Community Champion

While other students spend their spare hours studying, Mark McCormack devotes his time to Make Poverty History, a student group at the University of Alberta. The 25-year-old part-time student started the University of Alberta chapter of Make Poverty History in 2007. Not only does McCormack volunteer extensively with the student group, he also works 15-hour days in the oil patch and donates 80 per cent of his income to Make Poverty History.

WE: What does the group do?
MM: Make Poverty History is part of the Global Call to Action against Poverty. It’s an international campaign that is mobilizing Canadians on issues related to poverty at home and abroad. We have about 1,500 students on our membership list and 60 of those are highly active volunteers. We’ve been building a critical mass of interest on the University of Alberta campus and now we’re trying to spill out into the greater Edmonton community.

WE: What was your initial motivation for starting the club?
MM: I was trying to finish this complex variable analysis course for my physics degree and I was motivating myself by going on YouTube to find some cool physics videos. I started watching other videos and the very last one that I watched was of Bono talking about Africa. I decided to look at the website that he was talking about in the video and it was the Make Poverty History campaign. The campaign matched up with my own knowledge and experience; I thought this could actually work and make a real, tangible impact. That’s how I started the club.

WE: What’s been the highlight, so far, for you?
MM: I think a highlight would be having access to really inspirational people, like Stephen Lewis. I’ve also met some of the most incredible students on the University of Alberta campus. These are people who will end up defining the industries that they join. That’s been a highlight for me, as I never would have met those people without my involvement.

WE: If you could summarize your experiences with Make Poverty History, how would you describe it?
MM: It’s kind of like being on a roller coaster. It makes me feel incredibly fulfilled and it makes me feel like I’m on the right path. But then there are parts where it’s so challenging that it can wear me right out if I’m not careful. More than anything else, though, it’s fulfilling. Make Poverty History is giving people the opportunity to express their full human potential, whether that means learning how to ride a bike or getting food to eat. Helping people to do that is incredibly fulfilling.