My experience as president of the Dalhousie Undergraduate Political Science Society

By Isobel Cameron, BA’24 (Combined Honours in International Development Studies and Political Science)

I joined the Dalhousie Undergraduate Political Science Society (DUPSS) at the end of my first year at Dalhousie. I had started my degree amid the [COVID-19] pandemic and found myself missing the community and support that I had experienced in high school; taking online classes and navigating the university experience alone was incredibly isolating. Joining DUPSS turned out to be one of the most important and impactful choices I made during my undergrad, it connected me with classmates, faculty, and the larger Dalhousie community.

Over my three years on the society, I moved my way up the executive board, and I was elected the DUPSS President for the 2023/24 academic year. This position not only looked great on my graduate school applications, but it also taught me a host of invaluable skills that I will take with me beyond my time here at Dalhousie. This year we were able to triple the number of active society members, host several successful events, and bring back old favourites such as the Dalhousie Political Networking Initiative. These milestones are incredibly important to me as they speak to the important capacity of student societies to act as integral connectors among students and faculty. For me, a small but meaningful manifestation of this was the chatter at the start of our society meetings. At the start of the year, our meetings were incredibly efficient and consisted of awkward silences largely filled by me. However, as the year progressed, and people got to know each other and foster friendships in and out of the classroom, it was almost impossible to keep us on track and reel in the discussions!

Isobel (pictured third from the left) and several fellow Political Science students had the opportunity to meet former Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark (pictured here) who, along with the Hon. Anne McLellan, is co-chair of the Stanfield Conversations Advisory Council.

Beyond making friends within my program, DUPSS provided me with numerous opportunities and experiences that shaped my undergraduate experience. I was lucky enough to attend the Stanfield Conversations dinner and lecture series in 2021 and 2023. This unique event led to fascinating conversations with local and national leaders on the state of democracy, and an opportunity to work on my media skills with an interview by CBC! Moreover, my involvement with DUPSS helped me develop a deeper connection to the faculty, an invaluable asset both in my classes and navigating my graduate school applications.

After three years with this society, I am now graduating and heading off to start my master’s degree. I've been accepted to the Erasmus Mundus Masters in Global Studies program and I will spend the first year of my degree at the University of Vienna and the second at the University of Leipzig. I can wholeheartedly say that DUPSS has been a highlight in my degree, allowing me to form connections in and outside of the classroom, which was especially crucial when my degree started completely online. I am excited to see what they accomplish in the 2024-25 year!

2023-24 DUPSS society members celebrating a successful year at their year-end gala event.