Jamal St. Lewis is a fourth-year student at Dalhousie University working on a bachelor in management. During his time at Dal, St. Lewis has taken on multiple responsibilities on campus to make it a better place.
St. Lewis came to Dalhousie in order to pursue a degree in business that gave him the versatility to pick unique courses and majors. It was Dal’s reputation that ultimately sealed the deal.
Over the years St. Lewis joined multiple societies and committees including the Dalhousie Management Society, Enactus, Student Life Committee, Academic and External Action Committee, and founded the Dalhousie Sports Industry Society.
“I’ve always been involved since I was a kid,” said St. Lewis. “Whether it was in high school doing dance committee and all that fun stuff or coaching. And I just think that it’s important to give back when you can and to give back to those who’ve helped you out, because at the end of the day no one’s gotten where the were by themselves.”
Volunteering has become an integral part to St. Lewis’ everyday life, sometimes spending between two to four hours a day on campus outside of his classes. For St. Lewis, it’s all about the people that his work benefits.
“I think it’s important to give them the chance to become the best them or reach their goals,” says St. Lewis. “If I can volunteer time and help others to reach success, I don’t think there’s any downside to that.”
His proudest accomplishments have come from his work as a volunteer medical responder with Dalhousie Medical Campus Response Team (DMCRT,) and his creation of the Sports Industry Society.
DMCRT provides first aid support to the Dal campus and community and is run with the help of St. John Ambulance and student volunteers.
“DMCRT is really cool because I have the opportunity to learn some really cool, new skills,” said St. Lewis. “We aren’t just providing medical support at events, which makes students safer – but since we’re there, we’re enabling students to do so much more because they have a security blanket knowing that we’re there.”
The Sports Industry Society spurred from St. Lewis’ experiences with National Sports Industry Conferences.
When Dal students were paying out-of-pocket to attend these conferences and coming back with numerous awards, he realized that there was an unfulfilled need on campus for student athletes.
“It’s something that has really started to take off in the last year-and-a-half, two years, and I’ve seen a lot of interest from students. It was something that was a bit overdue, and that we really needed.”
The Sports Industry Society is currently working on a conference of their own, which will bring speakers to Dal, and allow students to showcase themselves in their own environment. If all goes as planned, it will take place from March 9 to 11 on campus.
With all these extra-curricular activities, St. Lewis has had to become incredibly organized.
He writes everything down in the calendar on his phone, and gets friends to remind him of meetings and smaller events that he may overlook in the hustle and bustle of his busy schedule.
If you want to get involved like Jamal St. Lewis, he recommends two things: talking to an academic advisor about available opportunities on campus, and attending the society fairs that are held every year in September and January.
“Student societies will always help you out,” said St. Lewis. “It’s kind of like a small little family inside each one.”
“You make yourself better, and make the community better. So just take a deep breathe, put down your email on that sheet, and show up to that first meeting because you’ll make connections but also some friends that you can have for the rest of your life.”
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