Remember the Federal elections held in 2011 ? Well U Ottawa had an awesome vote mob organized to encourage the youth to vote. This pretty cool video can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dzt-kuSjJE One of the two creators of this video, Elizabeth Dubois, is a University of Ottawa Alumni that has definitely made a difference on campus. She started by being a Page for the House of Commons during her first year and helped out with the organization of various events throughout those months on campus. Once in second year, this Communications student decided that she wanted to get more involved. Elizabeth started working on the Hill for a Member of Parliament and became Vice-President of the University of Ottawa’s Young Liberals. Not only does she love politics, she decided that she also wanted to share this passion with as many people as possible. Indeed, she believes that “democratic societies cannot function unless we have engaged citizens”. Her opinion on the matter is since we are lucky enough to be able to simply vote without being persecuted , it is a shame that a big percentage of youth do not take the initiative to vote for their future. For Elizabeth, it is not about just engaging people in politics, it is about engaging people in whatever field they are passionate about.
In High School, Elizabeth had already run conferences to develop leadership within youth and involve them in their communities. Therefore, she got inspired while being at the University of Ottawa and organized a conference to connect Queens, University of Ottawa and Carleton students and figure out how they can help each other. Although Elizabeth has an obvious passion for politics, she tried to reach out to students from different academic backgrounds and came up with a plethora of great ideas.
The video that this Alumni and her friend Laurel Rasmus created in 2011 has over 11 000 views now and has definitely made an impact on campus. As an alumni, she explains that she loved the different ways offered on campus to get involved. Even if the campus is massive, it is not difficult to find people that have the same interests as you: there is something out there for everyone. Furthermore, being in Canada’s capital, she advises students to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the University, more specifically the experiential learning service put together by our administration.
After finishing her Communications degree, Elizabeth left the country to study at the prestigious Oxford University. She just finished her MSc in Social Science of the Internet. Elizabeth’s drive did not stop there, she just started her DPhil in Information, Communication and the Social Sciences. Even with the busy life she has, she finds the time to stay active and plays on the Oxford Rugby team. She is the living proof of where passion and engagement can get you in life. Whether it is in politics, in sports, in communications or even in leadership, Elizabeth has definitely inspired hundreds of students at the University of Ottawa !
To learn more about the Centre for Global and Community Engagement of the University of Ottawa: http://www.els-sae.uottawa.ca/els/
Photo credits:
Elizabeth pictured on the International Day of the Girl held on October 11th and giving her opinion on why women belong in the House of Commons.