Campus Resources for Students
Written by Sarah Stacey
Thumbnail Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
Did you know that not all of your tuition goes towards classes; a portion goes towards maintaining the services and resources for students on campus? For that reason, students should take advantage of all the free services and programs that Saint Mary's offers. There are resources for students who need help academically at The Writing Centre and Research Help. Free programs and resources at the Homburg Centre and the Health Clinic are developed to keep all students happy and healthy. Also, SMU provides many services for international students to help them financially, academically, socially, and mentally. Check out this list to see just a few of the free resources Saint Mary's offers that you should take advantage of!
Research Help
Research Help is an excellent service offered by the Patrick Power Library. Research Help can aid students in researching and developing solid papers. One of their primary services is to help search for books, ebooks, and articles relevant to a student's topic. Suppose you need help navigating online research portals or need help finding relevant information for a project. In that case, Research Help has plenty of resources to guide students toward pertinent details. Furthermore, if The Patrick Power Library does not have the information needed, Research Help can outsource to other libraries to find accurate and relevant information. This resource can also aid students in citing sources, writing an annotated bibliography, and proper formatting. Contacting Research Help is extremely simple online via their real-time chatline, found on the Patrick Power Library website. Moreover, students can also contact the library by email, phone or text. Novanet live help is another chatline designed to answer brief questions regarding effectively using and finding resources. Research Help is open currently and will be through the end of exams. By visiting Research Help, students will gain valuable knowledge in researching and developing essays that will help in school and the future.
Career and Experiential Learning
Career and Experiential Learning offers services regarding understanding self, academic direction, and career planning for students and alums. They provide professional career counseling to help students find their future career paths. Professional career counselors can help with resume and job search support using employer connectivity. Career and Experiential Learning also offers the Co-Curricular Record, which allows students to verify out-of-class experiences on an official university document. Students can also discover new volunteer and co-curricular opportunities through the activity directory on the Saint Mary's Co-Curricular Record website. Career and Experiential Learning services are provided through Career360, and all appointments and calls are made through Microsoft teams, accessible to all students. The Saint Mary's Career and Experiential Learning website provides complete instructions on navigating Microsoft teams. Currently, they are offering in-person and virtual appointments.
Student Health Clinic
The Student Health Clinic provides services for both international and Canadian students. Services provided by the Health Clinic include but are not limited to anxiety management, injury assessment, birth control and education, emergency first aid, injections, LGBTQ2SIA+ health, pregnancy testing, prescriptions, specialist referrals, and STI testing. The Student Health Clinic is on the fourth floor of the O'Donnell Hennessey Student Centre, and students can make appointments online through the Pomelo Portal.
Services for International Students
Saint Mary's provides many services for international students in the Student Centre. These services are aimed at helping international students adapt to university life. Services for International Students can help with student visas, work permits and tax preparation. In addition, they also have connections for student mentorships as well as airport pick-up arrangements. Services for International Students also hosts Welcome Week events to get students feeling comfortable and excited about the upcoming school year. Additional events throughout the school year are designed to promote cultural awareness and diversity and encourage interaction among Canadian and international students. Furthermore, Lunch and Learn is a monthly workshop hosted by The International Student Centre that helps international students to understand aspects of Canadian culture and build skills for success. The International Student Centre is located in room 305 of the Student Centre, and students can make appointments over email.
Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash
Homburg Centre
The Homburg Centre is a great resource that can benefit all students. The Homburg Centre has multiple rooms of workout equipment as well as offers various free group workout sessions. They also offer 12-week-long registered programs to students at a reduced rate. The registered programs have a variety of activities, including beginner, intermediate, and senior pilates, learn-to-lift classes, and karate for beginners and advanced. Group classes are free to students and are a great way of keeping your mind and body healthy.
The Writing Centre
The Writing Centre is an excellent tool that provides relevant feedback on academic writing. The Writing Centre is free for students, faculty, staff, and alums! They offer tutoring for groups and individuals, and appointments are available in person and online. Also, drop-in writing and academic communication tutorials (30mins) are provided on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 pm. The sign-up is in person at the Writing Centre in Burke 115.
Campus resources are an underused tool that can help students improve many aspects of their academic and personal lives. So, if you want to make the most of your tuition money, fully utilize the resources offered on campus!