SAMU: Welcome to the Student Group Spotlight. To get started, tell me a little about yourselves, your roles and your positions in this group!

Rebecca Korceba: My name is Rebecca, I’ve been with the club for two years. I started as secretary, and then I moved to vice president, and now I’m President of Girl Up.

Jasmin Yap: My name is Jasmin, I’m the vice president of communications. I also started as treasurer two years ago.

Ashley Serunjogi: Hi, my name is Ashley, I’m the volunteer coordinator for Girl Up. This is my first time being in the club and it’s been really good so far.

SAMU: Tell me more about Girl Up and how this student group started.

Rebecca: Girl Up was a chapter started by the United Nations, now it’s a chapter of the Global Fund for Children. It’s all about women’s rights and empowerment!

SAMU: What has been your favourite event with Girl Up, so far?

Jasmin: My favorite event is always the first general member meeting we have at the beginning of every semester. It’s a nice time to meet all the new faces and see returning faces as well!

Rebecca: For me, my favorite is definitely the blind date with the books. We gift-wrapped the books and sold them to people who wanted a surprise! I really enjoyed decorating them and it’s also nice seeing people open them and see what book they get! It is also a great way to raise funds for the Global Fund for Children, because the money goes out to women in need.

Ashley: My favourite event, so far is the movie night. This social event was really nice to get to meet new people and to come together and watch Barbie!

SAMU: Why did you join Girl Up MacEwan?

Rebecca: I joined Girl Up MacEwan because I was looking for a community of like minded people. I think women’s rights and empowerment is really important and it’s so nice that there is a safe space on campus for that. I really wanted to get involved and see I could do for the community.

Ashley: I joined Girl Up because I thought it was an interesting opportunity to get involved. I’ve had experience working with different girls groups, and I also wanted to carry that forward in my time here at Girl Up MacEwan and to advocate for women’s empowerment and rights.

Rebecca: For gender equity, we’re really creating a safe space for people to come forward
and be themselves. All of our events are a safe space for you to share your story and talk about things that have been concerning you. We also do different fundraisers! For example, we do a period drive a couple times a semester that supports the Bissell Center in Edmonton. For all of our fundraisers, half of our funds go to the Global Fund for Children which they disperse to different communities in need.

SAMU: How has being involved with a student group improved your university experience?

Rebecca: I really like building connections with like-minded individuals. It’s always so nice to have people, on campus, to have conversations about important issues with. Our social events are really fun as well. It’s nice meeting a bunch of different people who have the same intention — building a safe space on our campus.

Ashley: Being involved with Girl Up has helped me build on my public speaking and communication skills as each of the executive members had the privilege to speak in front of an amazing group of girls about what our club has to offer during our Annual General Meeting.

Jasmin: Girl Up has given me an opportunity to build on my leadership skills over the past three years. Becoming someone that the rest of the team relies on and getting to lead a small team myself helped me build on my communication skills.

SAMU: What types of events have you hosted this semester?

Rebecca: We’ve had a lot of different fitness events with MacEwan Sports and Wellness. We’ve really built a safe space for our members to go on campus to do different health and wellness activities. We also have big social events for all of our new incoming executive and general members to come hang out, have fun, and just celebrate the end of the semester.

SAMU: What would you say to someone considering joining a Student Group?

Rebecca: Honestly, just join. My biggest regret in first year is that I didn’t join any student groups. I wish I could go back and tell myself to join any student group — even as a casual member — and go to events. A student group is a great way to build connections on campus. I really recommend going on student groups connect and finding something for you. There are over 100 student groups, there’s definitely something for everyone!

Ashley: I would say go for it because it’s very rewarding experience. You get to meet lots of people and you also get to grow as an individual. I’m really glad I joined Girl Up and other clubs here at MacEwan!

Jasmin: Just do it! Join on your own, or with a friend like I did!

You can connect with Girl Up MacEwan on social media through Instagram (@macugirlup), or email them at girlupmacewan@gmail.com.

Follow SAMU on social media through Instagram (@sa_macewan), TikTok (@sa_macewan) and Facebook (Students’ Association of MacEwan University) to stay up to date on the latest events, programs and services from your Students’ Association.