We are recognizing the student leaders making a difference at CivMin this academic year, and we recently chatted with Civ Club Vice-Chair Bo Zhao. There is no Chair for Civ Club this school year, so in line with the constitution, Zhao takes on Chair duties as Vice-Chair.
What’s your goal this year as Civ Club’s designated leader?
My main goal is trying to recover the in-person opportunities we had in Civ Club before the pandemic. Hopefully, we can get the green light for the Dinner Dance to be held in the winter semester as well. Another goal of mine is to try and improve mental health and well-being in Civ while ensuring everybody’s academic concerns are taken care of throughout our program.
The Civ Club Common Room reopened about a month ago. What has the response been?
On a practical level, it just gives people a space to eat their lunches and study, but I think most importantly it’s there to foster a connection between students. I remember back when I was in my first year, I met a lot of my upper-year classmates through the common room and the CivMin computer labs. Now with the space open, hopefully, we can start revitalizing the student community as we recover from the pandemic.
What is Civ Club?
It’s about making sure everybody feels like they’re going into a program where they spend four or five years with the tools and support to improve themselves and not feel too stressed about school. We’re also here to make the little changes to help improve our student experience bit by bit, however, we can through academic or social activities.
How did you first get involved with Civ Club?
I started last year as a mentorship director. I oversaw coordinating the mentorship program of upper-year mentors and first-year mentees. We try to develop social events and exam review sessions. My role was particularly important last year as we helped first-year students transition to university when it was a fully online experience.
What are some of your tips for people that are just getting to discover campus in person for the first time?
I recommend just going outside of the engineering corner of campus, at least once, just to take a walk. It’s nice to see the whole university and going for a walk can help de-stress you as well. I also recommend visiting the common room and the mining 4th-floor computer lab (Goldcorp Mining Innovation Suite), once it’s open, which are basically open 24-7. So if you need a spot to be somewhere late or really early, they’re always open for people to use.
What’s your favourite spot to grab a bite to eat on campus?
For me, it’s probably the green food truck outside of Bahen (BA) because it’s so conveniently placed
How can students get involved with the Civ Club?
Email us if you guys have any ideas of how you think you want to improve the student community, we’ll do our best to work with you to make it happen.
What do you like to do in your spare time when you’re not studying?
On Friday nights I’m usually playing in the Toronto Chinese Orchestra. I play the Erhu (Chinese-bowed fiddle). It’s been a great way to destress, and I recommend people do activities outside of engineering to find another community one can be a part of.
By David Goldberg
—
Visit Civ Club’s website for more info and follow them on all social media channels:
Website: civ.skule.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/civclub/
Instagram: @civclub
Twitter: @civclub