The New SMUSA Team
Written by Asia Outten — @asiaoutten
Photo by SMUSA
This article was updated on June 18, 2020.
With a new school year quickly approaching comes a refreshing SMUSA team whose goals are primarily focused on the drastic change in our new academic climate. The members of the new SMUSA team have the drive, vision and enthusiasm for the new academic school year and high goals to improve student life and student living.
I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the future leaders of our student government body. These online interviews shed light on the goals that SMUSA has for the upcoming term, especially amidst COVID-19.
From left to right: President of SMUSA: Bryn de Chastelain, VP External: Samantha Graham (1st row), VP Academic: Abigayle Winters, Director of Events: Travis Evans (2nd row), Director of Marketing/Communications: Kevin Mullen, Director of Societies/Engagement: Salma Maisha (3rd row)
Firstly, the new President of SMUSA, Bryn de Chastelain, honestly admitted that his goals had changed substantially since entering the reality created by COVID-19. Mainly, Bryn’s goal is ensuring that students have access to quality education and experience without a tremendous financial burden. To do this, Bryn will be more creative and innovative this year in his approach. The most significant focus the SMUSA team has right now regarding COVID-19 is adding value to the student experience by continuing to advocate for financial support and effective education, even if the education happens to be online.
Also, the SMUSA President stated the importance of having the opportunity to “reshape what student life looks like at SMU when we come out of this period of physical distancing and isolation.” His objective is to make sure that students feel like they are a part of SMUSA’s processes and the SMU community. As a result, students can be on the lookout for increased volunteering and engagement opportunities within SMUSA and more involvement in decision making.
Despite trying to prepare for the situation, Bryn’s approach may undergo some changes due to the uncertainties that come with COVID-19. “It’s too early to tell what the biggest issues of the year are going to be, but [I am] committed to ensuring that SMUSA will be transparent and approachable so that students have a voice in determining the new reality for life at SMU.”
Next, Director of Marketing and Communications, Kevin Mullen, shared his goals for the upcoming term. Firstly, he would like to strengthen SMUSA’s brand and reputation on campus. Secondly, he aims to highlight the new supports available to students at Saint Mary’s University. Thirdly, Kevin wants to improve SMUSA’s digital presence on social media to be more accessible to students, especially in this unique time. Last but not least, he plans to direct his efforts toward enhancing current and creating new communication and feedback mechanisms to reach students. In doing so, he anticipates promoting and bettering inclusivity and hearing from students on the issues they care about most.
Also contributing to SMUSA’s goals and wanting to serve students the best way he can, the Director of Events, Travis Evans, provided some insight on how he expects to manage events this upcoming term. Travis plans to help the students of SMU by offering events that are safe and engaging, both academically and recreationally. He would also like to provide students with more opportunities to interact with the broader Nova Scotian community so that they can learn more about what the province has to offer and improve community engagement and support. Also, Travis aspires to implement and highlight more diverse cultural events that would allow students to learn about and appreciate different cultures.
Next, Salma Maisha, Director of Societies and Engagement, is a third-year undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce student from Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her interests center around social entrepreneurship and development, and, in the future, she plans to have a career in this field.
Salma shared with us that “[she] [has] been involved with various student societies on campus and feel[s] very passionately about enhancing student life for [her]self and peers.” In the past, she has been the President of the Bangladeshi Student’s Society, a Project Manager for Square Roots Token Program, and a member of the SAGA team a year ago, to name a few of her involvements. Salma is particularly passionate about student affairs and engagement. As an active member of numerous societies, she recognizes a gap between SMUSA and student societies, which she aims to bridge. Her target goal is to enhance student engagement efforts through socially and culturally inclusive means. She hopes to be accessible in all of her planning, and approachable.
Also, Abigayle Winters, Vice President Academic, is transparent about her goals. “I really want to bring in the students’ voice in what I advocate for, different perspectives and opinions are really important to me,” said Abigayle. Her aims include making the Academic Integrity process fairer for students and having more comprehensive preventative plagiarism resources available to students. She also plans to work on improving communication between faculties and students, providing all students more opportunity to have their voices heard, and make more opportunities available for students to prepare for graduate studies.
Finally, Samantha Graham, Vice President External, is “very excited about this year and the opportunity to advocate for students during a very unprecedented time.” Her key areas of focus this year are increasing student engagement both on and off-campus; increasing SMUSA’s connections with government officials at all levels of government; advocating for Open Educational Resources for students; creating changes to and improving the Saint Mary’s University Sexual Violence Policy; and supporting all students the best way she can, especially through Covid-19.
The SMU Journal would like to wish the new SMUSA team luck in their endeavours and assure you that we will cover their development as the school year goes on.
We would also like to, once again, congratulate the new members of the team: Bryn de Chastelain, President of SMUSA; Abigayle Winters, VP Academic; Samantha Graham, VP External; Salma Maisha, Director of Societies/Engagement; Travis Evans, Director of Events; and Kevin Mullen, Director of Marketing/Communications.
If you would like to learn more about the new SMUSA team and their goals, you can visit SMUSA’s website or contact any of the members listed above via their SMUSA emails.