Written by Bethany M. Iyoupe

Thumbnail Photo by Joshua Sydney

The Board of Directors (BOD) governs the Saint Mary’s University Students’ Association (SMUSA) to advance services, support, and advocacy efforts on campus. The elected officers are all SMU students, who each serve a two-year term. The officers take classes, work summer jobs, and stay involved in the SMU community. In many ways, they are just like us, but with the added responsibility of leading a union that aims to improve the student experience at SMU and sustain the continuance of SMUSA’s operations. This article will focus on the experience of Joshua Sydney as the former Vice Chair and incoming Chief Governance Officer (CGO) of SMUSA’s BOD.

Joshua Sydney is a student at Saint Mary’s University who aspires to become a Development Economist for a major multilateral institution, and ultimately, a Government Minister and Member of Parliament for the government of Barbados. In 2020, Sydney was elected to the BOD as the Vice Chair. In this role, he was responsible for carrying out the Chair’s duties in the case of their absence, which required a sound understanding of rules in governance, SMUSA’s policies, and SMUSA’s organizational structure. He furthered his support for the Chair by offering advice vis-à-vis Board-related concerns, assisting in the planning process for Board-related events and training sessions, and acting as the Board Secretary to ensure meeting minutes were kept on record.

The Vice Chair noted that the past government’s unique circumstances brought on many challenges for SMUSA. The Board was required to facilitate important meetings during the summer, which is abnormal considering the Association typically only operates during the school year. Additionally, as the Chairman of the Elections Committee, Sydney made note of the unparalleled difficulties that surfaced in the effort to hold a proper election in the middle of a pandemic considering student outreach efforts are typically conducted in-person. SMUSA was also unable to fulfill its wish to implement an Elections Handbook that would simplify the elections process for future student governments. With student engagement at an all-time low, Sydney pointed to the prohibition of face-to-face interactions as a leading factor in SMUSA’s struggles.

Nevertheless, the team was able to pull through these hard times in student governance by utilizing social media platforms, like Twitter and Instagram, and working with student-led groups like the SMU Journal and Knowledge 4 Students, a podcast owned and operated by a fellow Santamarian. SMUSA even put together a step-by-step guide that shows students how to get involved in the elections. This led to the Elections Committee’s success in filling all five vacant seats on the BOD. Sydney explained that the BOD has also been fortunate to have the informed and inclusive voices of members who identify with various religions, ethnicities, and socio-economic backgrounds because this allows policies to represent SMU’s diverse population. Overall, the former Vice Chair is proud of the Board’s ability to improve outreach efforts during the pandemic, pull together a successful election season, and reflect organizational diversity despite the many restrictions posed to student governance in the novel era of COVID-19.

On a personal level, Joshua Sydney is exceedingly proud of his professional growth and cherished experiences in this role. He stated that “SMU students have given me the license to lend my thoughts to decisions geared to impact the lives of our over 5,000 members, and this is a responsibility that I have never taken lightly”. Through performing acts of correspondence, facilitating meetings and events, and ensuring all contributions to SMUSA were made with objectivity in order to truly serve the needs of students, Sydney has acquired invaluable leadership skills and an intimate understanding of the importance of student associations and tertiary institutions in Nova Scotia.

Photo by Knowledge4Students Instagram Page

After a year in the position of Vice Chair, Sydney sends this message to his successor:

“To my successor, make the most of the opportunities that will come your way. It is crucial that you never lose sight of your responsibility to the Students of Saint Mary’s University and you should ensure that you are always acting in the best interest of not only current students, but students to come in the next ten or twenty years. Always remember that policy decisions are made with the long run in mind and you should not be deterred if the fruits of your labour are not seen immediately.”

This is not the last we’ll be seeing of Joshua Sydney, though. Following his tenure as Vice Chair of the Board, Sydney feels highly equipped to serve as the Chair/Chief Governance Officer for the 2021/22 academic year following his successful inauguration to the position in May. We hope to catch up with him soon regarding his goals for the Board and what projects they plan on pushing forward in the next academic year. For more information about the Board, Joshua Sydney can be reached directly at jsydney0405@live.com.

Keeping Up With Joshua Sydney: #ViceChairThings

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