Kate

Beaulieu

Honours Bachelor of Arts in English
Laird, ON

I chose Lakehead for a few reasons.  The first was because it had a great wrestling program, which I competed on for the first three years of my undergrad. The second was because campus is just so cozy - it's just the right size with the perfect amount of wildlife and trees and it made me feel at home.  And finally because I had heard wonderful things about it and because I knew that at a smaller University I wouldn't just be a number.  The fact that all of my professors know me by name and I can get one-on-one time with them to discuss issues, questions, or just academics or life in general is fantastic.   

One of the things I really like about student life at Lakehead is that everyone is in the same boat - being so far from home - that everyone is super friendly and always game to have more people at any event.  You can walk into almost any space on campus and see a friendly face or, even if you don't know anyone you are welcomed with open arms and no one is bothered if you just sit down and strike up a conversation with people who had been total strangers.  

This year is the first full year where I've actually had time to do more extra curricular activities as sports was a large part of my life before this. In September I got involved with the ESA and at the beginning of the winter semester started my own club and publication. It became apparent to me that Lakehead did not have an outlet for student academic work.  If students wanted to publish something they would have to look outside of the University for a venue - which as an undergrad, is oftentimes very difficult or down right impossible.  As such, I decided to create "The Post: Lakehead University's Undergraduate Research Journal" a sorely needed venue for undergrads to submit their academic research for potential publish. It has been, and will continue to be, a lot of work but with (a lot) of help from multiple professors, students, LUSU, and other university departments it is coming together and the first issue should be published this coming fall. It is exciting and invigorating to have such a supportive community for ideas like this.  At Lakehead, if you can think it, you can make it happen. 

Lakehead is a truly fantastic school. It encourages innovation, creativity, sustainability, and inclusion.  While being in class and learning is fantastic and obviously prepares students for a future in their prospective careers, it is the extra curricular aspects of Lakehead, the bits outside of the classroom, that prepare students for the future in ways that bigger or more centrally located schools cannot even compare to. I wouldn't trade my Lakehead experience for the world.