Hi OUSA!
I am Alyssa Hall (she/her), and I am so excited to be joining OUSA officially as a Steering Committee Member for the 2023/2024 academic school year.
My work with OUSA started in 2022, where I attended the annual Fall General Assembly meeting as a delegate for the Brock University Students Union (BUSU). Since then, I have authored an OUSA policy paper, attended OUSA’s Student Advocacy Conference, and participated as a BUSU delegate at the following OUSA’s Spring General Assembly. It was because of these experiences that I decided to apply for and accept the position of Vice-President of External Affairs for BUSU, a pathway that led to my appointment to OUSA’s Steering Committee.
I have graduated from Brock University with a combined major bachelor’s degree (honours) in Women’s and Gender Studies and Political Science. After my year in the position of Vice-President of External Affairs at BUSU has finished, I will once again return to Brock to complete my master's in Political Science with a concentration in Canadian Politics. I believe that my undergraduate degree provided me with the perfect foundations to inform my advocacy work, while OUSA provides me along with other student leaders, a platform to make sure that our voices, and the voices, needs, and concerns of students across Ontario post-secondary institutions, are being heard by our provincial government representatives.
Although there are multiple issues affecting the availability and accessibility of post-secondary education in Ontario that are important to address, the specific interests and passions that inform my advocacy work focus on the affordability of post-secondary education, the eradication of gender-based sexual violence on university campuses, proper mental health supports and services for students, and the creation of equitable and inclusive learning environments that recognize the unique needs of all students.
I am very excited to get started working with OUSA Home Office staff and the rest of the Steering Committee this year! And I cannot wait to see where this portion of my advocacy journey takes me!