Aydan Con is the 2019 recipient of the Outstanding Leader in the UBC Community and Beyond award.
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Program of study: Piano Performance (School of Music), Chemistry (Faculty of Science)
UBC affiliations: Imagine Day Orientations, Music Undergraduate Student’s Association (Former VP External and Elections Coordinator), Community Building Education peer facilitator
UBC awards: UBC Concerto Competition finalist (2017, 2018); Robert and Ellen Silverman Piano Concerto Competition Prize Winner; Jane Coop Scholarship for Piano Performance; 2018 School of Music Director’s Prize for Citizenship and Piano Performance
How can we connect with you? Instagram
Why did you choose your academic program of study?
I initially enrolled in UBC’s Bachelor of Music program because I wanted to study under the guidance of my teacher for the last five years, Prof. Mark Anderson. Music is a passion of mine and I was excited to study at one of Canada’s top professional music schools. I also have a life-long interest in science, with chemistry being one of my favourite subjects in high school. Fortunately, UBC is home to one of the few dual degree programs in North America, where students can concurrently complete both a BSc and a BMus in five to six years. My dual degree program allowed me to intensively study both fields and discover new ways to apply interdisciplinary solutions to problems in other areas of life.
What are some of the meaningful experiences you’ve had at UBC?
I’ve been involved with UBC Imagine Day since my first year, working initially as an Orientation Leader before taking over as a Senior Orientation Leader with the School of Music’s Imagine Day program. A highlight was speaking to the Arts Orientation Leaders in 2018 about the importance of respecting our collective experiences and the power of being united as a community of scholar-leaders that can make a significant impact on incoming students to UBC. Musically, highlights include a performance with pre-concert talk for the Vancouver Institute Lectures with Professor Santa Ono and performing as a soloist with the UBC Symphony Orchestra.
Aydan Con performing in the UBC Concerto Competition held January 12, 2018. Aydan was a finalist in the competition. Photo Credit: Takumi Hayashi
What’s an important life lesson that your involvement activities have taught you?
Most of my community involvement centres around my interest to change things that I notice in my community in my daily life. I’ve learned that collective action can make massive changes in a community. Even seemingly inconsequential actions can build up make a huge impact over time. Because many of my projects came from chance conversations with people I’ve met by chance while volunteering, I’ve also learned that everyone can contribute something to a conversation and one can learn something from everyone. A seemingly innocuous conversation with a “stranger” can set you on a route to achieve projects that you previously never thought possible.
You recently received a 2019 Outstanding Leader Award. What does it mean to be a great Arts student leader?
Arts students are fortunate to study in a faculty that encourages interdisciplinary thinking and problem solving through different academic lenses. We get to think critically about situations encountered in the varied literature and problems we encounter every day in our coursework. Arts student leaders transfer the skills and knowledge developed in classes to create the change that they want to see in their community and projects. A great arts student leader also seeks to empower their peers to become leaders in their own right.
What are the top three things that every Arts student should try before they graduate?
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- UBC Arts is home to museums, galleries and concert venues that regularly showcase work by world-leading artists in all genres, which all arts students should explore. Considering that many of these events and concerts are free, this is a great opportunity to experience different cultures right here on campus. As a music student, I am obviously biased towards promoting the hundreds of events produced by the UBC School of Music, from fully-staged operas and North-American premiere performances of major orchestral and band works, to experimental electronic music and jazz.
- Participate in student-leadership opportunities on campus, whether be part of Arts Peer Academic Coaching, Imagine Day, UBC REC – the options are endless.
- Volunteer in the community. Find a volunteer project or opportunity in the community that interests you and try it out. Regardless of whether or not the volunteering is related to your studies, you will discover lots of transferable skills and potentially meet other people who might be able to help you with other aspects of your career trajectory.
Aydan Con with Dr. Santa Ono at the Vancouver Institute Lecture.
If you had the chance to re-start your UBC experience, what would you do differently?
I would probably take more time to breathe and rush through life less. During times of high stress where academic, volunteering and performance obligations happened to coincide, I often thought that life would fall apart if things weren’t done immediately. However looking back, these moments, while seemingly monumental at the time, are actually rather insignificant in the long run. I’d tell the first-year Aydan to “chill” and put everything into perspective.
What’s next for you?
I have several concerts and recitals coming up, where I will be performing with friends and colleagues in chamber music throughout Vancouver. Further ahead, I’m about to start work on developing a new experiment for the analytical chemistry teaching laboratory at UBC, where the reaction of ozone and water samples will allow for the determination of trace concentrations of sulfur compounds in the sample. Afterwards, I will be teaching at the Vancouver Academy of Music in their summer music program.
