Student Life in Vancouver

Learn more about the student life at Alexander College!

Considering COVID-19 restrictions, Student Life offers a wide variety of fun and engaging virtual events, activities, and contests.

Is this your first week on campus at Alexander College, and you’re not sure where to start?

If that’s the case, student clubs and other recreational activities on campus may be just what you need!

The student clubs usually range from a variety of different interests ranging from sports, arts, academics, and more. This variety provides you the options to try out multiple areas of interest and connect with a larger student population.

Why you should join clubs

Starting the year off in a new campus, and perhaps, a new country, with so many students can be intimidating.

There are many great reasons to join student clubs. One of them is the fact that they’re a great way to meet friends, build your work experience while in college, and improve your self-esteem and confidence.

It’s a great way to make friends

When looking to make friends, take advantage of Welcome Week at AC. Welcome Week is a week-long set of activities where you can mix, mingle and get to know more about AC and the people here.

What you can expect is to see several club tables led by fellow students so, be sure to make the most of the clubs at AC by signing up!

A great way to gain work experience

You may find that you would like to work part-time while studying at AC! Hiring managers tend to view your extra-curricular activities in addition to prior work experience.

Any relevant leadership skills on how you were involved with a student club, events that you helped plan, and even communication skills you’ve developed can get you far when coupled with a job application.

Building confidence through club activities

As you join clubs and make connections, you’re slowly building your experience working and communicating with people of different backgrounds, values, and opinions.

If you’re an international student with English as a second language, attending club meetings is the perfect place to practice your English-speaking skills, in addition to the classroom.

Student clubs at Alexander College

During your first week as an Alexander College student, you’ll find several clubs to join during our Welcome Week.

Over the years we’ve had notable clubs such as:

• AC Coffee Club where meetings usually include learning about coffee while sampling from various cafes in Vancouver, and food pairing with cakes or light pastries.
• Board Game Club where in addition to board games, the board game club also includes trading cards and roleplay games.
• The AC Explorers Basketball team where even if you’re not confident in your basketball skills, fellow students and staff will help you in learning the basics of passing, dribbling, and shooting.
• Student Refugee Program where AC students, staff, and faculty are key resources in working towards sponsoring a refugee student for a year and equipping them with the resources and skills they need to thrive in Canada.
• The Green Committee continues to bring about changes in how students interact with the environment on and off-campus.

You can start a club too

Once you’ve found an interest that you’re passionate about, why not start a club of your own?

The steps to starting a new club include:

• Coming up with a name
• Filling in the club registration sheet
• Finding initial members to sign up
• Choosing a date and time to run the club

Student services and its staff will help you in the documentation and process towards starting a new club, and in learning the steps on how to engage your fellow students during club meetings.

Join the Alexander College Student Association (ACSA)

What we do – ACSA

As part of ACSA, you can involve yourself in regular and dynamic opportunities such as:

• Event planning
• Budgeting
• Acquisition of resources for the student body
• Creating activities that help students positively engage with life in Canada
• Helping fellow students make new friends

Events & activities – ACSA

ACSA works hard to provide new events for students every semester, as well as coordinating our annual student events.

Some notable examples are the annual AC Talent Show and the annual AC Amazing Race.

What students can gain – ACSA

• invaluable experience in leadership, developing initiatives and helping shape the Association’s policies and processes.
• count your membership as volunteer experience
• production and on-camera speaking skills by working with the college’s web team to appear in YouTube videos.

myAC student spotlight

Many of our students share their experiences being in a new city, experiencing new cultures, and what being in student clubs has done for them. You can find these stories encapsulated in our popular, ‘myAC Spotlight’ video series.

Student club meetings – ACSA

If you’re interested in joining ACSA, they conduct weekly meetings at our Burnaby or Vancouver campus (typically on Fridays at 1 pm) with lunch provided.

To keep updated with all the meetings and events, be sure to check in regularly with the news feed on our AC homepage, as well as our AC Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for regular updates about upcoming events, club activities, and other opportunities.

Stay up to date with AC news

Read the AC blog

You will find that our AC Blog is a great resource if you are looking to learn more about the services available on campus, a recap of the events that are happening, the latest videos and casting calls, and various guides on how you can navigate college, Vancouver, and your mental health.

Find a collection of our videos

You may find yourself more drawn to watching videos to get information—we have that too! We have a whole section on our latest YouTube videos on the AC website.

Connect with us on social media

Social media is a great way to connect with us virtually, and with other students that share your interests. We also utilize social media to share important information about the college, as well as clubs and events happening on campus and virtually.

Are you an AC Alumni?

We have taken the feedback from our current students and alumni and created a vibrant AC Alumni Association.

This club is created to foster a relationship with our students, even after graduation. We also aim to continue to support and provide advice to our alumni as they continue to reach their goals.

Get involved today

Once you’ve decided what club to join and what role you want to play, the next step is to get in contact to see how you can get involved!

It’s as easy as sending an email to studentlife@alexandercollege.ca!

Get out there and join a club, meet new people and we look forward to getting to know you!