AV俱乐部

Oluronke Taiwo of the Black Student Advising Centre. (Nick Pearce Photo)

A big welcome to Oluronke Taiwo, the new black student advisor at AV俱乐部鈥檚 Black Student Advising Centre (BSAC).

Originally from Nigeria, Ms. Taiwo brings extensive knowledge to BSAC: she has two master鈥檚 degrees (one in medical microbiology, the other in social work from AV俱乐部), two bachelor degrees and four diplomas.聽

鈥淭he vision I have for BSAC is that all blacks in the Diaspora are brought together,鈥� says Ms. Taiwo, whose job is to counsel and advocate for black students. 鈥淢y second goal is to be inclusive with all the other departments and groups at the university, whereby we all work together for the benefit of the students. My long term goal is to create a database of professionals who will volunteer to be mentors for the black students at the AV俱乐部."聽

BSAC offers many programs for black students from Nova Scotia and elsewhere and indeed students of any ethnicity. The centre provides a resource room for peer support, a space for meeting and academic encouragement. It also has a computer lab. Students are encouraged to drop by for information on employment, scholarships, bursaries and special events, on and off campus.

Mentors help out high school students through conversation and support and are a shoulder to lean on in tough times.

鈥淎 high school student came to me and told me that if the mentor hadn鈥檛 been there they wouldn鈥檛 have been able to go through it,鈥� says Ms. Taiwo.

Ms. Taiwo finds her work with the students very rewarding. She brings an incredible amount of passion and energy to her job.

鈥淚 am doing something to empower these students who have been put down. I went through something similar myself... and I tell those I counsel that they too can be successful.鈥