As the Summer 2024 Communications and Advocacy Intern, I had the opportunity to develop and conduct a capstone project during my time at OUSA over the past few months. I was conflicted about where I wanted to go, what my intentions were, and what would make me feel fulfilled. After much deliberation and conversations with the Manager of Operations and Communications, Tiffany Li Wu, I decided to create and host OUSA’s first-ever virtual Open House!
This feeling of being overwhelmed is not unique to me; many students experience similar emotions when trying to get involved but not knowing how. Overcoming the anxiety and fear of joining new things can be a significant hurdle, yet these students deserve to be heard. My intention with OUSA’s Open House was to create an accessible and introductory event to help students get involved not only with student government but with OUSA! I truly believe that if I had the opportunity to attend such an event, I would have been more likely to get involved in student government. I am glad to have provided that opportunity to other students across the province!
As a recent McMaster graduate, my journey never directly involved participating in our student government, the McMaster Students Union. Since I started my degree in 2020, the online aspect of schooling made it difficult to stay in the loop and get involved in many things. Consequently, student government was something I never engaged with during my time at McMaster, although I was heavily engaged with clubs across my time there. I believe the online format played a major role in this, but I also think a lot of my skepticism stemmed from the lack of introductory information and the overwhelming nature of student government, frankly, was daunting to me.
The event took place on Wednesday, August 14th, and was held for an hour on Zoom. My goal was to market the event as widely as possible to reach the most students it can, and translate that into a detailed marketing plan to extend exposure to all ends of post-secondary education institutions. Throughout main feed posts, story sign up reminders, and a reel, I was able to gain a considerable amount of sign ups that reaffirmed my gut instinct that students want to attend these types of events. I was also privileged to have participating Steering Committee members take over the OUSA Instagram account the week prior to the event! Although they could not participate on event day, shout out to both the Vice President at the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association, Arya Razmjoo, (and OUSA’s VP Finance!) and the VP External Affairs at the Western University Students’ Council, Michelle Wodchis-Johnson (and OUSA’s President!) for conducting amazing story takeovers! The takeovers garnered so much visibility and attentiveness to the event, and was very effective in sign up reminders. My intentions with the takeovers was to display how this was an event made by a student, hosted and moderated by students, and for students. Having friendly and familiar faces behind our account was nice to draw in the sign ups of specific schools, and getting groups of friends to sign up! I wanted it to be something people were excited about attending and participating in, and I was fortunate to find a great group of students to join the effort.
I had the privilege of assembling a small panel of moderators to help ensure the event's success. Joining me were:
- OUSA's Communications and Operations Manager, Tiffany Li Wu
- OUSA’s Summer Research Intern Khoi Luu
- McMaster Student Union’s VP Education (and OUSA’s VP Admin & HR) Maya Hobbs
- Queen’s Alma Mater Society’s VP University Affairs Ruth Osunde
- Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union’s VP Government & Stakeholder Relations Brodie Norwich
- Laurentian’s Students’ General Association’s VP Education Staysha Kasunich
They all did an amazing job engaging with students and sharing their insights on their experiences and current careers in student government. I am very grateful to have had them with me, and for their unwavering support during the marketing and execution of the event. Their discussions and engagement with students in regard to student financial aid was a testament to their passion for student government—they all rock!
Take a look at our post-event debrief selfie:
The event focused on a student advocacy brainstorming session and an open floor for students to ask questions of student government representatives and OUSA’s HO staff. I modeled this after OUSA’s StratCon, where SC members brainstormed their advocacy priorities for the upcoming year. Their energy was infectious and inviting, and I knew students would also love to participate, collaborate with like-minded individuals, and gain new perspectives.
We had an amazing discussion with some incredibly bright students about student financial aid. Their insights and recommendations were impressive, reflecting their deep understanding of the issues and the thoughtful craftsmanship of their suggestions. Many students highlighted the lack of inclusivity in OSAP’s application process, noting how it affects family dynamics, imposes administrative and compliance burdens on students and their families, and lacks adequate human support for the complex application process, which is not inclusive of all student types. Currency fluctuations were another concern, particularly for international students who face challenges with payment plans that accommodate currency changes. Scholarship navigation was also a significant issue, with many students expressing frustration over the lack of transparency and the absence of a centralized resource to capture the requirements for various scholarships. In terms of recommendations, students proposed several ideas, such as creating more flexible OSAP support lines to adapt to student circumstances, developing a provincial scholarship navigation tool to consolidate information from various platforms, and adopting a more inclusive and intersectional approach to student financial aid. This would address diverse financial situations, family dynamics, accessibility for students with disabilities, and more.
Below are all the student participant ideas presented on a poster of their brainstorming on current issues and their recommendations for addressing them. It was inspiring to see student experiences and advocacy come together in such an engaging way!
Take a look:
After the brainstorming session, we transitioned to the Q&A portion. It was a great opportunity for students to ask any questions they had about student government and OUSA, and our HO and SC members were able to give their best advice and insight into their experiences into student governemnt and OUSA! Seeing eager students get involved in both student advocacy and OUSA was truly a heartwarming experience and makes me so excited for OUSA in the upcoming school year!
This event was fulfilling in multiple ways and provided a great opportunity to combine my love for communications and advocacy into something that I was scared to have started, but couldn’t have been more happy and proud of the result. I am especially grateful to Tiffany, who fully supported my ideas and vision and made me feel confident in pursuing the event in all aspects. Tiffany also played a crucial role in my introduction to OUSA by sharing my blog, “Does Every Political Science Student Go Down the Pre-Law Drain?” in January, where she worked with me to create a piece that I still get comments about its relevance today. Although that blog piece is not even a year old, I feel that I have a more shaped realization of what my working aspirations could be, as well as a greater sense of self now being post-grad. Working with her during this internship is something I will never forget; I learned so much from her and she is THE communications and operations powerhouse. My time in this internship has been rewarding in many ways, and OUSA will always hold a special place in my heart, as does student advocacy. Shout out to all the OUSA Home Office members—Malika, Abi, Octavia, Tiffany, Khoi, and Sophia—for making this summer amazing with such a cool and supportive team!
To all who attended and supported the event, I am full of gratitude and happiness for how it turned out. I am thrilled to have connected with so many students across the province. May OUSA’s Open House live on?
