This week we had Linda Hoang as our guest speaker. Linda is one of Alberta's most popular bloggers and social media strategists. Her blog and social media presence shows her passion for supporting local businesses, exploring neighbourhoods, and discovering food and art. Linda is the founder of the Edmonton International Cat Festival. Linda shared her love of cats (and cat puns) with us and how Cat Fest is adapting to the challenges of covid-19. She is also the founder of Instagrammable Wall Guides and she told us how she scouts out, shares, and gives tours of the most interesting walls to use as photo backdrops in Edmonton and other cities. An instagrammable wall tour sounds like a great activity for a future Whyte Avenue Rotary fellowship event! Thanks Linda - your presentation was purr-fect!

On Tuesday April 13, two University of Alberta Senators, Dave Rumbold and Marla Palakkamanil, and Michaela Mann, U School Program Lead, came to speak to our club about U School. U School is a program run by the University of Alberta Senate that aims to introduce and connect students in grades 4 through 9 from socially vulnerable, Aboriginal (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) and rural communities to the University of Alberta. Classes, with their classroom teachers, attend a week-long immersion experience on campus led by U School staff. Our guest speakers shared how the sessions at U School are designed to build excitement while meeting the objectives of the curriculum. The program also strives to create a sense of belonging for marginalized students who have significant barriers to overcome - and it is clearly working since hundreds of U School alumni now attend the University of Alberta. The quotation that our guest speakers shared with us sums up the impact of U School,

 

"Some children are lucky to grow up in families and communities where the life-changing power of post-secondary education is well understood. U School is for everyone else."

 

U School sounds amazing and we were so happy to learn about this program and the role of a University of Alberta Senator.