Navigating through the academic journey can be challenging and lonely if being at the college means being away from family, friends, and even the home country.
In this scenario, having a community can make the whole difference in student’s lives.
At George Brown College (GBC), the Student Association (SA) supports a wide range of student-led clubs, offering opportunities for personal development, community engagement, and social connection.
Student clubs recognized by the SA receive an annual stipend up to $1,000, distributed through a reimbursement process of $500 per semester from September 2024 to April 2025.
“We expect the funding to be used by the executive members to support day-to-day operations and to fund events organized by the club,” explains Larissa Perez, part-time clubs staff.
The goal of the clubs service is to help students connect and engage with other students who share the same interests, from sports to the opportunity to enhance their communication skills through collaborative podcasts.
Depending on the clubs’ interest, it will be categorized as academic, recreational, health, or social.
Decentralized Minds is one example of an academic club. Their purpose is to offer resources, development opportunities, and a vibrant community to support students from the Blockchain Technology program at GBC.
“Our goal is to create additional resources for students from our program since it is a very niche program and, honestly, very difficult to learn and understand. It’s not a common topic, that everyone talks or knows about,” said Tushar Tiwari, president of the club.
Students who want to start a new club need to fill out the club’s application form and constitution. GBC students can access and download both the clubs’ application and clubs constitution template from the SA website, or email the clubs department requesting those documents and guidelines for the clubs application.
It is important to follow all the requirements and make sure to fill out the form with as much information as possible.
“The more students involved, the better the chances of approval and student engagement. After the club is approved, it is important to stay connected, hold regular meetings, host events, and take advantage of the resources provided to them.” advises Perez.
Once the club has been ratified, they can begin operating and will have access to various resources provided by the SA, such as funding, room and table bookings, free printing and postering, social media and website promotion, the ability to rent a popcorn machine, club care packages, and more.
For more information, or to find or create a club, visit www.studentassociation.ca/clubs.
