If you have decided to be involved with your university’s community by volunteering, or if you’re just looking for more opportunities on campus, look no further than your own student department! Many SFU departments have their own student unions, which might be your next opportunity to shine and gain experience. But what exactly are these unions and what can you do to get involved?

Departmental student unions are small student-run organizations working under Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS), the main, overarching student union that includes everyone who are enrolled in the university. According to the SFSS website, these departmental student unions usually hold and organize social events, career fair, conferences, or publish journals and magazines. As you can see, these activities make student unions a great place to find volunteering opportunities. And the good news is, any student who is majoring, minoring or just taking a class under each department is part of that department’s student union. This makes is possible for you to be involved with more than one student union!

Linguistics Student Union (LSU), for example, is open to any student who is currently taking a linguistics class, even if they’re not majoring or minoring in it. LSU holds union meetings, organizes information session for students, and created its own constitution. There are also executive positions at the union, which could be a great way to get involved in the community and meet people with common interests.

Personally, I have volunteered for Communications Student Union (CMNSU) in the past year. Almost every semester, CMNSU publishes a magazine directed to communication students called InContext. I decided to volunteer as an editorial assistant and it was one of the most important volunteer experiences I have ever had. Since I want to get into the publishing industry after graduating from university, seeing and contributing to the process of publishing a magazine is an essential experience for my future career endeavors. I also got to know and meet like-minded people who have similar career paths as I have, so it’s also a great way to do networking.  

If you’re interested in getting involved with your student unions or just want more information, go check out the SFSS website and the directory of all the student unions at SFU. All the best and good luck!