The BIG Fair is a BIG Opportunity

The month of September always brings about tons of fairs. Yearly favourites always pop up, including the Week of Welcome, Clubs days, Academic Options days and, of course, the BIG Fair! For those of you who are unfamiliar, the BIG Fair is a combination of the Career Fair, Professional and Graduate School Fair and the Community Engagement and Volunteer Fair. For four days every year the AQ (in Burnaby) and Mezzanine (in Surrey) is filled with banners, logos, SWAG and hundreds of students!

The Community Engagement and Volunteer Fair is where I made some realizations about volunteering. The first thing that came to mind, while I wandered the crowded hallways, is that volunteering is one of the best ways to gain experience to put on your resume. Many of the positions offered by organizations had experiences that you can’t get just anywhere. Positions like marketing coordinator, events manager, tutoring, caseworker, caretaker and finance committee volunteer. The second thing I noticed is that there are hundreds of local organizations, big and small, that would love your help! Smaller organizations such as the Writer’s Exchange, big organizations like the Elizabeth Fry Society, and on campus organizations like SFPIRG. Each organization offers something different so it’s easy to find something that will tailor to your interests! All you need to do is start looking!

If you missed speaking with an organization from the fair, don’t worry! A ton of these organizations regularly post with Volunteer Services through Symplicity or some of our favourite sites like govolunteer.ca! Use the resources offered by Volunteer Services to find out about any other opportunity you may be interested in. Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter @SFU_Volunteer, subscribe to our E-Newsletter or come in and visit us in Career Services (MBC 0300).

I’ll see you at the next fair!

Alexandra Lowe is a co-op student working as the Volunteer Services Assistant. She studies communication and in her spare time she volunteers, plays sports and enjoys the outdoors. You can find her in Career Services in MBC 0300 and don't forget to visit the Volunteer Services website (sfu.ca/volunteer) to getin information about the latest events and opportunities