Candidate

Roles Applied For

Why would you like to join WUSC-Vic? (max. 250 words)

Please describe any relevant past experience that you think could help you in this role. (max. 250 words)

What strengths would you bring to the team? (max. 250 words)

Optional:  Is there anything else you would like to mention? (max. 150 words)

Ashley Costa

Events Coordinator, Social Media Coordinator, Second Year Rep

This year I was a member of WUSC and it was a very rewarding experience where I was able to work with like-minded people on issues I care about. I was able to learn more about important issues facing refugee communities as well as creating events to help raise awareness among the Vic community. Victoria college is filled with many individuals who also enjoy expanding their knowledge about various issues and building a caring community. I also believe that education is highly important and enjoy the opportunity to connect with an SRP student and contribute to helping make pursuing an education easier. Overall, I enjoy getting to apply my passion for education and social justice issues, while learning more, engaging with the Vic Community, an equally passionate team and helping to make a difference by raising awareness.

Over the past year I have worked with WUSC as an events assistant meaning I have experience attending the meetings and learning about event planning, execution and recruiting new members from other members of the team. Furthermore, I was the Junior Representative for the U of T Portuguese Association. I was responsible for helping plan large events, similar to those we do in WUSC, such as our alumni gala, scholarship gala, and Portugal day parade. We also partnered with a local high school to provide university tours and presentations to mentor students to help combat low educational achievement among Portuguese youth. I am also currently the Thursday Meetings Coordinator on the executive team for the U of T debate society. I am responsible for planning and running weekly meetings as well as acting like a mentor to instruct new debaters in developing important goals. Overall, I enjoy being involved in the community around me and have experience I believe would help me in this role.

I believe I bring a lot experience in relevant roles to the table. Additionally, I am extremely passionate about WUSC’s goals. My ability to plan and organize events as well as love of public speaking would also be an asset in attempting to bring greater awareness on issues. Furthermore, I am a team player who enjoys working in teams to achieve various goals. Finally, I bring dedication to all the tasks I undertake and would similarly do this in the capacity of a WUSC exec member.  

Amar Aziz

President

To start, I’m very passionate about all the issues that WUSC aims to support and raise awareness for. I’ve had a mixed experience growing up in an immigrant family and this allows me to relate first hand to a lot of the issues highlighted in the WUSC agenda. However, I also know how fortunate I’ve been in my upbringing and am aware of the privilege I’ve had. Coming to UofT and more specifically a college like Vic that’s so diverse has helped me gain perspective on the importance of raising awareness for issues that are commonly misunderstood, unheard of, or don’t generate the sense of urgency that they should. Being a part of WUSC has allows me to pursue this more passionately but has also opened by eyes to the difficulty that comes with raising awareness. If anything, this increases my desire to fight for causes that I care about and doing so with a like-minded group of people is a very unique opportunity. Finally, from being involved with WUSC for a while now, I know how valuable the role of WUSC Vic is and I know that we should continue to try harder to raise awareness for issues of importance within the Vic community. I truly believe in the importance of the message we are trying to send, and I want to continue to work towards helping other people realize its importance as well.

I’ve been a part of the WUSC committee for the past couple of years as events coordinator and vice president. Apart from this, I have also been involved with other leadership positions at Vic including being a FLC peer mentor and the VP Internal for the Vic athletic association (VCAA). Outside of UofT, I work in communities identified as at risk to prepare and deliver programming to engage youth and discuss issues of mental health, body image, self-love, and empowerment. I also work part time at a community center with a large population of refugee youth. I interact with them regularly building trust and helping to facilitate programming that meets their needs whether that be sports, arts, video games, or something else. Overall, I have a lot of experience leading a team of people – I have successfully managed teams consisting of up to 12 people while working collaboratively towards a goal. Through this, I’ve had the chance to build my leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. Additionally, being an active member of the Vic community has allowed me to build connections and trust with staff and peers, learning about the student body, the best ways to interact with them, and also gaining valuable information about the spaces at Vic and other resources available. Finally, I am always willing to learn and enjoy working in a team setting as I believe the best ideas are built when multiple people share their individual insights and work together to create a meaningful and impactful plan.

As highlighted above, I am a natural leader and have worked to build my leadership, communication, and teamwork skills. Through my experiences, I've been able to work with people who have different communication and leadership styles - this has helped me become a better leader. Additionally, from my experiences in leadership positions at Vic, I've built connections and relationships as well as gathered resources that would be valuable to the WUSC Vic team. I've been a part of WUSC in the past, most recently as the Vice President, so I understand the commitment involved as well as the goals of the committee. I'm friendly and approachable and will definitely be looking to integrate lots of input from all members of the WUSC Vic team in all decision making. Additionally, I'm very organized and efficient at task management as I've had time and experience to build these skills - this will help me effectively lead our WUSC committee. Finally, being part of the WUSC committee and other levies at Vic this year, I've learned a lot about how quickly plans can change and the importance of being able to adapt to budget changes and even larger events like COVID-19. I am aware of the uncertainties we are facing starting to plan next year, and I am confident in my ability to work with our team to move forward and continue to support the goals of WUSC Vic in a meaningful way.

