Focus: Embracing equity to foster connection and build support
Fostering an inclusive community and creating a sense of belonging is a well-communicated University priority. In 2021, Waterloo’s Student Success Office (SSO) worked to support students who feel disconnected from the Waterloo experience, let them know that those feelings are valid, and reinforce that there are opportunities to find community on campus.
Acknowledging that students’ everyday experiences at Waterloo are shaped by their intersecting identities, undergraduate student Rania shares her campus experiences and how she found a “home far away from home” as a Warrior in a short video. Rania shares that “acknowledging how our experiences are unique allows us to address the gaps that exist on campus and beyond. Through community activism, students have created clubs and advocated for services offered through Waterloo’s student associations that actively work to address some of these gaps and create safer, more inclusive spaces on campus.”
The “show, not tell” approach used by the SSO marketing and communications team identified gaps where communications were not highlighting an intersectional approach to experiences that students may face on and/or off campus. This video highlights the crucial role student activism and leadership on EDI-R moves this work forward and informs incoming students about campus services and resources.
Jump to: SC Goal 2 | Strengthening Communities Goals