M is for . . . Merry Christmas from the Mount!

As we lead into crunch time of the holiday season you may be, like many of us, running around doing last minute stops at the mall and trying to get all of your stocking stuffers bought. If you make it into the Halifax Shopping Centre don't forget to look up to see the gigantic Mount Saint Vincent University poster!

The Mount loves the holiday season and the students and staff enjoy taking advantage of the opportunities to give back to our community. This year staff from the Admissions Office, Registrar's Office and Financial Services Office all dug deep and donated an overwhelming amount clothes, games, toys, household items, groceries, etc. for a local family.

The students like to get in on the giving too - this year the the Student Alumnae Association organized an Angel Tree project for the Mount community to be involved in. As Krista Armstrong, the Program Coordinator for Alumnae Relations, said: "The response from the Mount community has been staggering. Through donations from Mount students, societies, staff, faculty, alumnae and friends, we have (so far) collected 6+ big boxes of toys, gifts and donations for needy children in the Halifax area . . . We have been blown away by your support…we even had to call the Salvation Army for more gift tags! With 70 tags distributed, at least 70 kids will have a better Christmas this year thanks to your generosity."

The Mount also has a huge campaign to raise funds for the United Way each year and the Christmas season marks the end of each year's campaign. Our goal was to raise $20,000 this year and, while we won't get the official number until later today, I have been assured that we have exceeded this goal by a substantial amount through staff and student contributions!

We are proud of the Mount's tradition of social justice and giving back to our communities. We would like to wish all of you a happy holiday season and a joyous new year!

L is for… Lovely Ladies!

Yes, that’s right. The Mount is full of lovely ladies! We used to be an all girls University you know. Now we openly welcome guys and there are more and more coming every year.

Did you know we have a special event to celebrate the lovely ladies of The Mount every year?

It's called...the Mr. Mount Competition..."Mr?" you are wondering...allow me to explain!

What is a Mr. Mount Competition? You might ask.
Well let’s start with what it’s not:
Mr. Mount is not a beauty pageant. Mr. Mount is not a talent show.

Mr. Mount IS an Annual one of a kind event where the ladies get to understand how it feels to be a gent, and the gents get to understand a little more about the ladies!

It’s where the men compete as ladies and the ladies compete as men for the affection of the crowd and judges to officially be crowned “Mr. Mount”.

It is a fabulous event that you just can’t miss out on!

Don't believe me...check out the picture below or visit Mr. Mount Competition for more info.

Brought to you by the Double L!

K is for…Kids

Kids? You might think to yourself that a University is no place for kids, but you would be wrong! Yes, students do sometimes act like kids, (You just need to check some of the pictures of Student Union activities to see that) but acting like kids can be FUN!
This isn’t what I mean though. The Mount offers a few services for kids on campus. So if you have kids, or want to work with them someday, The Mount is the place for you!
From Child and Youth Studies: where you can prepare yourself for a career where you can work with kids;
To The Fountain Play Centre where students who have children can have them looked after at an affordable price and where students can get in some valuable volunteer hours;
Click on the Athletics Department  to see where students can earn some money while working with kids!
There are so many great ways to prepare yourself at The Mount for a career in Child and Youth!
Ciao 4 now!

Brought to you by the letter K

J is for…Jeremy

Yes… That is Jeremy on the floor in “J” form. Why is ‘J’ for Jeremy you ask? Well the good spirited guy in the green shirt lying on the floor next to me is our President of The Mount’s Student’s Union! Aside from being up for anything…including taking the form of the letter ‘J’, Jeremy (or Draino as he is known on campus) is responsible for representing you – the students of The Mount. This position is open every year and getting involved in the Union is a great way to meet friends and make the most of your University experience!
Check out all the Executive Bios at mounstudents.ca.

Brought to you by the letter J

I is for... International

Hi everyone. My name is Kutay Ulkuer and I am the international admissions officer. The Mount houses over 400 international students from 62 different countries. I am sure some of you already met one of these wonderful and interesting students.

Internationalization of our campus is one of the main goals for Destination 2012 action plan. After all we are living in a global market environment where more and more people are identifying them selves as global citizens. The Mount is dedicated to educating individuals who will be able to live and work anywhere in the world.

Ok I have to admit I like the travel part of my job a lot. This year I spent over 2 months traveling the world for international students. Some of the countries I have been to are: South Korea, China, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Bermuda, etc...

The Mount also gives you the opportunity to study abroad as an exchange student up to one year. This would be a great opportunity for anyone who is looking to learn by seeing and touching. Are you a history major? Paris is waiting for you. Are you a business student looking to get some international experience? China would be a great place for you to witness one of the world's largest economies.

For more information check out the exchange programs page of our website:

If you would like to get more information regarding our international students or go to a different country as an exchange student please visit our international students page.

H is for... (Part Two!)

Housing! How clever am I ?! I used the letter AND the word.

Future students: The Mount will be your home.

I know some of you may be from HRM and will be commuting everyday, however, nearly 400 students make our campus their home. And for those of you that won't be living here, visit your future friends in residence, take in the on-campus experience!

I will admit - I did not live on campus, but was often jealous of students who did. As a student who did not, I will share with you "My Top 5 Favourite Things About Living on Campus - even though I didn't!"

1) Dining halls in close proximity
2) Decorating the residences for the holidays (it can get competitive!)
3) Neighbours/Roommates
4) Close to class
5) SCHOOL SPIRIT! *This is for both on and off campus students.

Being on campus, living or just visiting, helps you build your school spirit - and we've got lots of it! In fact, the Mount won the GM Canada School Spirit Challenge.

If you cannot come to campus to check out our residences, go to http://www.msvu.ca/ to see the virtual tours!

You can apply for housing after being accepted to the Mount. The application will be available online in the new year.

H is for… (Part One!)

Hills!

You might have already heard the rumour. The Mount is located on a mountain. Okay, so it’s not THAT bad, but we do have a hill to contend with when traveling between buildings. But hey, we always like to look at the bright side. Maybe you’ve heard of the ‘Freshmen 15’: those 15 pounds that you gain your first year of university. Well at the Mount, we call it the ‘Freshmen 7.5’ – maximum. Also, all of our residences are at the top of the hill, so if you oversleep you only have to worry about getting down the hill. And lastly, when you do make it to the top, you have a beautiful view of the Mount campus and Bedford Basin.

Part of the Mount hill and its view

Brought to you by the letter H