She may enjoy the time she can spend with her friends, playing sports, travelling and tuning into Netflix’s latest content, but it is equally as important to her to serve the campus that supports her university life. Meet Lindsey Miller, in her fourth year of the Concurrent Education program, and one of Laurier’s most campus-devoted students.
“I would say she’s very passionate, because she puts a lot of effort into the things she cares about, like her friends, school, being a Golden Hawk, teaching etc.” says Devyn Healey, a close friend of Miller’s and also a Laurier student.
When not occupied with school, Lindsey devotes much of her time to helping out around the campus. She volunteers for the Food Bank, Ecohawks, and as a Note-taker for students who have disabilities. Miller also designates some of her time to the campus by working as a Hawk Desk receptionist at the Athletics and Recreation Centre.
Of her volunteering and employment duties to the university, Healey comments, “I think she really enjoys it; she is always talking about how she likes working at the gym.” She adds, “For Ecohawks and Food Bank, she’s always excited about the events and tries to get people to come out.”
The Waterloo-native has always taken up volunteer/work positions on campus. Each year, Miller has taken on at least two volunteer positions in addition to her studies. To her, becoming involved with the organizations on campus was very crucial to enhancing her post-secondary experience. It has also given her that extra ‘push’ and source of enthusiasm, as well as a chance to meet new faces around the school community.
“I love getting involved, and I believe it makes me a more motivated and enthusiastic student,” Miller says. “It allows me to meet new people and gain different perspectives.”
Her desire to connect with others and be benevolent extends into her career, beyond the volunteering she is committed to. It has always been her desire to teach, a choice of profession influenced by what she attributes to her mother’s career as an Education Assistant. As for her decision to attend Laurier, it runs in the family, in a way, as her grandfather was a professor at Laurier’s Waterloo campus.
“I know he would have been happy I chose Laurier,” Miller says of her grandfather.
For Miller, volunteering and teaching “go hand-in-hand” as benevolence toward others. In her prior volunteer experiences, she has always noticed how the teaching process of guiding and helping pupils along would cause a pupil’s “light bulb to go off,” which inspired Miller as well.
For students who are incoming, Miller offers advice based on exactly what she did: getting involved. She believes that not doing so only leads to missing out on great opportunities.
Miller concludes on a note of encouragement, “Volunteering and working provides any student with a better appreciation and understanding of the school. ‘You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’ is a great quote by Wayne Gretzky to describe missed opportunities which are sitting right at students’ door steps.” She emphasizes once more, “Get motivated, and get involved.”
