{"id":75859,"date":"2021-04-23T16:34:19","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T20:34:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=75859"},"modified":"2025-08-19T10:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T14:03:10","slug":"volunteering-building-confidence-purpose","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/volunteering-building-confidence-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephanie Ellis and Hannah Whale: Building Confidence and Finding Purpose Through Volunteering"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Stephanie Ellis and Hannah Whale: Building Confidence and Finding Purpose Through Volunteering\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Serving the community is a vital part of Carleton University\u2019s mission, and it\u2019s one that students Stephanie Ellis and Hannah Whale have embraced. From Ellis making meals at a homeless shelter and playing games at a camp for children with autism to Whale supporting students living in residence and mentoring first-year students, their goal is to give back and make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stephanie
Stephanie Ellis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA big part of it is that I love to learn new things,\u201d explains Ellis, a student in the Interdisciplinary Science and Practice Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve met so many amazing people with incredible stories who have gone through something. Those experiences have changed my perceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Both Ellis and Whale signed up for Carleton\u2019s Campus to Community Days<\/a> as first-year students. The half-day sessions enable Carleton students to collaborate with Ottawa partners who need a helping hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History student<\/a> Hannah Whale found that early volunteering had a clear impact, giving her the confidence to pursue additional leadership positions, both on and off campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings kicked off for me when I became a residence fellow in my second year,\u201d she explains, adding that that opportunity allowed her to connect with like-minded peers and help others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her fourth year, Whale expanded her involvement on campus by taking on various roles within student affairs\u2014and at the same time discovering her passion for helping others.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThis is an age where you\u2019re expected to be adults for the first time,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big transition and all those scary life questions are coming at you at once. Being able to help people navigate through that and offer support is my driving force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Value of Diversity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a volunteer and now employee with the CUSA Wellness Centre<\/a>, Whale runs the centre\u2019s social media platforms, shares wellness resources and co-ordinates events. Through this work, she has also gained a deeper understanding of the value of diversity and how to use her privilege to uplift marginalized voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hannah
Hannah Whale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve tried really hard to include myself in those conversations and not be afraid of the discomfort,\u201d she says. This includes supporting and crediting ideas that her BIPOC colleagues bring forward and incorporating student feedback into future programming.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI realized that what students really want from their services is an intersectional approach and nuance,\u201d Whale shares.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

At the Wellness Centre, this meant addressing a range of systemic issues and providing safe spaces for difficult conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upon completing her degree in June, Whale plans to stay at Carleton for the summer to continue working at the CUSA Wellness Centre and volunteer with Kids Help Phone, with the long-term goal of working in higher education. In the fall, she will begin a certificate program \u201cServing Students in Higher Education<\/a>\u201d at the University of Toronto<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"National
Source : Library and Archives Canada \/ Youth Advisory Council.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ellis has transformed the skills she learned as a volunteer into employment. She is the student team lead in Experiential Learning, working with the Student Experience Office. That means she works with the same programs where she first volunteered\u2014Alternative Spring Break, Campus to Community days, and also the First Year Connections<\/a> mentorship program. But even though she has a paying job, she will still step out of her role and volunteer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going in with expectations. I\u2019m not going to change someone\u2019s life or solve a big problem,\u201d she says, \u201cbut if I can make someone happy, then I did something good that day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\"National<\/figure>\n\n\n

First wide shot by: Library and Archives Canada \/ Youth Advisory Council<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\nMore Stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Serving the community is a vital part of Carleton University\u2019s mission, and it\u2019s one that students Stephanie Ellis and Hannah Whale have embraced. From Ellis making meals at a homeless shelter and playing games at a camp for children with autism to Whale supporting students living in residence and mentoring first-year students, their goal is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":75880,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[28],"cu_story_tag":[],"class_list":["post-75859","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-community-partnerships"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/75859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/75859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76252,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/75859\/revisions\/76252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75880"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=75859"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=75859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}