They are the most passionate student leaders.  They are the voices of the BBM Generation.

In October BlackBerry embarked on a hunt to discover the most passionate campus leaders and student trailblazers to inspire the BBM Generation and lead the BlackBerry Messengers. Over a hundred Canadian students applied for the chance to lead their generation into the future with the BlackBerry Messengers program, and after much deliberation, 17 Finalists were chosen. 

This diverse group of student leaders hail from Vancouver, British Columbia to Montreal, Quebec, and everywhere in between. These students have backgrounds that range from social planners, arts and dance groups to leaders of student clubs on campus. The one thing they have in common? A desire to make an impact on their campus and motivate their peers to do the same

Over the past two and a half months, these BlackBerry Messengers have taken their campuses  by storm; the students and their respective extracurricular involvements have been published in countless campus and local newspapers, featured on radio stations, and interviewed on campus TV stations.  They have inspired their campuses through student run flash mobs, campus lip dubs, unreal choreography and happiness challenges, that illustrate how creative and dedicated to success they are..

BlackBerry along with Rogers, Koodo Mobile, Bell and SaskTel swagged out these students with a $500 dollar scholarship and the latest smartphone technology –a new PlayBook, a new BlackBerry Bold, four BlackBerry smartphones for their top supporters, and tons of accessories to share with their campus.

10 weeks later, it all comes to a close. Crystal Lo and her STEP CREW from Queen’s University has been awarded with a $4000 scholarship  to lead the BlackBerry Messengers.

Crystal demonstrated her great leadership, creativity and organizational skills from the outset of the program when she was uniting her networks to support and vote for her, all the way through each event which she pulled off successfully with the help of her STEP CREW. From candy giveaways and dancing in the caf to a flash mob that brought out 500 students, a classy hors d’oeuvres social, and countless viral videos that included the infamous Shuffle Bot, Crystal excelled at instilling a sense of fun, spirit and unity amongst her whole campus. The tech-savvy STEP CREW not only stood out to the judges, but the media as well with many radio, blog and newspaper features from campus and local media. Crystal’s imagination and vision is truly an inspiration to students and communities across the country.  Thank you to all of the BlackBerry Messengers for inspiring your campus and a special congratulations to Crystal and the Queen’s STEP CREW!

 “We believe in the essence of equal opportunity, community and individualy…. anyone with a passion for dance can come together and be valued as individuals and be supported through self-growth and  self-exploration.” –Crystal Lo

-Written by the CampusPerks team

DJ. Queen’s Student. Hailing from Surrey BC. Hip Hop dancer. Alehouse regular. Doing Whatever It Takes.

Fourth year Queen’s student Johnny Yoo recently decided to get involved and make a pledge to help end youth homelessness with Virgin Mobiles RE*Generation charity program.  Johnny has pledged to raise $1,000.00 by the end of this year and if he accomplishes it, he’s going to spin for 12 hours straight.

We thought Johnny’s pledge was so cool that we wanted to find out a bit more about who this mysterious character is and what makes his musical mind tick. Here’s a sneak peak at what Johnny is passionate about and why he got involved with Do Whatever It Takes with Virgin Mobile.

John Yoo – yup that’s him above!

4^th year Economics @ Queen’s

Went to Queen’s because his big sis was having too much fun there

Came with a scholarship to study and spent first year in Vic Hall

Here’s what Johnny had to say in a spit-fire 10 question interview about his biggest passion, and why he’s pledging to help raise awareness about youth homelessness through something he loves.

1) Your iPod breaks on one song. If you have to listen to that song forever, what is it?

Take Care by Drake & Rihanna

2) What’s the last song you listened to today?

Swim Good by Frank Ocean

3) Are you dancer when you spin or just focus on your DJing?

I love dancing when I spin. I also teach hip hop part time in Kingston for a job.

4) What artist are you into right now that has yet to hit it big?

I’m just starting to become a lot more interested in  Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Jaheim, and J Holiday to name a few. There are so many up and coming artists though that I love mixing in my sets.

5) What artist do you receive the most requests to DJ from all of those Queen’s students?

Journey, hands down. I get it requested every time I spin. They have feel good song though so I’m all for it.

