Emma Leckie

Emma Leckie

My name is Emma Leckie. I am in fourth year, pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce at the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, with a major in Management and minor in International Development.

My identity as a proud Lang student is specifically defined by my advocacy for humanitarian volunteer efforts.

My passion began in 2017, before my first semester at UofG, when I spent 20 days in a rural village in Kenya with MetoWe.

This experience spurred me and ultimately led me to the Insight Global Education program.

In the summer of 2019, I joined Insight in Kampala, Uganda as an intern at Somero Uganda (a non-profit for young women who have been or are at risk of becoming victims of sex-trafficking). I also attended political science and conflict studies classes at Makerere University.

The mission at Somero is to train women with employable skills. I facilitated discussion around topics such as female health and soft skills for employment success. I learned to listen such that I could better apply my knowledge to the ideas and solutions that are forwarded by my Ugandan partners, and this greatly improved my ability to manifest positive change.

After returning to UofG, I joined the Student Refugee Program (SRP), run by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). The University sponsors two refugee students every year, helping them to come to the University, gain an education, and become permanent Canadian residents! My role included peer support – imagine the intensified homesickness and culture shock refugee students experience as they grapple with the other, standard issues associated with the first year of University.

I am inspired by the people I try to help, which spurs me to continue in my quest to improve life, on campus, within Canada, and abroad. In pursuit of these goals, I joined a senior year Business Consulting/Community Engagement course (MGMT4060), an experiential learning business consultancy class.

Additionally, I completed ‘Semester in Dialogue’ at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. This is a seven-week program to develop skills for facilitating dialogue and discussion between interdisciplinary parties.

The Summerlee Humanitarian Scholarship enabled me to volunteer as the Chair of our local WUSC and play a role in international development. Humanitarianism is my passion and I intend to weave it into my personal and professional future. The Scholarship funding provided me the resources to sustain my passion through critical skill building.