5 Things You Missed if You Didn’t Go to the First CUSS General Meeting

By: Margaret Johnston

The Communication Undergraduate Student Society had their first general meeting of the year on September 21st, and it was a great one! Gathered in the Canal Building for our inaugural meeting, CUSS executives took the stage (accompanied by a snazzy PowerPoint, courtesy of president Megan Damini) to give the lowdown on the upcoming year.The Communication Undergraduate Student Society had their first general meeting of the year on September 21st, and it was a great one! Gathered in the Canal Building for our inaugural meeting, CUSS executives took the stage (accompanied by a snazzy PowerPoint, courtesy of president Megan Damini) to give the lowdown on the upcoming year.

1. Create! Collaborate! Connect!

Megan and Catherine, CUSS President and Vice President respectively, explained the 3 pillars of CUSS: Create, Collaborate, Connect. Here at CUSS, everything we do falls under one of the three pillars, whether that’s creating a blog post for the CUSS website, going on a field trip to the CBC, or meeting professionals in the world of communications and media.

2. Blogging with CUSS

Erin Boyle, of the social media director team, gave us the DL on how to become a blogger for CUSS. If you’re interested, write a short blog post (200-1000 words), in any style you like. Blog posts about CUSS, communications, Carleton, and Ottawa are always appreciated, but go ahead and pitch something totally out of the box! Bloggers who write at least one post per semester will even receive a CCR credit at the end of the year!

3. Professional Development, anyone?

While we all enjoy our days as undergraduate communications students, eventually we all graduate, and move on to bigger and better things. This year, CUSS is holding an event to help us all learn how to be a little more professional. The Professional Development Conference (date TBD), will feature workshops on important skills for the work world, an opportunity to have your headshot taken for your LinkedIn page, and much more! Keep your eyes peeled for more information in your Carleton email, and all over social media.

4. The Mentorship Program

For the second year running, CUSS is giving every member the opportunity to be a part of the Mentorship Program. 1st and 2nd year students will be given a 3rd or 4th year mentor in the CoMS program, in order to help the younger generation flourish in the first few years of their degree. Fill out a questionnaire online, be matched with your mentor or mentee, and meet up a couple times each semester for a CCR credit, a new friend, and knowledge and advice that will last a lifetime!

5. Become a Member, Join our Family!

If you haven’t already, make sure to become a general member of the CUSS family. Membership is $5 for the entire academic year, and gets you discounts on events and field trips, access to the newsletter, and a CCR credit. Find your year rep after class or in the tunnels to become a member today!