What is your position at the University of Regina Students’ Union?
I am the Luther College Director on the University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) Board of Directors and I have been in the position since 2019.
What does your work week usually involve?
Besides going to my classes on campus and doing my homework I enjoy volunteering and going to lots of meetings. Unfortunately, most of the meetings I get to at the moment are via Zoom, I spend most of my week either working on schoolwork, volunteer projects, meetings and connecting with other students and going to student events.
What year of study are you in currently and in which faculty are you enrolled?
I am in my fourth year completing a BA honours in History through Luther College at the University of Regina.
What would you like to do as an occupation in the future?
I have my heart set on completing graduate studies and becoming both a professor and university administrator.
How will this position help you in that field in the future and right now?
Being elected to the URSU Board of Directors allows me to build not only my communication and interpersonal skills but has opened avenues to me that may have not been available if I were not a director.
How does your work benefit the students of the University of Regina and its Federated Colleges? How does it benefit the community?
The work that I do in my capacity as an URSU director benefits the student community because I provide a student voice not only to the URSU board table but also to the academic committees I participate in. I think it is important that the committees I am a part of have a student voice as we deal with complicated issues that impact students.
What do you like the most about your position?
What I like the most about being with URSU and its board is that we get to help students in a variety of ways. One of the ways that we help students is that we provide services that make a difference. Some of those services are the URSU Threads, URSU Breakfast & Pantry, PEC Funding, and the advocacy work we do. As I said earlier, I enjoy meetings (for the most part) and it’s always exciting to see student groups, clubs, associations, societies and student-led initiatives present to us board members.
What do you like most about working at URSU?
One of the things that I like most about working with URSU is that by virtue of my position and the constituents I represent I bring a Federated College voice to the table, and I take every advantage I can to speak my mind at board meetings and attend events. Additionally, being a board member with URSU gives me an opportunity to reflect and promote to others what’s most important to Luther College students.
What are the biggest challenges or obstacles?
The biggest challenge or obstacle I face is knowing when my limits as I usually take on more projects that I have time for!
What have you learned during your time so far with URSU?
One of the biggest things I have learned since 2019 is that URSU has high turnover in terms of board members and executives. We see this in every by-election or general election and while we have few exceptions as some board members get re-elected, many part ways with URSU and many join. This idea of impermanence in board and executive members coming and going is a constant cloud over my head. To combat this impermanency in board members and executives I try to make the best of this situation and I try to participate to the best of my ability in board meetings and at events always keeping in mind Luther students. As I am close to finishing my undergraduate degree I have always thought to myself as “corny” as it may sound that “as long as I am here with URSU I better do what I can to make this place better than when I found it.”
Why did you run for a position in the Students’ Union?
I ran for my board position with the student union because I felt there needed to be more consultation and efforts made by URSU to engage with the Federated Colleges, particularly Luther College. I have always felt that the Federated Colleges while being stakeholders have rarely been participants in URSU campaigns, projects and concerns – so I wanted to change that by running for the Luther Director position.
