Student Highlight: Lakehead Orillia Presents… Karlina Kerr

It is truly inspiring to see our peers prosper and be successful during their time at Lakehead University. Someone deserving of recognition is Karlina Kerr (she/her), a fourth-year student in the Criminology program, minoring in Psychology. When I asked Karlina why Criminology sparked her interest, she said, “I want to be able to help people in my future career. With Psychology, I can begin to understand mental health on a deeper level to support and understand others more efficiently.” Karlina started her journey with Lakehead in 2019, and since then, has become a part of many initiatives.

Keep reading to get to know a little bit more about Karlina, and her thoughts behind striving to be an active member of our Lakehead community.

Karlina is the current President of the only sorority (Alpha Pi Phi) existing at Lakehead Orillia through the Greek Life Club on campus. She joined the organization in 2019 and has been an active member ever since then. I asked Karlina what made her want to take on this leadership position and she excitedly responded, “I want to be able to be a guide in people's lives. Also, strengthening my leadership skills will allow me to be a better leader in my future career.” 

As a member of the organization myself (since 2018), I can tell you some of Alpha Pi Phi’s values. We believe in giving back to, and collaborating with our community and volunteering our time to help others. Also, we value friendship and want to support each other, and others outside of the organization to be successful in every aspect of their lives. Finally, we encourage each other to be strong, confident leaders that strive for academic excellence and success in our lives beyond our schooling. If you find that some of your values align with Alpha Pi Phi’s, and are interested in learning more, please consider looking into our organization and messaging @alphapiphi_epsilon on Instagram. 

Have you heard of the Cam’s Kids Foundation? I wasn’t familiar with this group of student ambassadors representing this foundation at Lakehead Orillia, so I asked Karlina for more information. She states that: 

Cam’s Kids is an organization that aims to help young people through their experiences with anxiety. The organization supports people in high school all the way to graduate studies because life can get very stressful, really quickly during this time. Our goal is to acknowledge anxiety and help others, and ourselves, overcome it in a healthy way. Throughout Lakehead’s school year, there will be initiatives held for anxiety awareness for students and the community to take part in! 

Cam’s Kids Foundation is a great initiative to be involved in if you are passionate about spreading awareness about the mental well-being of young people during their studies. If you are interested in being an ambassador, message their Instagram: @camskids_8.

Now in the last year of her undergraduate studies, it is evident that Karlina has had a positive impact on the Lakehead Orillia community during her time enrolled here. It shows the rest of us Lakehead students that we all have the potential to have an impact on our university community in a positive way that promotes a safe environment for us all.

Good luck in all of your future endeavours Karlina!

Image courtesy of Karlina Kerr.