Blog | Student Open Circles

A group of children and mentors smiling and laughing

Saturday, August 26, 2023 - 10:57

Newsletter: August 2023

New first year students have been looking us up and getting involved this summer before they even start at McMaster! In this letter, Julia, Divya, and Rose vividly describe the ...

Saturday, August 26, 2023 - 10:23

Small Fish, Big Pond

by Julia Harper, student

My involvement with Open Circle has been one of the highlights of my undergrad journey so far. Many will remember the feeling of being a ...

Saturday, August 26, 2023 - 10:17

Serving Children and Youth

Our weekly student volunteers provide mentorship and tutoring for underserved children and youth throughout Hamilton.

Above: online tutoring for recent immigrant youth at YMCA. Bottom-left: childcare at a local women’s ...

Saturday, August 26, 2023 - 09:54

A Different Kind of Success

Divya (centre) with Marybeth, Julia, and others during our streetwalk training

By Divya Tamilselvan, student

Something you don’t normally find at university: a service that is devoted to helping ...

Saturday, August 26, 2023 - 09:45

Finding My Place

By Rose Leishman, student

Student Open Circles (SOC) has been an integral component to my university experience and impacted me in multiple ways. It provides an incredible community space ...

A student reading with a child at an afterschool program

Monday, August 21, 2023 - 13:34

Check out our Gift Guide

Give a gift that changes lives. Our unique charity gifts are perfect as a special gift for loved ones. Ideal for ‘someone who has everything,’ those hard-to-buy-for friends and loved ones ...

Monday, August 14, 2023 - 09:24

Get our Crowd-sourced Recipe Book!

Enjoy recipes from around the world and support Student Open Circles with our 20^th anniversary downloadable recipe book!

It’s often said that the Student Open Circles community is ...

Students walking in a circle playing musical instruments

Saturday, June 10, 2023 - 08:59

Newsletter: June 2023

This is an exciting, scary, sad, and hopeful time of year for students who are graduating. Many tell us how much it’s meant to them to have the safe space ...

A large group of students around a bonfire

Saturday, June 10, 2023 - 08:50

Tools to Brave the Wilderness

By Vivian Li, student leader

When in-person school reopened in 2021, I was still two years away from graduation. Although at the time I had already been at McMaster ...

Saturday, June 10, 2023 - 08:45

Story in Pictures

When it rained on our end-of-term bonfire event, we moved inside and…

Panel 1, a group of students sitting in a cozy room, some on the couch, some on the floor, all wearing masks, with a TV screen showing a bonfire with the caption, "Creating cozy vibes." Panel 2, a group of students sitting around a table laughing and talking with the caption, "Joy of connecting." Panel 3, a group of students sitting in a cozy room singing along with a guitar with the caption "Jamming (from Taylor Swift to Jeff's songs)." Panel 4: Multiple large pieces of paper with drawn images of colour patterns and shapes with the caption "Collaborative reflection on hope."

New Beginnings Bonfire in May

Story in pictures continued…

Panel 5, a group of students sitting around a bonfire on benches engaging in conversation with the caption, "The weather finally cooperates!" Panel 6, a group of students standing in a circle outside in a park playing an game with the caption, "Getting to know each other." Panel 7, a few students playing hopscotch in a parking lot with the caption, "Play!" Panel 8: A student smiling into the camera with a background of students drawing with chalk in a parking lot with the caption, "Jen facilitating a chalk reflection." Panel 9, a group of students gathering around a picnic table full of food with the caption, "Potluck feast." Panel 10, a group of students sitting around a fire pit engaging in conversation and making s'mores with the caption, "What we couldn't do inside." Panel 11, three students happily sharing their s'mores to the camera with smiling faces with the caption, "S'mores!"

Five student volunteers wearing medical masks pose together in a large room

Saturday, June 10, 2023 - 08:32

Building Success for Underserved Youth

By Matthew Markou, student leader

Volunteering with Student Open Circles has been a truly rewarding experience. I was placed with Pathways to Education, a program that boosts graduation rates ...