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May 25, 2025
Financial Update
What do these words have in common? Community, inclusion, belonging, diverse backgrounds – these are foundational to Student Open Circles’ mission AND these words are being discouraged by the US ...
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Dec 04, 2024
Newsletter: December 2024
Walking with students through a forest planted with only one type of tree, I was struck by its quiet barrenness. Without diversity, even the undergrowth struggles to survive. Nature teaches ...
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Dec 04, 2024
A Vibrant Forest of Growth
by Alina Saad, Open Circle student To me, Open Circle is a beautiful forest of mutual and personal growth. In a forest, many trees have connected roots with one another ...
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Dec 04, 2024
Outside my Comfort Zone but Not Alone
by Arnica Kiani, Open Circle student As an international student, I wanted to engage with the community in Hamilton, not only to get to know the people and culture better ...
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Sep 08, 2024
Newsletter: September 2024
As the campus buzzes with the energy of first year students, many are also struggling, nervous, scared, and unsure of themselves. Perhaps you’ve observed this in the young people you ...
Sep 08, 2024
Part of Something Bigger than Myself
by Emma, Open Circle student Having taken two years between graduating high school and entering university, and having just exited the lockdown, I could tell there was something missing from ...
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Sep 08, 2024
Opening up through Volunteering
by Mariam, student volunteer I started university as a reserved and introverted person, especially coming out of the pandemic, and volunteering with Student Open Circles has really helped me come ...
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Sep 08, 2024
I Am Not Alone
by Elizabeth Li, Open Circle student Throughout my undergrad and master’s degrees, Open Circle has been one of the most impactful communities I have been a part of. To me ...
Jun 26, 2024
Newsletter: June 2024
We received a surprising call from the Government of Ontario this spring to tell us that Student Open Circles won a provincial award. We are grateful to the Welcome Inn ...
Jun 26, 2024
Invaluable Role Models for my Children
By Jessica Pettigrew, parent of children in the LAF Afterschool program I am a parent of three children who attend the LAF program at the Welcome Inn. My children have ...