Berklee College of Music- A Thank You Note

Over this summer I've been really productive at work and otherwise. A few times at work starting new projects and organizing clubs for next year I've had to step back for a moment and reflect upon the fact that a couple years ago the work I'm doing now would have seemed incredibly more stressful and daunting than I feel it is today.

I think I owe a lot of that confidence is due to the opportunity I had to work at Berklee College of Music over the Summer of 2009. Starting at a new school coordinating with a number of people with much more important jobs at some points was intimidating. However, with the support and encouragement I received from my co-workers and supervisors at Berklee, I was able to do everything I needed to do before the deadline, with attention to detail, and (eventually) with confidence.

Consequently, it seemed to be great timing when my supervisor sent me a letter of recommendation earlier this month. I'd like to share it with you because I think my experience has had a direct impact on how I perform at my current job. There is not a lot of overlap in terms of specific job duties between what I did in Student Services and what I'm doing in Communications but I feel that the experience of working there helped me be more efficient, productive, and confident in my work at Mount Allison than I otherwise would be. In short, thank you. Thank you Tamia Jordan, thank you Emily Page, and thank you Berklee College of Music for giving me such a great opportunity. I wish I could write a letter of recommendation befitting how much I feel working there has helped me develop personally and professionally.


Geoff Campbell Berklee College of Music Recommendation

Apparently 'free' isn't 'cheap': Parking Permit Costs at Canadian Universities

Firstly, I have to give Macleans credit for getting it right most of the time at least in terms of University rankings, but in the following case there is some inaccurate information. In a recent posting on the 'on campus' section of the website there is a post entitled "Top 10 most (and least) expensive parking permits" (at Canadian Universities).

I don't like to criticize but there is something I need to point out about this post which is that Mount Allison University (which is both ranked and profiled by Maclean's) is not first on the list of cheapest parking.

There is ample free parking at Mount Allison University. In three years I've never heard of anybody having any trouble finding a free spot close to campus. That's because they're all free and they're all on campus.

Clearly paying $25 a year at Memorial is cheaper than paying $1017 at Ryerson (if those figures are correct) but nothing beats parking for free at Mount Allison. In addition, you'll be at the #1 undergraduate University (14 of the last 20 years). That's one Macleans ranking with which I completely agree.

Mount Allison University's Alumni Magazine, The Record Publishes Summer Issue Online

After months of work, Mount Allison University has published the summer 2011 issue of its quarterly magazine for Alumni and friends. The issue's articles include: Mount Allison University's new brand promise: "Immersive Learning Community for independent-minded leaders", Convocation 2011, Chancellor Peter Mansbridge's $10,000 internship awarded, Mount Allison's handmade diplomas, Toby Couture's ('06) work with renewable energy, the Brunton Auditorium Seat Restoration project and much more.

I've included an embed below but you can also go to the Alumni website to see it in their full-screen viewer.

Mount Allison University -- The Record (Summer 2011)

50,000 Views

  I was just updating the About Me section and I noticed that I just hit 50,000 total pageviews, at least according to the Blogger counter at right. Since it has been a while I thought I would share some stats. To Canadian readers, I hope you had a great Canada Day. To my American readers I hope you also have a great Independence Day celebration.

Summer: Communications at Mount Allison, Amnesty International, Argosy, ATLIS, and NPR

I realize it has been a while since I wrote a large update. I've been very busy working at Mount Allison University's Communication Office. It has so far been a great experience and I'm just now getting into the main project of the internship this summer which is creating video content for the school. I'll be sure to write what I can about that but probably not before it appears on the Mount Allison Homepage.

I've also been busy working to prepare Amnesty International Mount Allison for this year's activities. As President, I represented the group at this Amnesty International Canada's Human Rights College and Annual General Meeting.

For more information visit our website, Facebook page, and follow us on Twitter for information on human rights campaigns and group activities.

I've also been working on helping update the Argosy website. Updates should go live over the summer.

