By Emma Jackson
Student leadership comes with a question we should ask more often: when a community gives us so much, what responsibility do we have to give something back?
Since moving from Montreal to Lennoxville, I have come to appreciate how closely university life is woven into the community around us. Local businesses support our events, external partners invest in our development, and residents welcome students into a place they have called home far longer than we have. Over time, that welcome becomes a sense of belonging— and, for me, a reason to contribute.
Photo courtesy of Bronwyn Chenard
As president of the Bishop’s University Commerce Society, I see how much generosity makes our work possible. Our professional development opportunities and student events depend on people willing to share their resources, expertise, and time. I believe we have a responsibility to consider how those same relationships can help us serve others.
That belief led to the creation of BUCS’s Social Impact portfolio. Business students spend years learning how to negotiate, communicate, manage resources, and build networks. Those skills carry value wherever people need to organize around a common goal. Supporting a shelter, coordinating a donation drive, or connecting a charity with potential partners gives us a chance to apply our education while responding to needs beyond our campus.
The portfolio began taking shape when I shared the idea with Clara Neel after my election. She spoke about her own passion for community involvement and asked how she could help. Inviting her to become our Social Impact Coordinator provided the initiative with someone dedicated to its development and communications, turning a shared conviction into a practical commitment.
At this year’s BUCS golf tournament, that commitment took its first form. Participants contributed over $400 in combined monetary and goods donations for Moisson Estrie, including non-perishable food, menstrual products, shampoo, and conditioner. The Chipettes earned recognition for the highest team contribution, while the generosity throughout the event demonstrated how easily giving could become part of something we already do together.
One collection is a beginning. The more meaningful challenge is making service a consistent part of how BUCS operates.
We plan to pursue initiatives supporting women’s shelters, local organizations helping children in need, and other causes our community holds dear. A Christmas angel tree is also being planned for the BUCS office, offering students a way to purchase requested gifts or goods and coordinate their drop-off. Details will follow through BUCS communications.
These initiatives should grow through the ideas of our community. If you know an organization we could support or have a suggestion for how we can contribute, please email me. Students, staff, faculty, and residents bring perspectives that can help us recognize needs we might otherwise overlook.
My interest in social justice and my volunteering experiences have shaped this work, but its future should extend well beyond my presidency. I hope successive BUCS executive teams recognize the possibilities within the partnerships, networks, and funds entrusted to them. Making room for altruism and philanthropy can enrich students’ personal growth alongside their professional development.
As I prepare to graduate in June, I will carry gratitude for the platform that Bishop’s and the Williams School of Business have given me. Giving back to the school and community is one way to honour it. We have the skills, relationships, and opportunity to contribute; what we do with them will be part of what we leave behind.
