Emma Drake

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Slide - 50 Years, 50 Voices - Emma Drake - 0:00
My name is Emma Drake and I am going into my third year as a Political
Science major in the Faculty of Arts here at UPEI, and as well I am the
president of the UPEI Student Union. 


Slide - New Student Orientation - 0:17
So, as my first year at UPEI I decided not to attend my new student
orientation, which I quickly learned was a mistake as the following year,
having worked with the UPEI Student Union, had the opportunity to be
heavily involved in that process, so one of my favourite memories was as a
second year student, getting to participate in New Student Orientation and
just seeing the energy that they all had and the excitement to be here on
campus and participating in different events whether that was karaoke or
board games or, you know, the kick-off evening, it was definitely a week of
a lot of fun. 


Slide - Involvement in UPEI Student Union - 1:06
So, in the last three years - two years here on campus, I've had a couple
different roles with the UPEI Student Union, I started off as the Associate
Director of Communications working in social media, attending a lot of
different student-driven events, and then last year I was the VP Academic
and External, so working with different levels of the administration here
at UPEI as well as different levels of government, and now as President I
kind of do a mix of everything, but consistently representing and being the
main voice for students. So within all that and within the different
positions that I've had I think my favourite thing that I’ve gotten to do
is get to know the students that I represent whether that was attending
events and just having things available on social media for the Student
Union or representing them at the different levels of government and
consulting with them to see what, you know, what are their key concerns or
what are their main areas of you know just concern and how are students
being represented at the different levels of government and then on the
other side within academics. So getting to know not just, you know, what's
your name, where are you from, what are you studying, but what are your
interests, what are your thoughts on just the overall experience here at
UPEI, and really getting to know that aspect of students has been very
insightful and very cool and then you quickly realize how small of a
community is here on campus, not just within students but as well within
each of those roles, working with different areas on campus, the different
departments and faculties and levels of administration, so you quickly
learn that everything’s close together and you can quickly make
connections with people and it's just a very warm place to be, whether
you're just working with students or staff or faculty. It's just been very
insightful in learning all of those different areas but has been a really
positive experience. 


Slide - What it Means to be a Student Union President - 3:17
We’re around 4,700 students right now, representing over 80 different
countries, so it’s being cognizant of your words and your actions and how
that may be interpreted to someone. As an elected position, I consistently
have to be cognizant of, taking in consideration if someone had elected me,
would they want me to be saying this or would they want me to be doing
different things, and always ensuring, you know, at the bottom line, what
you do and what you say are to benefit students and to support them. 


Slide - Students Have a Voice - 3:53
I think looking at more specific structural things that we have here at the
university such as the board of governors such as the senate and as well as
the different committees in both of those key governing bodies here at the
University, students are represented on each of those bodies so whatever
decisions may be taken within the academic realm or within the more
financial aspect of the University, students are a part of that
decision-making process which is something that is appreciated especially
from the perspective of the Student Union. It’s very exciting to see that
whatever decisions are being made, students’ position and students’
perspective is being taken into consideration at least within that
decision-making process.


Slide - Student Union Actions - 4:48
Within my time here, there's been various things that have come up that
have been from students demonstrating needs or students demonstrating
engagement in specific issues, namely looking at having a university campus
sexual violence policy. That had been something that had kind of worked its
way up, from the ground up, as it was something that students had
demonstrated there was a need for, and then came to the administration
level where it was then exemplified as not only just for students but for
the entire campus community. And then as well, we’re looking at today,
this summer, we're hiring an off campus housing coordinator. So housing is
a massive issue for students right now, as it is for many folks in the
community, but this is something that over the last number of years,
students have demonstrated that it is a need, and so specifically within my
role at the Student Union we've been working at how can we find resources
to help students identify housing, and so there's been different things
like this even just within my time I can think and reflect on how issues
that have been identified and then they work themselves up, from the ground
up, and to be reflective within the way the campus community works, so I
hope that in the next 50 years, it looks like that as well.


Slide - Looking Back, Looking Ahead - 6:09
I think, looking at the last 50 years, it's exciting to look at where we've
come along within that time frame, you know, having started as a smaller
institution after the combination of two smaller institutions, that
historically were based off of religion, historically were supporting men
who were continuing post-secondary education and looking at how that has
progressed today into not just a smaller institution and not just
reflecting some parts of the population, but really embodying a
multicultural, diverse population of students, and not just undergrad, but,
as well, graduate level. So we’re looking at students anywhere from 18 to
82 pursuing post-secondary education from many different walks of life, I
would say, and that's really been a big transformation, I would say, of the
University in the last number of years, not to mention the types of
programs, I think, that we've been able to offer, having started with a
more traditional you know liberal arts education with your arts faculties
and things like this. Now we’re looking at, you know, Master’s programs
in Biology, or we have, you know, Engineering, and we continue to have the
Vet College, but as well, you know, a PhD in Psychology, so there’s
different things like this that has completely transformed the types of
students we have here on campus, but as well, the community in that aspect,
in the different things going on, so I think taking into consideration the
history and just how much we've transformed, it's really exciting, I guess,
to see that over the last number of years. 


Slide - Final Thoughts - 8:01
So, having grown up on PEI, oftentimes as a younger person you resent being
from PEI but as well, UPEI. I myself never imagined that I would be
attending UPEI. However once I enrolled and gotten here I instantly,
instantly, instantly was wrong about everything I had assumed about it and
loved it, as it's such a diverse campus and has such diverse programs
offered, with so many different aspects to that. It's been such a wonderful
experience even within my two years here, now going into my third, and it's
such a unique place too as it is a smaller institution, you do get to make
those connections with your professors and you do get to make those
connections with your fellow students and with the community as UPEI does
play a huge role in not just the UPEI campus community, but as well, the
greater community of PEI and so, you know, reflecting on my experience as
a, you know, nonbeliever and then a lover of UPEI, and now as a person who
represents UPEI with the Student Union, I've kind of experienced all of
that just in full appreciation of this institution and as well, looking
back on the past 50 years, more of that historical aspect, and it’s just
such an exciting time to be here on campus, but as well to be shaping it
for the next 50 years.