Sydney Harder
Degree: General management
Current Passion: Community engagement through arts and creativity
Fun Fact: I want to motivate people to create more for the sake of self-expression, stress release and mental health, so I founded Rocky Mountain Craft Company to teach adults how to do crafts with locally sourced materials
“Any small change can spark a domino effect in the community and the world.”
Why Trico Studio:
I realized after I took time off after high school that I wanted to harvest a fulfilling career beyond a traditional 9-5 job; this desire left me feeling isolated and uncertain. Eventually, I noticed how Mount Royal University fosters a leading-edge culture and knew I wanted to be a part of it. I became an MRU student and jumped on many opportunities that I came across, including the Catalyst Fellowship – this was the gateway to connecting me with the Studio. The Studio is a go-to space on campus that is inspirational and beautiful by design – it doesn’t feel like I’m on campus when I’m there! Through the Student Changemaker Network, I’ve met other like-minded students and had many thought-provoking conversations about how we envision the future. It’s neat to reflect on my previous yearning for a community like this, and now that I’ve found it, I feel more connected than I ever did before.
Daily Motto:
I learn a lot of things I’m passionate about changing through my social innovation classes and realize I can make it happen if I have the right tools. When I was empowered to think like that, things changed for me. For example, I learned the true meaning of deep listening through an in-class exercise, where I had to listen to someone speak for a few minutes and avoid responding with my own experiences or thoughts. Through the Catalyst Fellowship, I did a lot of self-work through personality tests and empathy exercises. One highlight was when Studio director, Lena Soots, coached me on how to lead a good community conversation – this changed the way I view changemaking and empathy. As such, these teachings supported me in hosting a safe space during my first community conversation which is crucial because it takes a lot of courage for participants to share deeply personal stories, so empathy is key to ensure they feel supported.
Fuel for Inspiration:
James Stauch at MRU inspired me to follow my passions and focus on palliative care for my Catalyst Fellowship project despite how intimidated I was as a business student with limited medical knowledge. He said I could creatively tackle systems change by bringing in an unfamiliar viewpoint and asking new questions because this reveals blind spots and unexplored perspectives. His simple but effective advice encouraged me to reflect inward and realize that I don’t need to be an expert to create social impact; instead, it’s my curiosity and willingness to explore that’s most invaluable to my journey as a changemaker.