Hey Everyone,
It is amazing to think that we are already in the month of March and that our year will be wrapping up shortly. We at OUSA really look forward to the next couple months as SC approaches its final time with the organization and we begin to start transition. I know speaking from my role as OUSA President that it is going to be a difficult goodbye but I also look forward to the amazing things the incoming team will do.
We are also going through some staffing changes at OUSA. We recently hired Deborah Lam as our new Operations Director and I am so happy to welcome her to the team. I also want to thank Deb for all of the hard work that she put into the planning and logistics for our General Assembly (GA). We also are currently hiring for our summer intern which is a paid research position for an OUSA student! If interested, make sure you check out the website and apply.
Speaking of GA, our delegates just finished a busy weekend at Queen’s University in Kingston. We were very pleased with the outcome and I am happy to say that our papers on A Comprehensive Access Strategy, International Students and Education, and Housing, Transit, and Community Development will now be added to the OUSA policy library. I want to give a huge shout out to all the student authors and a special thank you to Carolyn Thompson and Leah Brockie for their planning and hosting of us all last weekend. GA was also a wonderful time for everyone to see old friends, make new ones, and reflect on the year of success that we have seen within the post-secondary education sector this year. Personally, I am really happy to see the addition of our Housing, Transit, and Community Development paper as we understand the issues which face students when it comes to affordable housing, difficulty commuting within a municipality, and ways to engage civically. This paper is brand new to OUSA and I will be excited to watch the impact it will have for our students.
Recently, OUSA released its results from our bi-annual survey, the Ontario Post-Secondary Student Survey. This data will help guide the direction of policy and advocacy for the organization over the next couple of years and I am confident that it will have drastic changes in the experience of students on campuses in Ontario.
Finally, as the year is approaching an end, we will be having our annual Partners in Higher Education Dinner at the One King West in Toronto. I think I speak on behalf of all of SC that this is one of our favourite events of the year and we are greatly looking forward to having a wonderful celebration of our year, reflect on achievements and challenges, and look towards the future. This is also an incredible opportunity for the incoming SC and student leaders to have some new interactions with our elected MPPs which will prove to be incredibly important as they begin their year in office.
As always, don’t forget to follow OUSA on all our social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn!!!
Looking forward to the next two months together.
Stay OUSAwesome,
Jamie Cleary
OUSA President
@jcleary19