Fellow
Mustangs,
Westernizer Letter:
Dave Tompkins
Students' Council President
Fellow
Mustangs,
Welcome to another hair raising year at Western. For those of you in first year, I hope you try and maintain the genuine sense of excitement and bewilderment that brought you here. And for those of us returning, I hope we can approach this year fresh, and with renewed enthusiasm and optimism.
I want to take this chance and talk to you about something I believe in very strongly: opportunities. Western will provide you with very unique and exciting opportunities, and you should try to keep your ears, eyes, and mind wide open. I would hate for you to look back at Western as a time you missed some of these prime opportunities.
It never hurts to be reminded that Western is a fine and dandy academic institution. The faculties at Western are of the highest caliber, and many of the programs at Western are internationally renowned. You will have opportunities to learn and work with some of the best and brightest people in the world, so take advantage of it.
But there are more people at Western than the academics and faculty. As a student at Western, you are part of a community that includes everyone from staff and alumni to graduate students and the residents of London. There will be opportunities to work with the various members of the community in many different contexts. For something really great to be accomplished, it often requires the help of several sectors of the Western community, so don’t pass up opportunities to work on projects with other members the community.
When graduates talk about their life at university, they most often refer to their social activities. You’ll probably be no exception. Western has many opportunities for social interaction, including clubs, pubs, intramural sports, and varsity games. Try and get out to see some of the guest speakers, concerts, and student productions that happen throughout the year. Heck, just try and get out sometimes. You can always find out about campus events through posters, the Gazette, USC Notes, Radio Western, TV Western, and our Web Site. But always keep in mind you have to balance your academic and social life, and that too much of one or the other isn’t very healthy. You have to choose wisely the opportunities you seize.
In addition to the numerous opportunities out there, you can create your own opportunities. By helping to run and organize these extra curricular activities and clubs on campus you can open many new doors. The University Students’ Council prides itself on facilitating these opportunities. With literally hundreds of volunteer, leadership, and part time positions, the USC has something for everyone, and some things you may never have considered. The USC is only as strong as the people who make it up, and we want and need people like yourself to make it even stronger. If you are concerned and interested enough to take the time and read the president’s message in the westernizer, then you’ve probably got what it takes.
I realize I’ve been beating this "opportunity" word to death, and if you haven’t got my message then it’s not my fault, but I really do think it is the key to a rewarding and complimentary undergraduate career. I just wanted to finish off with a little ditty for you to think about, and I’m apologizing in advance for getting a little mushy.
People come to university for different reasons, and with different goals. I hope that in the end, you get everything you wanted from Western. I also hope you’ll reflect back on your stay at Western as a time of development and self discovery. I hope that when you leave here, you do so with new goals, new dreams and new ideas. But most of all, I hope that years from now, when you think about Western, you will think of your experiences, smile, and feel proud: purple and proud.
I hope I bump into you during the school year, and we have an opportunity to chat. Have a great year!