Meet your 2018-19 CSU Board of Directors
The Courier asked the CSU’s new board of directors to tell us what they’re most looking forward to in the upcoming year and the main thing they would like to accomplish in their positions. Here’s what they had to say…
Dilnavaz (Dylan) Dhillon // Vice President Finance and Services
I look forward to starting my role as Vice President of Finance and Services for the CSU. The one thing that I really hope to achieve is to engage as many students as possible. I plan to have more students involved with the CSU and in student associations at Capilano University. I hope to learn from current President and VP of Finance and Services of the CSU – Mr. Perry Safari, and do my best at the job.
Anna Rempel // Vice President Equity and Sustainability
I would like to thank all of the students who took the time to go out and vote in this election and participate in their democracy. Your voices matter and I am eager to listen to what you all have to say. I hope to see significant strides in our representation of traditionally marginalized groups on campus in the next year through increased awareness events and greater initiatives to address the concerns of these groups and bring about positive change. We as students have a huge amount of power to make a difference in increasing access to education and I cannot wait to get started! I am so grateful to have been given the chance to serve the Capilano Students’ Union membership for another year and I thank you all for your support.
Yats Palat // Vice President Student Life
I was very pleased with the way last year went. We made an impact and created a lot of change. Those moments when new students came up to me and hugged me for helping them make new friends through fun events were priceless. This year, however, we have to take a bigger step up – working on constant engagement year-round. My focus this year is going to be on the more frequent, smaller events that may not have large attendance numbers, but that provide constant student engagement throughout the year. I want to ensure that gradually, day by day, there’s something more important that students want to come to CAP for other than just their credits…and that something is Student Life.
Noah Berson // Vice President External
Did not submit a statement in time for publication.
Joshua Millard // Vice President Academic
First of all, I would like to thank the students of Capilano University for giving me this opportunity. Serving as Vice President Academic with the Capilano Students Union is an exciting step for me and I am thrilled to begin working with a new team. There is a lot of work to do in the upcoming year, but the most important aspect of this role is going to be our relationship with students. It is absolutely necessary that students feel comfortable reaching out to their union representatives at any time. Additionally, we have made great progress in faculty and administrator relations, but more can be done. There are still many barriers between students and their access to education and I plan to keep our partnership with the University productive and thriving to ensure they are addressed. Students must feel safe and empowered during their time at Capilano University. Anything else is unacceptable.
Andrew Dillman // Accessibility Justice Coordinator
The number one thing I’m hoping to accomplish this term would be securing a space for the Accessibility Justice Collective on campus. I look forward to working with the University and with students in coming up with a creative solution to address this issue. I’m also excited about creating more opportunities for students in the collective to meet through increasing the number of events and meetings. Doubling the amount of therapy dog visits by providing a second de-stress week during midterms is also something I would like to see happen. It’s also important that I continue to provide guidance for the University on how we can expand the amount of services and classes that address access needs for the purposes of striving to become a leader in postsecondary accessibility.
Harsha Sharma // International Students Liaison
I have served at the CIE as a mentor to new international students for a year now, and have touched base with quite a lot of international students. In this past year that I’ve been at Cap, I have learnt the struggles, the issues, the expectations and the questions that an international student has at the University. We do, for sure, need a lot of changes to the international student life in terms of curriculum and events. I have a huge event in mind, which is an educational simulation of the UN. I am also planning to propose the unique idea of an open fest on campus, organized by the students, hence providing opportunities to connect, socialize, showcase talent and popularize CAP. I see these two events as really good opportunities to make international students integrate with the domestic culture and vice versa. As soon as I get inducted, I will begin trying to get the word out as much as I possibly can. I am very excited to start my journey with the CSU and its super enthusiastic members. I’m looking forward to learning!
Matthew McLean // Sunshine Coast Campus Representative
I am excited to take on the role of the Sunshine Coast Representative for the CSU. It has been a long time since our little campus has had proper representation. We have a lot of differences from the North Vancouver campus that I hope to highlight, but I also want to bring us together around issues that affect all Capilano students. I hope to bring a new perspective to the CSU. I served on a student union board of directors at my previous university, and I think there are a lot of similarities that we can draw from that will benefit all Capilano University students.
Michaela Volpe // Queer Students Liaison
Did not submit a statement in time for publication.
Vanessa Lewis // First Nations Student Liaison
Did not submit a statement in time for publication.
Joey Sidhu // Business and Professional Studies Faculty Representative
Thank you to everyone who voted in the 2018 CSU general election! I could not be more thrilled to bring forward the interest of all my fellow business, communications and legal studies students in the coming year. You can find me around campus if you’d like to know more about me, or the initiatives I have planned. I’m looking forward to an exciting year!
Tessa Johns // Education, Health and Human Development Faculty Representative
As the Education, Health, and Human Development Faculty Representative, I hope to make myself available to connect with my peers. I want students in my faculty – and any faculty – to know that their voice is important and that they can influence change. I would encourage students to reflect on their educational experience at Capilano University. If questions or concerns arise they can contact me. I hope to do my part to inform the board about the experiences of students in the faculty I represent.