Claudia Schlosser's community leadership recognized with award

Rooted is all about the people and the places that make us proud to call our community home.     

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Throughout the last six years Claudia Schlosser has made the most of her time at Nipissing University by getting involved and giving back to the school and the wider community of North Bay.  

“I regret not getting involved on campus sooner. It wasn’t until my third year of university when I started to get more involved,” says the Hamilton, Ont., native who was named as a recipient of the 2023 Dave Marshall Leadership Award. It is an award given annually to 25 student leaders at Nipissing University who are recognized for their contributions to their academic program, to the campus or to the community. Schlosser was one of 12 Campus Award winners.  

She was nominated by a couple of peers who thought Schlosser epitomized what it meant to be a leader on campus as she has been an Orientation Week Leader, a Student Recruitment Ambassador, an Open House Volunteer, an executive member of several student group societies and filled other roles as well.  

“Being involved on campus is such a great way to meet up with other students in my program and other student leaders who wanted to bring students together to participate in social events. This is my sixth and final year at Nipissing, and now I'm able to have the opportunity to share all of my on-campus involvement experiences with incoming and current students. They really enjoy hearing about ways they can be more involved on campus, and also about all of my involvement experiences on campus and in the community,” says Schlosser.  

She says encouraging those new students to get involved is one of her main messages.  

“I like to highlight to just be yourself and put yourself out there,” she says.  “Don't be afraid to sign up for a club or a society or attend a social event that NUSU hosts. Going to these events early on in the school year is a great way to meet other students in your program and different programs and they’re a great networking opportunity. I strongly believe that the earlier you get involved, the more likely you might be to take on more of a leadership opportunity throughout your time at Nipissing.” 

Schlosser has taken that philosophy and has become involved in the community of North Bay. Having moved to the Gateway City in 2015, Schlosser graduated from St. Joseph Scollard Hall where she is now helping coach the Bears in the sports she participated in back in high school.  

“It's really great to be on that other side now teaching athletes at Scollard the skills they need to be successful in these sports. I love being able to share my knowledge of track and field and cross-country and it's also a great way for me to gain more experience as I’m in school to be a teacher,” she says, noting she will be heading to teach in Melbourne, Australia for a year before coming back home to Canada. 

“I think that volunteering in the community will have a positive effect on me becoming a better educator and I’ll be able to share my experiences with young athletes, especially after the pandemic. There were no sports for a few years because of the pandemic, so it was really great to be back to training and competing.” 

She adds they are seeing higher participation rates with younger students.  

“We started track and field practices after March break and the turnout in comparison to previous years has skyrocketed, specifically with grade 9 athletes. There are way more students wanting to get involved than before and it’s amazing to see, especially after the pandemic. Seeing these student-athletes wanting to come out and dedicate their time to learn more about this sport, learn new skills, and participate is great.” 

The Dave Marshall Leadership Award is a prestigious, non-monetary award in recognition of the dedication and leadership Dr. Dave Marshall demonstrated during his 18 years of consecutive service as the Dean of Education and President and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University. Schlosser says it is an honour to be recognized among this group of award winners.  

“Over the last six years, I've put a lot of hours into many of the things that I've been involved in, and it is nice to be recognized for those things that I've done. Being someone, who other students can come to for advice and information about the campus and just be comfortable around is something I’m proud of.”  

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