SAC Benefits You May Be Missing Out On

This article has been republished from the September 2015 issue of Student Speak.

By André LaFlamme, Members and Associates Officer

I started working at SAC as the new Members and Associates Officer in early May. Over the past several months, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know SAC’s wonderful members and associates. I’ve been impressed by the wide array of interesting, talented and thoughtful people who make up our association.

However, it’s become clear to me through my interactions with some of our student associates that many of you don’t know about the plethora of benefits available through SAC. Maybe you’ve heard of our most well-known benefits: student associates are eligible to write our prestigious clinical certification exam, new graduates get 50% off their first year as a member or associate, new graduates receive free professional liability insurance for six months and our resource library.

I’d like to take a few minutes to share five of the great perks you might not already know about… with the help of some memes.

Benefit #1: Member and Associate Directory

When you’re starting your career, SAC’s Member and Associate Directory is an incredible resource to build contacts. If you’re moving to a new city or looking for a job, consult this directory of our more than 6,200 members and associates. You can filter your results by profession, language, city, province or country. This makes networking easy.

Benefit #2: Student Awards

Many students initially join SAC for our scholarship program, since we offer $27,000 in scholarships to our student associates across Canada every year. However, very few students also participate in our awards program. SAC has a number of different awards, including two awards specifically for students. These prestigious awards don’t just look great on your CV — they come with prize money and a continuing education voucher towards SAC’s Professional Development Program! Check out our website to learn more.

Benefit #3: Our Most Newsworthy Publication

SAC has a range of high-quality publications that our members and associates receive automatically, but did you know that you have to sign up to receive our most popular newsletter? Every week, we gather the top news stories related to speech-language pathology and audiology and summarize them for our readers in one convenient email. As a student associate, you can sign up for This Week in the News to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the professions using this form. You can also access archived issues of the newsletter here.

If you’re looking for more reading material, don’t forget to check out our blog, the Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, SAC in Action, and the PD Bulletin.

Benefit #4: Hotel and Car Rental Discounts

With Thanksgiving approaching, many of us will soon be travelling to spend the long weekend with loved ones. I was surprised to learn that few student associates take advantage of the great hotel and car rental discounts available to them. We’ve partnered with Local Hospitality to offer you (and your friends and family) savings on hotel and car rentals, so be sure to make use of this discount program when planning your next weekend away!

Benefit #5: We Help You Live the GoodLife

Did you know that all student associates are eligible for great discounts at GoodLife Fitness? And by great discounts, I mean students also get more than 50% off the regular price of a membership. For just over $1 per day, you can have unlimited access to GoodLife’s equipment and fitness classes, no matter where you are in Canada! Sign up today.

If you have any questions about signing up for these benefits, or if you want more information about other programs available to you as a student associate, please send me an email or give me a quick call. As the new Members and Associates Officer, making sure that you are getting the most out of SAC is my job!