for justification. That is
the most “concrete” lesson I’ve learned from it all.
All in all, the retreat was an excellent one. I learned
new things, connected with new people, engaged in
new ideas, and basically had a blast of a time. If given
a second chance, I’d love to go on another retreat like
that again! -Eric Ma