On Team Dynamics

From socials to shout-outs, here’s why nwPlus fills the definition of community.

chaos(erena)

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nwPlus

5 min readApr 4, 2019

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It’s been such a fun(!) year from the chaos that is nwHacks and three hackathons in 8 months, emojis that fill our Slack 💖, to actual marketing efforts that see the light of day.

For my final year at UBC, I wanted to be a part of a few clubs and organizations that I hadn’t yet had a chance to explore. When I saw that nwPlus was hiring, I was surprised to see a “Content Writer” position — something unique to this club. I joined to build up my writing portfolio in the tech industry but will be leaving UBC with a lot more than expected- new friends, connections, and three more hackathons.

nwPlus is such a heartwarming community driven by common values with space for you to share your personal connection to tech with others. You’re encouraged to find and make opportunities that build up your skills and foster your interests by the people around you. If you’re looking for a tech-centric club at UBC next year, check out our plethora of roles and find what resonates with you. ✨

We’re also a very cute team of 32 friends (not completely pictured below).

We’re like a remote start up.

Except we’re not paid. Flexible hours, high autonomy, and a lot of Slack.

#hangouts is a fun one for internal socials, external fun times, and all calls for friendship.

#random is a hub for random encounters, warm fuzzies, questionable moments, event advertising, and all important birthday (and holiday) wishes.

@channel is for unrequited notifications. I’m kidding — we check Slack, right?

If you want to beautify and fill your Slack with team spirit, here are a few ideas.

Custom emojis with your logos, key digital assets, and mascots
Welcome messages
Custom colour theme
Bonus custom emojis with people’s faces, parts of people’s faces, and memes

Another prime example of true nwSupports

What’s your role? Content?!

It’s rare that you see a Content Writer role in a student-run tech club. I know I was surprised when I first read about it. It was their first time hiring for this role.

As the content writer, you’re part of the Marketing team but you hold your own portfolio particularly over the Medium publication. You have main direction over anything deemed “long-form content.” It’s rare for amateur writers to find projects with outstanding followings that open up for new people to drive and own the content direction.

I’m hoping that the next person to fill this role makes the most of the flexibility that nwPlus provides. I’m hoping that person continues pushing nwPlus’ long-form content forward in format, quantity, and of course, quality. I’m excited to see what nwPlus evolves into (a shiny pokemon, perhaps?).

This year, I wrote 8 articles, will write 2 more, created a content bank, started an internal Medium publication guide, and proofread many words. I joined to keep myself accountable to developing my writing portfolio but also found something I wasn’t quite looking for — another community that makes UBC feel like home.

Writing not your thing? Good thing we have roles from marketing, design, dev, sponsorship, logistics, and more! No code required (unless that’s what you’re into).

Good ol’ opportunity

What’s unique about nwPlus is the openness you recognize in terms of opportunities, communication, and character. In addition to all the things I did this year, I facilitated two MLH LocalHost workshops — one on Slack and another on Google Assistant. What made these workshops enticing was that their slides are pre-prepped, include swag for your participants, and provide direct content support. Outside of nwPlus, I do a lot of event planning but less facilitation. So I found a way to fill that gap. I reached out to the nwHacks logistics team and we made it work. Opportunities are often hidden from visual reach but can appear anywhere if you poke around the right places.

Whatever you end up pursuing in the future or whatever club you end up joining next year, I hope you find something that inspires you to work on yourself on top of working for others. I hope you find one that makes you feel like you are chasing the right path or at least, drives you towards finding it.

Reading the other reflections and testimonials from the other people on the team, it fills my heart that the common themes are personal development, the emulation of family, and impact. From thank yous to shout-outs, the appreciation for each other is real.

It’s always a bonus when the people you work with are also the people you’re friends with. The people I’ve met this year have become a core part of my life and played a part in increasing the time I spend outside of home. And perhaps the amount of bubble tea I’ve consumed.

Oh, and the community within the team extends further. When you walk around UBC campus or even Vancouver, it’s not unlikely that you’ll see one of our swag bags or t-shirts or stickers around. It’s a testament to how people resonate with the brand that is nwPlus and the desire to spread our commonalities in tech.