Making Moves: Societies to Help Make Academic and Career Decisions

Written by Carolee Avery

Thumbnail Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

University can be a stressful and exciting time for many. Student societies can help take some of the stress away by allowing new and returning students to connect with each other as well as with professors on an even playing field. They also help students make good study habits and offer support with tests, homework, and classwork via tutoring opportunities. Societies can also add to the feeling of excitement by hosting fun events and nights out for students to connect with each other and let loose. With students returning to campus and in-person classes in September, many people will be looking for societies to join. Saint Mary's University has a plethora of societies to choose from; some societies are meant to meet people and see what Saint Mary's and the city of Halifax have to offer, while others are there to help students meet the rigorous academic standards plan for future careers. The following is a list of societies that can help you in both your academic and career paths.

Sobey School of Business Commerce Society

The mission of the Sobey School of Business Commerce Society is "to encourage the participation, enjoyment, and advancement of our members in all aspects of business and university life while helping them develop business skills, build their professional networks, and learn from local business leaders."

Members of the society often get the chance to connect with industry professionals during the society's Industry Night. During this event, SMU alumni give talks about breaking into the commerce industry after graduation, what it's like working in the industry and how to advance your career. Each Industry Night has a theme focused on a specific job type in the commerce industry, but the society encourages every member to participate as there is a chance for networking at the end of the event. 

 Besides networking opportunities, the Commerce Society also offers workshops in collaboration with the Saint Mary's University Writing Center for events such as Note Taking 101 and Virtual Study Hall. Both events are opportunities for society members to strengthen their academic skills by learning how to take notes during fast-paced lectures and study for exams with fellow commerce students. 

 While the Commerce Society might seem all business, they do let their hair down once in a while! The society in the past has had a paint night at the Gorsebrook Lounge, and they have an annual Wine and Cheese Night at the Loyola Art Gallery.

The Sobey School of Business Commerce Society is open to any Saint Mary's University student regardless of what program they are enrolled in! The annual membership fee for the society is $20. It provides  access to discounts for all events held by the society and half-price tickets for the Sobey Business School's annual Business Dinner. To become a member of the Sobey School of Business Commerce Society, email them at commercesociety.smu@gmail.com.

The Sobey MBA Society

The Sobey Master of Business Administration Society is similar to the Sobey School of Business Commerce Society as it allows members to create connections in the business world and supports its members in their academic endeavours. 

The society does this by hosting events with guest speakers such as local business owners, Saint Mary's University alumni and international business owners. The society also collaborates with campus facilities such as the Saint Mary's Writing Center to create events to encourage academic success. 

One such event was the Speaker Series on Business Strategy, which was held on February 28th 2019. The MBA Society invited guest speakers Pierre Laliberte, manager with Deloitte Canada, a financial company. Maggie MacDonald Managing Director, Government Relations and External Affairs for Halifax Regional Municipality and Louie Velocci office Managing Partner KPMG LLP in Halifax and Lead Partner  for CIO Advisory services in Canada.  To join them for a night of “open and interactive discussions with local experts.” 

The Sobey MBA Society is exclusive to Saint Mary's University graduate students currently enrolled in the Sobey Master of Business Administration Program. If you meet this requirement and are interested in becoming a member of the society, you can email them at sobeymba.society@smu.ca.

Saint Mary’s Engineering Society (SMU Eng Soc)

The Saint Mary's Engineering Society's purpose is twofold: the first objective of the society is to create and provide the best experience for Saint Mary's Engineering students by hosting social and academic events such as Pizza with Professionals and their Engineering Networking Event. The Engineering Society's second objective is to connect students with organizations such as the Atlantic Council of Engineering Students (ACES) who act as advocates on behalf of Atlantic engineering students to facilitate collaboration between their engineering societies, As well as  the Canadian Federation of Engineering Students(CFES)  who offer services ranging from leadership development conferences, to technical skill competitions, and other outreach efforts. 

 SMU Eng Soc encourages all their members to get involved in ACES by posting about ACES events via their Facebook page and by having their executive team attend the ACES  annual general meeting. SMU Eng Soc also encourages their members’ participation in the Atlantic Engineering Competition, which is hosted by different universities in Atlantic Canada in association with the Atlantic Council of Engineering Students. 

During the Pizza with Professionals event, Engineering students had the opportunity to meet with professionals in the engineering field, ask questions about working as an engineer, where to find jobs as students, and what job opportunities exist in particular disciplines.The Engineering Society also provides students with opportunities to meet with corporate representatives, business owners and engineering professionals during their networking events which take place once a semester.  

Currently, the Engineering Society is exclusively made of Saint Mary's Engineering students, but they are open to any SMU student with an interest in Engineering. If you're interested in becoming a member of the society, you can email them smuengsoc@gmail.com, message them on Facebook, or fill out the contact form on their website. 

SMU Chemistry Society

The Saint Mary's Chemistry Society has a lot to offer in the academic department; members of the society have access to tutoring sessions, help with course selection, and connections to research positions at Saint Mary's University. 

The Chemistry Society also offers networking opportunities with faculty and research assistants to members. These opportunities often lead to job or volunteer offers, including term-teaching positions at leading research universities all over Canada.  

The society hosts a wide variety of events, most of which are for networking with other society members.  One notable event that the Chemistry Society attended in the past year was the Science Atlantic Student Chemistry Convention or ChemCon. ChemCon 2021 was hosted by Mount Allison University and held virtually. ChemCon allowed Saint Mary’s Chemistry Society members to attend two lectures given by award winning researchers, view presentations by student researchers and partake in ‘Non-Academic and Industry Career Paths’ and ‘Diversity in Chemistry’ discussion panels.  

The society is currently open to any SMU students with an interest in Chemistry. If you're interested in joining, you can email them at  smuchemsoc@gmail.com or join their Facebook group. 

SMU Biology Society 

The SMU Biology Society’s main objectives are to connect biology students with the biology faculty members to create a greater sense of community and to provide students with enjoyable events that will encourage them to take on leadership roles in both the society and in the world of chemistry. The society also hopes to provide exposure to some of the career paths available to students with biology degrees in hopes that it will help them decide career paths. 

In order to create this sense of community, the Biology Society hosts events focused around introducing professors and their research to students such as their Research Night. During this event, professors from the Biology department gave short presentations on their current research and answered questions from students. Research Night allowed students interested in the Biology Honours program to connect with their future mentors. The society also hosted Honours Presentations, an event that allowed non-honour and future honour students to listen and connect with current honour students, and the Biology Banquet which allowed graduate students, undergrad students, professors, and others to chat over dinner and refreshments. 

The society is currently open to any SMU students with an interest in Biology. If you're interested in joining, you can email them at smubiolsociety@gmail.com or follow them on Facebook. 

Despite all of the networking opportunities available to commerce and science students, societies that have been founded in the arts and social science departments are sorely lacking these opportunities. While some societies such as the Forensic Society allow for networking opportunities, it is mostly only departmental networking. While I was looking into events hosted by different societies across departments at SMU I noticed that a lot of the art and social science-based societies did not have any events that helped connect students with professionals working in the field.Rather their events focused on connecting students with other students While this certainly has its merits, I can’t help but think some of these societies could benefit from developing connections outside of the university.  

This list isn't exhaustive, and there are many other societies that can help guide you in your academic and career paths. If you'd like to suggest a society for a future SMU Journal article, feel free to reach out to me at carolee.avery@smu.ca.

Claire Keenan