Bekah Callaghan

What is your name and pronouns?

Bekah Callaghan, she/her 

What is your job position?

Volunteers Coordinator  

How long have you been at Saitsa?

I’ve been at Saitsa in a full-time capacity for about 2.5-3 years and part-time for about 2 years.” “I was with Saitsa as a volunteer, I was a part of the Board of Directors, I was a part of part-time staff running the volunteer program and now I’m a full-time staff member!

What do you enjoy most about your job? 

My favourite things about my job is getting to interact with all the different students. In some years I’ve had up to 400 volunteers. They are so eager to get involved and I love getting to interact with them on a day-to-day basis and see what they are interested in and getting to know them.

What is your education and work background? 

I studied at SAIT, specifically in the Business Administration Diploma for Human Resources. I graduated from that program in 2019. During the pandemic, I decided to return to SAIT to work towards a degree in human resources. I’m actually currently a full-time student while I’m working for Saitsa! I’ve been working ever since I was 14. I’ve worked the classic retail jobs, Walmart, Shoppers Drugmart, SportChek, and I’ve worked landscaping jobs in past summers.

Why did you choose to work for Saitsa? 

When I started volunteering for Saitsa, I volunteered out of the office that I currently work in now. I volunteered with Student Experience with their mental health team. When I’d come into the office to get ready to volunteer, I loved the energy and the culture that was so prevalent.

What advice do you have for new SAIT students? 

As much as you might want to just show up to school for your classes and go home right after, get involved. Getting involved is how you meet people, it’s a great way to make new friends. Whether that’s joining clubs, being a volunteer, or running for a position on the Board of Directors. You can find your people, here.

Why should students get to know Saitsa? 

One of Saitsa’s main purposes is to advocate for students. When you’re a student, it’s can be hard to be your own advocate. Sometimes you don’t know what’s going on, within SAIT or provincially, but there are people advocating for you, for mental health reasons, funding, and more. I think students should get to know Saitsa because of that, to really know what supports are available to them.