Meg Martin

2011 University of Calgary President's Award Recipient

By Jennifer Allford

A lot of students pick their university after careful consideration of the academic and research offerings. And while Meg Martin, BA’11, was certainly impressed with all that, she really picked the University of Calgary because of activities available outside the classroom.

“There is a really good Model United Nations club here and the high school tournament that I had always been involved with is run out of the university’s political science department, and I wanted to get involved with that,” says Martin. “I had also been very involved in student politics and there is a good students union here, so that was also a draw for me.”

Martin didn’t waste any time getting involved on campus. While taking honours political science, she also became heavily involved in the Model UN, various clubs and her faculty. A recipient of two Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) awards, Martin researched peace and sustainability in Canada and the Middle East.

Eventually, and perhaps inevitably, she became the Students’ Union Vice President Academic, a role which may well have changed her life. “Before that position, I was looking at going to law school and then I loved it and the university environment so much that I decided to pursue student affairs as a career path.” She wants to take a master’s in education and become an administrator working with students at a research university (maybe one near the Canadian Rockies).

“I’ve had a great experience at the University of Calgary.” she says. “I like being part of the community, being part of the team and feeling that I am doing something that’s important or contributing to some type of cause. And I’ve found that everything I have put into the institution I have got back tenfold.”

Martin was thrilled to get the email telling her she was recognized with the President’s Award for Excellence in Student Leadership, a goal she had set for herself in her first year. “I was so excited,” she says. “I was checking my inbox and clicking the refresh button constantly for a couple of days. I just felt really honoured.”