An early introduction to the campus community made Alexandra Leake fall in love with McMaster.
She attended McMaster’s Sport Fitness School camp as a kid. For a kid who did a lot of camps, it stuck out to her: “It was the best camp that I went to in my whole childhood.” Years later, when she was looking for a summer job, the athletic teen came back as a coach.
The Sport Fitness School (SFS) is a multi-sport program for ages six to 16. Their emphasis is activities that promote healthy, active lifestyles, positive social interactions, and individual development through sport and play.
Leake works as a coach, leading the program’s young athletes through different activities each week, and watching them grow. “It’s a wonderful experience,” she said. “It’s actually why I came to McMaster, because I love doing it so much.”
The experience showed her that she loved working with kids, being on campus, and being a part of the community here. She’s made lifelong friends among the SFS coaching staff. “Everyone here at McMaster is just so welcoming,” she said. “That’s why I keep going back.”
When it came time to apply for university, she found another close-knit community at the Wilson College of Leadership & Civic Engagement.
Leake, who is finishing up her first year as part of the inaugural cohort of Wilson College, was drawn in by the closeness of the program, the emphasis on building leaders, and the opportunity to keep exploring within disciplines.
The first cohort of the new Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement, in fall 2025. (Georgia Kirkos, McMaster University)
Wilson College students get a Combined Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Leadership and Civic Studies, and another major in Social Science or Humanities.
For her second major, Leake is considering Anthropology or Environment and Society. She’s interested in why people do the things they do, and life in different parts of the world.
Long-term, she’s thought about a few different career possibilities: Helping children develop social skills as a teacher or occupational therapist, or something more on the civics side, such as working for government and designing equitable cities. No matter what she does, she knows she’s interested in leadership and helping people. “I want to be able to help improve people’s lives.”
One of her favourite things about the Wilson College program is that she can try out different pathways to making a difference, Leake said. “I would recommend it to the kind of student who isn’t really sure what they’re into yet, but knows that they want to be a leader in their community, that they can advocate for people that might not be able to, someone who wants to make a change… who wants to be involved at McMaster and experiment and try new things.”
Community impact
Across campus, Leake has already been making an impact in her first year. She’s an ambassador for Wilson College, chatting with potential students at open houses and recruitment events. Through the McMaster Teaching Assistant Volunteer Program, she spends one afternoon a week with a kindergarten classroom, helping out and connecting with kids from the Hamilton community.
She’s returning to the SFS this summer, for her third year as a coach. Being involved with the SFS brought her out of her shell, she said, and showed her that she could strive for a leadership program. “It is a life-changing experience. My life would be very different without it.”
She’s also taking on another leadership role next year, as a newly elected member of Wilson College’s new student society. Leake will be serving as co-president, along with her peer, Grace Reid. The society’s focus will be on facilitating events and running programs to keep building the community and promote civic engagement at Wilson College.
Being a part of the student society is another unique chance that comes from being in Wilson College, and particularly being in that first cohort. “The opportunity to run for co-president, that’s unheard of in your first year,” Leake said.
Leake was recently elected co-president of Wilson College’s new student society. (Photo by Georgia Kirkos)
She’s excited to welcome in the new cohort this fall, and start shaping the program together.
It’s especially important on a university campus, where students can feel isolated or lonely without the right supports. “To be able to have that community, and then be part of being an advocate for that, is really cool.”
“That’s another thing I really like about Wilson College – being able to establish something that build the space of inclusivity that I was looking for at a university level,” she said. “It is exciting to be part of the first class that builds an environment for future students to feel that camaraderie.”
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