Arts staff member talks about her involvement as an ambassador for Arts students
April 6 is UBC Giving Day – a 24-hour university-wide fundraising event aimed to bring our entire community of students, faculty, staff, alumni and donors together. In anticipation of Giving Day, we spoke with Julie Walchli, the Faculty of Arts’ Executive Director of Work Integrated Education and Career Initiatives, about her involvement as an ambassador for the Arts Co-op ‘Undergraduate of the Year’ Award for Giving Day last year.
Why did you decide to fundraise for the Arts Co-op ‘Undergraduate of the Year’ Award on Giving Day?
2020/21 marked the 20th anniversary of the Arts Co-op Program, and as its Founding Director I was really keen to see the anniversary marked in a way that would support future students in the Program. Supporting our long-time Arts Co-op Undergraduate Student of the Year was a perfect way to do this, and engage many of the Program’s alumni and friends in an easy way.
What did you enjoy most about your involvement in Giving Day? What surprised you?
I really enjoyed seeing all the people who came forward to donate; many reached out to me to say hello as I’d worked with them when they were students in some of the early cohorts in the Program. It was so wonderful to reconnect, sometimes with alumni I had not heard from in over 15 years.
Why should staff and faculty consider getting involved in Giving Day this year, whether through fundraising, donating, or volunteering?
Giving Day provides UBC staff and faculty with a chance to do something outside of their regular day-to-day work (for most of us) that can have a lasting impact and a legacy for current and future students. I’ve gained so much by working with UBC Arts students over the last 20 years, particularly through the Program, that this felt like a way to engage the community with me in giving back.
Learn how you can support the Faculty of Arts this Giving Day, whether through create meaningful learning experiences for Indigenous youth, providing critical support to students experiencing financial need, or allowing our students to collaborate with international community partners to produce positive change.
