When Marium Nur (BSc ’24) first came to Brock from Bangladesh, she was laser-focused on her academic goals.

By the time she crossed the stage at the University’s Fall Convocation on Friday, Oct. 18, however, her commitment to balancing her studies with a range of extracurricular experiences earned her a Certificate of Engagement.

While at Brock, Nur founded the Brock Winter Club, served as the treasurer of the South Asian Women’s Society and held several on-campus jobs.

The Computer Science graduate said completing the Campus-Wide Co-Curriculum (CWC) helped her create lasting relationships within the Brock community. Nur also received an International Student Ambassador Award for helping other new students adapt to life at Brock.

“I learned that participating in extracurricular activities was key to making the most of my university experience and this shift not only enriched my time at Brock but also allowed me to develop skills and connections that I’m proud of,” she said.

Now celebrating its 10th year, the CWC is designed to enhance students’ understanding of themselves and the world around them. Students who complete experiences within all 10 co-curricular domains receive a certificate and, like Nur, wear red cords as part of their Convocation regalia.

“We pitch the CWC as getting co-curricular credit for the things students are already involved in, pushing students outside of their comfort zone and expanding their range of interests and knowledge,” said Carolyn Hough, Student Engagement Coordinator with Student Life and Success.

Hough said that Amber Scholtens, Manager, Operations for Student Life and Success, and Bradley Clarke, Associate Vice-President, Students, were instrumental in the development of the program when it launched in 2014 — and that it continues to get better every year.

New for 2024 is the CWC Spotlight, which directly informs students of opportunities to gain domain-specific credit. It is also a helpful resource for faculty and staff, Hough said, as it highlights opportunities to extend the reach of their events to a wider range of students by partnering with the CWC.

“We are trying to meet students, and the broader Brock community, in different ways,” she said. “We’re also working to ensure the CWC is reflective of the needs of our current students. Part of that includes decolonizing and Indigenizing the CWC, so it fits with the evolving desires and interests of our students.”

The success of the CWC also inspired the creation of a new pathway on ExperienceBU, this year.

Tailored specifically to graduate students, GRADvantage offers more than 40 experience options and features five development areas — Communicators, Community Builders, Innovators, Leaders, Researchers — designed to support academic progress and personal growth in a condensed timeframe.

Research and course-based students can use the new pathway to set goals and find opportunities to enhance both personal and professional development as they work towards their post-degree career goals.

Graduate Student Success Manager Stacia Heaton, a staff lead on the new pathway, looks forward to the range of benefits the program has for graduate students.

“We’re excited to officially launch the GRADvantage pathway to empower all graduate students, regardless of their program or duration of study, in exploring meaningful opportunities for holistic growth,” she said. “Through this new pathway, students can engage in graduate-specific personal and professional experiences, develop essential skills, and reflect on their journeys, maximizing their graduate school experience.”

Eligible graduate students can now engage with GRADvantage under the Paths drop-down in their ExperienceBU accounts.

As for what’s next for Nur, she is currently working for Metrolinx as a Junior IT Analyst and looks forward to one day tackling her master’s degree.

Her experiences at Brock, she said, have left her well-equipped for all that lies ahead.

“My time at Brock, along with the CWC, has prepared me for the future by helping me balance academics with personal growth, she said. “Through CWC, I gained leadership, communication skills and valuable experiences that will benefit me in my career and beyond.”