UBC Reports | Vol. 48 | No. 7 | May 2, 2002

Leadership Makes a Difference

Student leader leaves UBC better than she found it.

By Michelle Cook

Political Science major Dea Lloyd is an Arts student who knows how to do her math. When she and fellow members of the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) calculated the limited amount of social space available to the university's 10,000 Arts undergraduates, they saw a problem.

The group led an initiative to find more space, and Lloyd took charge of organizing a referendum on the plan. It attracted 1,500 voters who agreed to a student fee increase to help fund the project. Now, 6,000 sq. ft. of 'dead' space in Buchanan D Block is being transformed into a place for Arts students.

"It was a project I really believed in, that I thought we could do and get students behind it," Lloyd says. "Here was something they could benefit from tangibly, and I thought it would be exciting to co-ordinate something that would be a lasting contribution to UBC."

Lloyd's push for more space reflects a larger drive to make a difference through politics and community service. In addition to her work with the AUS, she served two years on the AMS council as Arts faculty representative. For the last two years, she has overseen logistics and security on the day of the Arts County Fair, a student-run charity event that attracted 16,000 participants this year.

Lloyd, 25, likes to be where the action is, and her passion for politics earned her a coveted spot on the UBC team that took part in a prestigious mock NATO conference held in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. Although they were the only Canadian team participating, the UBC team was assigned the role of the United States. They played the role so well that they walked away with title of Best Delegation.

The experience gave Lloyd a taste of international diplomacy and backroom politics and has whetted her appetite to explore possible careers in law, foreign service or journalism.

But she credits UBC with already giving her a taste of 'real life' experiences.

"UBC is a microcosm of the best of society," Lloyd says. "It's been a wonderful place to mature and become a citizen."