I uploaded the Spring 2011 ATLIS Journal: Alternative Solutions For A Sustainable Future online. I've been updating the website including the introduction of this year's theme for the Conference and Journal:
Revolution: Reforming Structures and Rethinking Perspectives. We have not yet made a call for abstract submissions but you can see last year's as a guide if you want to prepare early.

I also uploaded video from last year's conference, including this controversial presentation about the 2007 International Economic Crisis and Keynote Speaker Ian Smillie's address: "Blood Diamonds: Cutting Edge Lessons in Sustainable Development" and his lecture on becoming a career global activist.

I'm going to be volunteering for Amnesty's Demand Dignity Campaign at the U2 Concert on Magnetic Hill in Moncton. Concert organizers are hoping for 100,000 people to attend, which would make it the biggest music event in the Maritimes ever. We should be able to get a lot of signatures to petition the government of Nicaragua to help prevent the sexual violence against women and girls which is widespread in the country.

This weekend I'm going to Charlotte Country, New Brunswick. I may or may not have photos to share when I return.

As I said back in May, I'm very busy this summer so I will not be writing as prolifically as in summers past. However hopefully by the end of the month I will have a new video up about how the reaction to the video explaining how I made NPR's Facebook page has helped change my life.

That may seem a bit exaggerated, but the response encouraged me to create more videos about the school and explore social media further. Doing that undoubtedly helped me land the job I have now where I help educate staff about effective social media use, which in turn has had a big impact on what I see myself doing after graduation. I suppose it will be part video resume, part biography, but mostly a video to thank NPR for helping add a fire to my interest in social media and rethinking what I really want to do with my life after I walk across the stage at Convocation Hall and receive my Honours B.A. in International Relations from Peter Mansbridge in 329 days.

Geoff Campbell represents Mount Allison at Amnesty International Human Rights College

As I mentioned on the blog I write for Amnesty International Mount Allison I represented Mount Allison's  group at AI Canada's Human Rights College and Annual General Meeting. It was a great experience and it would not have been possible without the support of the head Amnesty International Canada's youth wing, Shauna Maclean.

Here's a photo from a workshop about the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Aboriginal Peoples led (in English) by Craig Benjamin.



Below is a mention from from mta.ca. If you want to know more read the Amnesty International Mount Allison blog or contact me via the comments below or the contact form link on the right.

Mount Allison represented at Amnesty International Human Rights College
2011-06-16 09:22:55

Geoff Campbell, President of Mount Allison’s Amnesty International group, recently attended Amnesty International’s national youth leadership training and General Meeting in Montreal. The annual training brought together 30 human rights activists from across the country. This year’s topics included: The Role of Youth in Social Change in the Middle East and North Africa; the Death Penalty and the Wrongly Convicted; Aboriginal Land Rights and the Lubicon Cree; Why Maternal Health is a Human Rights Issue; Citizen Journalism; and Public Speaking for Human Rights.

“Going to the training and conference really refreshed how I think about social activism and has really informed me on how Amnesty will operate this year. After a presentation on Aboriginal rights, I was able to speak to the presenter about the Mount Allison group and he agreed to speak here later this year.”

When Campbell was contacted by the national office about the possibility of attending the Human Rights College, which featured founder of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) Jenni Williams, he was thrilled.

“I have been involved in Amnesty since high school, but being at Mount Allison has allowed me to study what I’m really interested in, and going to this conference was really an extension of what I learned in the classroom.”

At the conference he talked one-on-one with Williams about the recent uprisings in the Middle East and her insistence on non-violent protest as opposed to the active conflicts.

This year Amnesty will be holding awareness-raising events throughout the year and bringing in a speaker with support from the Centre for International Studies. In addition to preparing for next year’s activities on campus, Campbell will be volunteering for Amnesty’s Demand Dignity Campaign, specifically in its effort to end sexual violence against girls in Nicaragua.

If you are interested in volunteering with Amnesty this summer, or the upcoming year, you can contact the group at amnestyintl@mta.ca. Find more related clubs at International Relations or the SAC list of clubs and societies.

PHOTO CAPTION: Geoff Campbell (R) with Amnesty International Canada President Sarah Beamish.