Greetings from your new CAG Student Councillor,

 

Hello students! My name is Trevor Wideman and I’m a PhD Candidate at Simon Fraser University, and your incoming elected representative to the CAG Executive Committee (2019-2021). I just wanted to introduce myself and give you some idea of what I do. 

 

As you probably know, the CAG is a community of professionals and academics that are dedicated to geographic inquiry into a wide range of economic, social, and environmental issues. CAG holds an annual academic conference and it publishes a scholarly journal, The Canadian Geographer, and it provides links to employment opportunities, mentorship, educational resources, and student support (in the form of finances and career guidance). 

 

My role in all of this is to advocate for student interests to the executive committee, and to report back to student members of the CAG on significant issues. I will also be communicating with the student membership on relevant sessions, workshops, and events at the annual conference. Another thing I want to do is encourage undergrads, grad students, and postdocs to join the CAG and keep their membership current! Keeping up your membership allows you to apply for travel funding to attend the annual conference, which is an enormous help for those of us on limited travel budgets. 

 

At this year’s conference in Winnipeg I had the opportunity to participate in paper sessions with academics at all stages of their career, and I learned a lot. The professional development and networking activities were valuable, and I got to spend quality time networking with students and faculty regarding research and potential future employment opportunities. Next year at the University of Victoria I will be excited to communicate with students on issues and important events.

 

As a CAG student member, you can feel free to contact me via email at twideman@sfu.ca if you have any questions, concerns, suggestions, or issues that you would like me to take to the CAG executive. I look forward to serving you and the CAG over the next two years in my role as Student Councillor.