Student Life

Transcript

Okay everyone, next let’s please welcome Tavii, a second year occupational therapy student and first year OTD student who will share with us about student life and diversity at Salus university. Tavii has been so enmeshed in student life at Salus that when she saw an unmet need at the university, she helped co-found a group to address that need. Let’s hear all about it. Tavii.

– Thank you for the introduction Alex. Here at Salus, all your focus doesn’t have to be on the academic side. Trust me, there’ll be plenty of time to devote to your studies. There are also many opportunities to be involved socially. You can participate in student council, become a student ambassador or join the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee. I participated in the peer mentoring program, my first year as a mentee and my second as a mentor. Coming into a new environment can be challenging on its own. The mentoring program made the transition so much easier. Having a peer who was in your shoes only a short while ago is such a blessing. All my worries and anxious thoughts were settled by the answers my mentor kindly gave. As an added bonus, the program put together social events on an off campus to better the relationship between the mentor and the mentee. There are also many organizations to join such as Hearts in Motion. The Student Occupational Therapy Association or Nosa, the National Optometry Student Association. I particularly took interest in Salus Christian fellowship and eventually became vice-president my first year. Not only did we host our weekly Bible study sessions but we actually went out in a community to serve as others and to hang out. Here at Salus, you can build true friendships, interacting with people from other professions that you would’ve never met otherwise from your regular classes. But if you still aren’t sure Salus has exactly what you’re looking for, then you’ll be happy to know that you can bring all your wonderful ideas here and create an organization of your own and host events within it. A group of us saw a need being unmet here at Salus and decided to start the Black Student Union. We wanted a safe space for us black minorities to be able to gather, discuss our feelings about current events and have our own platform for our voices to be heard by the Salus community. The induction process was a breeze and although we are a new organization, we already have a variety of supporters. It is amazing to see the appreciation and respect that was received all around. So here at Salus, all are welcome and able to express themselves freely. Won’t you come join us. Back to you, Alex.

– Thank you Tavii. We appreciate you opening up and telling us about the many opportunities to engage in student life at Salus that can provide a much needed break from your very intensive studies. Cheers Tavii.