I'd like to give a shout out to all the committee members this year - it was certainly a crazy year from the start and is still very crazy, but I have been so impressed with everyone's dedication to the committee and our mission. Working with such passionate people has really helped me to feel confident in what WUSC Vic wants to accomplish and it encourages me to be surrounded by such inspiring people.

Falak Navez

President, Vice President, Events Coordinator

My answer for all roles applied to:

I love WUSC-Vic because it's a levy that aims to raise awareness about refugee issues and women's right to education. Often these people and youth are pushed to the side because they're not directly impacting our own society but this levy breaks that notion. I have and want to continue to be able to help the students we sponsor integrate into Canadian society and culture. Furthermore, the awareness this levy raises is something I would like to continue to improve and be part of. This past year and a half have helped solidify my knowledge about this levy and its operations. So, going forward I am well equipped to focus on improving our events and social media pages more than maintaning them.

Being part of a small group of students that bring a variety of things to the table has been amazing. Everyone part of this levy tries their best to pitch in during the creation of events and support each other when times get tough. I don't think that's something you find in a lot of clubs especially ones that focus on serious issues. Every semester, I learn a lot about event planning, social media presence and teamwork. I've seen WUSC-Vic with two presidents and with one. All in all I would like to continue being part of WUSC-Vic because I see it as an integral part of my life at UofT. Being given this opportunity would mean the world to me.

My answer applies to all roles applied:

I have been part of WUSC-Vic as social media assistant and coordinator for three semesters. This has taught me everything about how to communicate with our mailing lists through newsletters and social media pages. I know how to make posters for our campaigns, book rooms, everything to do with event creation and ways to raise awareness. All in all, my experience has provided me with great knowledge about our operations as a levy. Using everything I've learned, my ability to improve our operations is high. So, going forward I want to improve this levies ability to raise awareness, support SRP students and create events. My goal would be improvement instead of maintenance because I have already learnt the way we operate.

In high school, I was the president of my student council. It was not the biggest of schools but the position still held a lot of responsibility. I got credit for both completion and the incompletion of tasks. Being in this role taught me just how important and stressful a leadership position is. Often if anything goes wrong you're the only one to blame. It doesn't matter if someone assigned a task doesn't complete it. You failed to hold them accountable and get in trouble for allowing their mistakes to occur. This position taught me the importance of accountability, communication and keeping track of the smallest of tasks. It taught me that a leadership position is far from a joke. It can truly get stressful when your group suffers for your mistakes or you suffer for not being assertive enough. A leaders most important role is to ensure tasks get completed through team work. It is not to take on everyone's work when students fail to do their jobs without proper reasonings. A team is something that needs to be strong and I strive to strengthen the bond that WUSC-Vic committee members hold. A great deal of trust between members ensures that everyone is honest with their ability to complete tasks and able to ask for help when necessary. Even though high school was 2 years away, I believe this experience prepared me well for a leadership position at WUSC-Vic or anywhere else.

My answer for all roles applied to:

I have a great deal of knowledge of how this levy operates due to my experience spanning three semesters. This makes me a great candidate for a leadership position because I am able to teach new members the way we operate and ensure all vital tasks are completed successfully. My greatest leadership quality is my ability to always be compassionate. I am an incredibly supportive and understanding person. Helping students push through busy or hard times during a semester is something I strive to be great at. I have always reminded others about their tasks or offered to take on some of their workload. My ability to ensure everyone is on track with various parts of creating events, event promotions and postermaking is another great skill. I never forget tasks that need to be done and always try my best to help where I can even during emergencies. Working as part of such a dynamic and amazing team is another thing I am great at. I find myself comfortable voicing concerns, asking questions and communicating with everyone. Truthfully, I am a seemingly quiet person but whenever I disagree with an idea, opinion or task. I am clear in voicing my disagreement. I never keep my concerns buried because of how it can negatively impact a group environment. This is something I also try to ensure is present in our group dynamic. The happiness, comfort and agreement of every single member is something I find crucial in the performance of all our operations.

Lastly, my love for the cause that WUSC-Vic supports is another wonderful strength of mine. I truly want people to know about the impact that being a refugee has on girl's right to education and it's indirect effect on boys. I have been through some incredibly low points growing up. I understand how it feels to be the least of societies concerns. So, I deeply want to make it better for all the people I can help. I want them to feel the value they deserve as human beings. Even if only a little bit of the awareness I help raise can help. It would make me really happy.

If given the opportunity to continue being part of WUSC, I will ensure things never stop improving and everyone sees this as an amazing and educational time part of their undergraduate careers. Thank you for your time. Hope everyone reading is safe and well.

Charul Anu Narain

Vice President, Social Media Coordinator, SRP Rep

By receiving this position, I can contribute to a cause that is essential in the growth and development of youth around me and be a part of a movement that helps with the betterment of the community on a local and global level. With the efforts of this club, I will get the opportunity to further my passion for helping youth and create a community that is united and has resources when youth are in need. In addition to this, I have been involved in organizing events with WUSC and love that the club is working alongside fellow non-profit organizations to create an impact on a bigger scale.