6) What song do you throw on to get a party started when you DJ at the Alehouse?

Oh, Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO is always a good kick start to get people on the dance floor.

7) What song request bugs you to play, or do you have a song that you won’t play?

I’ll give any song a spin really. There are always a couple of die-hard Taylor Swift fans who won’t leave the booth until I spin it for them which can be…fun. I always try to keep everyone happy, moving and grooving.

8) So why are you willing to make this crazy pledge of DJing for 12 hours to Do Whatever It Takes to help put an end to youth homelessness in Canada?

It’s a pretty crazy issue that a lot of people aren’t really aware of, more people should know about. Queen’s students have the best spirit and I’m doing this on behalf of all Queen’s students to help showcase what were capable of by trying to raise $1,000 in pledges and create more awareness through a different way.

9) Were you shocked to learn about the stats and # of youth who are homeless in Canada?

I really had no idea before getting involved. It’s really shocking to find out that 1 in 3 youth don’t have anywhere to call home.

10)  If you make your fundraising goal, how will this help or challenge you?

Well it will definitely challenge me in spinning to be able to go for that long. It will really show people that I can spin so many different styles of music. Who knows if it will open more doors but it will definitely be wicked to throw down and have people support me in raising money and awareness about this cause.

To help DJ Johnny Yoo make his goal by raising $1,000.00 to help end youth homelessness in Canada check out his pledge profile here: http://www.dowhateverittakes.org/challenge/1889/

To check out Johnny’s mad skills and get a flavor of what’s to come if he makes his goal check him out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRf8ku6QEos&feature=g-upl

You can also follow him on Twitter @ Dj_yoo! Stay tuned with us too, we’re going to follow up with Johnny to see what happens!

Sarah is a Student Life Ambassador at the University of Toronto. Her role is to connect with University of Toronto students via Twitter to share with them her experiences as a student leader.

She stated, “I want to show students through personal tweets that it is possible to get involved, make a difference and have good grades. It is my role to show U of T how getting involved positively influences academic performance and student life”. As ambassador, Sarah shares with her follower’s personal experiences, offer support and give advice and inspire. She wanted to become a Student Life Ambassador because it was another venue she could use to connect with UofT students and inspire them to get involved. She wanted to inspire students to get involved because student involvement fosters leadership and makes students feel more connected to the university community. Her favorite moment as student life ambassador is when people tweet her kind words of gratitude (https://twitter.com/#!/Sarah_UofT/favorites). “I really care for the well being of UofT students and when they validate my efforts I feel like I have made a small difference in someone’s life. I’ve created a support community in which my followers offer me support and I offer them support—it’s a reciprocal relationship. We are all in this together!”

Sarah had a rough first year at the university. She was doing great academically but commuting and new stresses were taking a toll on her social life and development. She did get involved by becoming a First Learning Community Philosophy mentee. She learned a lot about the resources, opportunities and the student organizations at UofT. Through it, she developed an obsession for community. “Every community is connected by a common purpose. Philosophy connected us. It was such a positive experience. It fostered within me a need for community and connection. FLC improved my student experience and I wanted to do the same for others. It inspired me to become a mentor and join more student groups”. She recommends to incoming students or students who would want to get involved but don’t know how to, to go to the University of Toronto Student Union or Ulife to get a clubs directory and explore options. It is never too late in the year to join a group; they are always looking for support. Sarah founded Because I am a Girl- UofT at UTSG and said if you are really ambitious you could do the same and get it recognized by UTSU.Another way to get involved is through mentorships and volunteer programs. UofT career center’s job search portal is a great place to find opportunities.

“I am a woman with a mission. I want to change the world. I want to inspire others to make the world a better place. People say that university is like a microcosm of the world; use it to test drive your ambitions. Getting involved helps you discover your true self by helping you find your calling in life. I love getting involved because through it I can use my leadership and mentorship skills to help people actualize their potential and achieve their dreams. People underestimate the power of community. Communities are mediums through which we can materialize our dreams together with the power of synergy. Getting involved is one way to create or join a community and that is why I love it so much”.

- Written By Nathalie @ UofT