Hi Jeff!
When MacInsiders was first established as a club we had a very small team of myself and some close friends who ran the forum and we planned small events on campus. We then opened it up in 2007 to students who wanted to join the exec and be part of various committees we had begun (photography, writing, video, promotions, etc). We saw a great turn out of students that wanted to get involved, but since the committees were so large, there was a wide range in the dedication/commitment level of the volunteers and the teams didn't function very well since some people didn't participate as much as others, while some people excelled and really went out of their way (most of whom are now part of the 2008 team).
This year we decided to scrap the committees and have a much smaller, close-knit, connected team that really want to dedicate time and be a part of the staff here. We also now share roles amongst each other so we all get to try new things and help out where help is needed instead of defining definitive roles. We did a call for volunteers earlier in the year after the summer break, had a 'probation period' to see their writing style and activity on the site, and then recruited a handful of people who now make up our 2008 team and have written dozens of fantastic articles and opinion pieces, reported on campus news, covered events on campus, taken photos, been in videos, helped with clubsfest and other events, etc. Most of them you've seen around the forums as they are highly active in discussion and do a great job helping people out and sharing their knowledge (Danielle, Sabrina, Temara, Mitch, Ken, Eva, Nicole, etc). We are all volunteers here, and are doing this because we believe in the mission and vision behind the club in providing students with a central place for information and community that we found lacking in our earlier years at McMaster.
It is a lot of work to maintain such a large site and keep content fresh, and we are always looking for student leaders who are regular users of MacInsiders, and feel they want to take their involvement further than being just a regular member and give back to the community that they feel has helped them by becoming staff and taking an active role. If that sounds like something you would like to do, send me a private message with some information about yourself and why you are interested in joining the team, and then I can setup a meeting with the rest of the exec and we can see how you can become further involved with MacInsiders.
As as staff member you gain great experiences, new friends, some amazing opportunities and networking with McMaster faculty and staff as well as members of the press, write articles and opinion pieces that are read by thousands of students each day - giving you some great writing experience and pieces of work you can refer to if you decide to pursue a writing career, participate in an enthusiastic and friendly web community, as well as have the chance to be a part of some big events we run on campus, and put all of this on your resume at the end of the school year. But the biggest pay off of course is being part of something that you know has impacted the student experience's of so many people at McMaster in a positive way - we get emails and compliments all the time from students who are very appreciative of what we do and are so thankful for the community MacInsiders provides, and those thank you's really mean a lot!
Look forward to hearing from you!
P.S. Thanks Roy for your replies
; though whether that application is still open to this year... I dont know. Regardless, it's the best I can find ^^;
