Meet Samad and Lindsay: Convocation Spring 2021 Student Speakers

Samad Raza is a former Student Senator, SFSS VP External Relations, and founder of Emerge SFU. Currently, he is serving as the Director of Communications and Marketing at Whole Human Foundation.

Lindsay Marshall-White spent five years at SFU, majoring in Communications, taking part in multiple campus club boards during her time at SFU. Since finishing school in April she has started an internship working for the ALS Society of BC as their Communications and Event Assistant.

Samad and Lindsay are the Student Speakers at the upcoming School of Communication Convocation Celebration, Tuesday June 29, 2021 starting at 3:15 PDT. Learn more about their CMNS experience below and see you at Convocation!

Why study Communications?

Samad: I have found CMNS to be extremely helpful in understanding different culture and role of media ad technologies. I was able to build my understanding of the world around me. This helped me pursue the career in marketing and advertisement.  

Lindsay: The world has been changing at a rapid rate surrounding what medium we consume and how we consume them. I chose communications because I have always been patinate and fascinated by media. When I was younger my mum would always get mad at me for being able to perfectly recite the headlines on people magazine but not be able to remember math or important information for tests. It was in high School when I really knew that I wanted to go into media especially PR and social media, studying at SFU only reinforced that I was in the right field when I finally started getting top grades. Communications allows to be shape someone's or a company's image, and be at the forefront of how people view a brand. 

What are your plans after SFU?

Samad: I want to spend 1-2 years developing career in marketing and advertisement and gain field experience. Then I want to enroll into SFU Global Communication double MA program.

Lindsay: Two weeks after finishing school in April, I was presented with an opportunity to work for the ALS Society of BC, an organization close to my heart as my mother passed away from ALS four years ago at the start of my first year at SFU. After 2 weeks at the society I was promoted to lead the Communications and Social Media department. I plan to work for the society for a couple years before moving to the sports world, where my true passion lies. My plan would be to ideally to move to work for the Whitecaps in their media department within the next couple years.

What is your favourite SFU memory?

Samad: After lot of hard work, I was able to start Emerge SFU with the help of my friends. At the end of our first free UI/UX workshop students came to yes and told us they found a new passion in design. That was the best moment for me, cause all the hard work paid off.

Lindsay: One of my best memories at SFU was staying at the school till 2 in the morning finishing a 13 page paper (I finished it in 10 hours), myself and 3 friends stayed working at our favorite spot on the 6^th floor till 2 in the morning, we were so strung out on coffee and laughed for hours. It was one of the best times that we all still joke about. Some of my other best memories all stem from my classes with David Murphy. It was during his classes in my last 2 years at SFU that I learned the most valuable skills to take away from SFU, he tough us how to us so many valuable skills that would actually translate to the real world, it was during his classes I also met some of the best people. It was the connections and people I met at SFU that truly make up my favorite memories at SFU. From the lifelong friends I met while being in the BC young Liberal club, to the friends I met on my first day of orientation, and to the after class happy hour meet ups with friends at Club Illia where I met my boyfriend and to the friends I met when we were forced into group projects, those were my best times at university.

What would you tell future students starting university?

Samad: Try new things, its okay to be scared but do not let fear kill your curiosity.

Lindsay: I would tell future students to be open to making connections, and embrace those awkward moments in class because those are always the ones that turn out the best. I was so nervous to join a club, however it was one of the best parts of university, it was in that club that I met my now best friends. When starting university there is always so much pressure to do the best and stay on track, however I would tell students to not put so much pressure on yourself in the first two years, and to explore other faculties classes early on. Take a class that scares you, chat to the person next to you in lecture, and don’t leave campus right away, stay and connect with friends because the best memories happen then.