By Lori Tarbett
Paula Saliba was so impressed with her positive experiences at Carleton as a high school student she decided to attend the university as an undergraduate.
Saliba spent a day at Carleton in grade 10 as part of a promising students program and received what she describes as an “incredible mini lecture” in psychology. It was that and her warm welcome from the administrative staff that pushed her to apply to the school.
She has been committed to Carleton ever since and spends most of her days on campus dividing her time between classes, working the help desk at the Learning Support Services, working as a PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) facilitator, and as a player, coach and captain of the Carleton women’s ultimate Frisbee team, Stealth.
“I feel like I am a part of something that’s a lot bigger than me,” says Saliba of the ultimate team. “With ultimate, I don’t only offer my skills as a player. Instead, I get to enable others to offer their own skills to the betterment of the team, and it’s incredible to see them grow and learn as players.” She adds that she feels similar about being a PASS facilitator because she is “enabling others to reach their full potential”.
Saliba may be an inspiration to her fellow team mates and students, but she has also been inspired by one of Carleton’s English instructors, Collett Tracey. Tracey taught Saliba Canadian Literature during her first year and Saliba says Tracey is the reason she declared English as her minor. “To me, she embodies everything I was hoping to get out of my education, in that she really encouraged us to think outside the box and to interact with what we were studying,” says Saliba of Tracey.
The third year psychology student spends a great deal of time on campus, and off campus volunteering with many other activities, and has had the opportunity to get to know people from many different faculties and departments. She says, “I feel like Carleton is my home and I want to give back to this university as much as it has given to me.”