CPA Student Lounge

Popular CPA Student Lounge Makes a Difference

by Stephen A Jones

CPA Student Lounge, sponsorship recognition
When the new building was in the planning stages, SAF leaders insisted that it include an appealing and accessible social space for students to meet for academic and other purposes. Their insistence paid off, and their vision is being realized more fully every year.  The CPA Student Lounge on the second floor has become students’ favourite meeting place -- and the venue for an array of student-run academic and social events.  

Lynn Wu (MAcc ’16), president of the Accounting and Finance Students Association (AFSA), recently offered her perspective on what the lounge means to students. “The lounge is very well used, and by students in all years,” she said. “It’s convenient, and students really like it.”

There’s always a huge influx around project deadlines. Classroom group projects -- of which there are many in SAF courses -- are one reason students flock to the space. They connect with their new partners in class and often conduct their first meeting in the lounge. There they can plan and strategize, and begin to feed off each other’s insights and viewpoints.

SAF students using the CPA Student Lounge for study groups, team projects, and just relaxing.
The lounge is equipped with multiple tables, chargers, stations and all the accoutrements students require. The main area plus three 6-person study rooms allow them to work together in various combinations. Study rooms are so popular users must book them in advance.

Quiet areas, comfortable armchairs, and plenty of natural light are another attraction.  “A lot of students go to the lounge to study by themselves,” Lynn reports, but, she acknowledges, “they also come just to hang out with friends -- the lounge lets them relax a bit.” Some, of course, may find they need to fight the temptation to socialize just a little too much.

We also host a lot of different activities,” the AFSA leader adds. Among them are mentorship programs such as “Adopt a Co-op,” where senior students help their younger counterparts prepare for co-op job interviews.

Open concept, the CPA Student Lounge is equipped with comfy chairs, tables, and quiety study areas.

In addition, AFSA holds get-acquainted events in the lounge, dresses it up for Hallowe’en, Christmas and Valentine’s, and runs board game nights there – “with food as an extra incentive.” AFSA also opens the space for such purposes as SAF Fellowship interviews.

Today, it can be hard to imagine how students managed in the past, in the older building with its conspicuous scarcity of meeting places. But it’s easy to see how they are benefiting now from the CPA Student Lounge, day in and day out.