My name is Roch Goulet and I am the President of the Laurentian University Students’ General Association. For some who may not know, we are the newest OUSA member school, the most northern, and second smallest by demographic. With these qualities in our back pocket, I am honoured to provide that perspective as a Steering Committee member. As we near the end of our summer and welcome students to our campus, I am thankful to OUSA SC and home office staff for their guidance over my transition and the first quarter of my term.
If you struggled with my name’s pronunciation, it’s simply better to just imagine it ending with a “K”. It is however a common northern-ish French name. With that said, I am a bilingual 4th year Psychology and Concurrent education student at Laurentian University. My interest in student government started in high school as I got involved in Council and as a student trustee in 2012-2013. For my first 3 years at Laurentian, I have only participated with club governance. It was only until last year that felt up for the challenge of running as President to address the fundamental issues on our campus. From my position, I have access to the necessary resources to implement my vision, and through another stream with OUSA, I am able to better advocate for issues specific to northern students.
My first experience with OUSA was at the Spring 2017 General Assembly at Queen’s University. I was in awe and truly impressed with the organization of the event and the quality of debate between students. I cannot wait until Spring 2018 General Assembly as I get to welcome OUSA delegates to my home, Laurentian University in Sudbury. It’ll be cold, so bring your boots and your coats as it’ll be a true demonstration of northern post-secondary institution.
As President, my priorities for the year heavily surround engagement. Without that involvement, creating campus culture, effective student government, and empowering marginalized communities becomes very challenging. As complimentary priorities to engagement, I have also highlighted experiential learning and community development.
Thank you to OUSA’s Steering Committee, home office, and alumni, who have all been instrumental to my growth in my role here on campus. As a fellow student who is now is well aware of OUSA’s history and success with improving students’ university experiences, I’m excited to be a part of steering committee and to achieve continued successes for all Ontario undergraduates.