Let’s dance says leadership award winner
Contact:
Gurinder Saroya, gurindersaroya@gmail.com
Marianne Meadahl, mhamilto@sfu.ca, PAMR, 778.782.3210
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Gurinder Saroya believes a little dance can lighten anyone’s stress load – even that of his classmates at Simon Fraser University’s Surrey campus.
So the second-year science student created Dance Party Club to show there’s more to student life than hitting the books.
The club is just one of Saroya’s many involvements on campus. He’s among 38 students who will be recognized for their active roles with an SFU Leadership Summit award, given during the annual summit conference in Burnaby Jan. 22.
The award, a certificate of recognition, is given to nominated students who show a commitment to building SFU community through leadership and service, or who are involved in creating positive social change off-campus.
Saroya, 20, who wants to become a doctor, says a personal commitment to giving back to the community motivates his campus participation in everything from student orientation - as a leader and mentor to first-year students in their transition to university – to being a member of LEAD, a university program that supports student leadership skills.
While his busy schedule means seeing little of his close-knit family, Saroya makes time to keep them up to date on his activities and tutors his 14-year old brother. “My family understands and supports my desire to live my time at university to the fullest,” he says.
Meanwhile Dance Party Club, created last fall and promoted mainly on Facebook, has grown to nearly 150 students. They’ve held small break-out dance parties and plans are underway for a launch party.
“The club is really a collaborative effort by students, and it provides a stress-relieving atmosphere to help boost the overall experience of university,” says Saroya.
“I hope it will help students from becoming overly fixated solely on their studies. University is supposed to be a balance of academic and social life, and that’s a key message.”
Among other outstanding leadership award recipients from SFU Surrey: Shayan Lalani, Jenn McCulloch, Amandon Coletsis, Sumra Mahmood, Kjell Sadowski, Emily Ip, Jan Castro and Kyle Krystalowich, current president of SFU Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE). Also from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Danielle Young, Krisandra Reid, Alex Anaya-Paiero, Sydney Vickars, and the Lyre team of Brittany Vesterback, Sonya Ryou and Daniel Poirier.