One of my greatest passions is helping others and giving back to the community, on a local and global scale. As I grew older, I was able to further this by volunteering at a women’s shelter near New Delhi, India, where I was able to teach young women essential life skills such as furthering their computer skills and also providing them sanitary supplies. These opportunities have enabled me to volunteer at places like the Yellow Brick House and Toy Bank, organizations which help to better the lives of members of their community. In both cases, I helped raise awareness about each of the issues that the respective organizations focused to improve. I would use my passion and experience for the betterment of WUSC at Victoria College.

Having been a member of WUSC last year, I have been able to get a chance to understand the logistics behind the club. As a 2nd year rep, my role was to help out in all roles and thus know respective responsibilities. From making posters to helping plan events, I have helped WUSC members and have experience in various elements that are crucial to the club. By going to the Toronto Regional Meeting, I have a deep understanding of the purpose of WUSC and know the efforts of fellow WUSC chapters. In addition to this, I also a good relationship with these chapters which will be essential when organizing GTA-wide events.

My time as the head of the local volunteering at UTSG MedLife has given me insight in contacting and creating events that are Toronto wide. I have worked with local food shelters to organize a UofT wide sandwich care-kit workshop which made sandwiches for the homeless. In addition to this, I was a Transition Mentor and worked alongside first years to help get them accustomed to university life. In all my roles, I helped foster a positive environment that encouraged and appreciated youth empowerment. I believe that my prior roles have provided me with a multifaceted approach to working and handling issues which are critical when being an executive on WUSC, especially for the roles of Vice President, Social Media Coordinator, and SRP Representative.

As an executive on WUSC, I want to offer my time, dedication, and effort to all events. I believe that to be a successful WUSC executive, one must be organized and have excellent problem-solving and cooperation skills. Seeing as the position of Vice President is multifaceted and involves one to help out in several different types of tasks, I believe that I am equipped for this from my prior experiences. For second year, I was a part of UTSG MedLife as the Head of Local Volunteer as well as a Transition Mentor. Through my executive positions in both clubs, I worked alongside my peers to organize and lead events such as Weekly First-Year Seminars, Bubble Tea fundraisers, and Youth Kitchen Helpers.

At MedLife, I worked with over 40+ community organizations in Toronto and helped oversee and manage events such as Sandwich Care-Kits, where I contacted businesses from around the community for food donations as well worked with clubs from around UofT to help create the sandwiches.

In addition to this, I have conducted weekly meetings where I listened and provided support to first year students who are struggling with transitioning into university life. Understanding the problems someone has and providing them with accommodating solutions is an essential part of being a leader, a skill that is critical for the position of Vice President and a skill that I prioritize.

As Vice President,

I would like to have more awareness events to inform the Victoria College community about our initiatives. To kickstart this, I will help showcase WUSC during orientation events and have monthly bake sales, an event that I believe is easy, convient, and successfully engages students.

I would also like to have fund raising events such as raffles. This will help increase our funds as we will be reaching a wider audience which we can then use to help with bigger awareness events and also to provide resources to the SRP student.

Lastly, I would like to work alongside fellow WUSC groups around UofT and GTA to have volunteer events and charity walks to further emphasis the efforts of WUSC. By involving other university groups, we would be able to create a bigger impact and through this increase awareness about WUSC initiatives which is the ultimate goal.

Hasaan Sobaan

SRP Rep

I would like to join WUSC-Vic again next year because I would like to continue to be a part of such an amazing organization that has had such a profound impact on the lives of so many people. Over the past two years, I have been able to learn so much about some of the fantastic initiatives that WUSC and its associated organizations coordinate around the world, supporting things from refugee education to promoting sustainable and equitable development, and I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to once again be a part of the local committee and realize some of those initiatives here at Vic.

Additionally, as someone who has had the privilege of being a part of the Vic community for the past three years and has come to think of Vic as a second home, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to help and spread some of the incredible warmth and inclusiveness that define the Vic spirit to the students that WUSC sponsors.

I have also been able to learn more working in different roles on the team, as both events coordinator and president, and have come to realize that my real passion lies in working with people directly and helping them to achieve their potential by providing the with a supportive and welcoming environment.

Over the past two years, I have had the incredible honour and privilege of being a part of WUSC-Vic, as the Events Coordinator in my second year and as President this past year, and through this have had the ability to become well-acquainted with WUSC, its objectives, and its operations. Additionally, it has been an incomparable opportunity to learn so much about what it means to work as part of a well-knit team and to help support others in accomplishing the team’s overall goals.

Additionally, in my role as a don this past year, I have had the incredible opportunity to learn an immense wealth more about how to work with and support others, and create an inclusive and welcoming environment to help acquaint incoming students with various aspects of our wonderful college!

Some of the strengths that I would bring to the team would be my abilities to work cooperatively and collaboratively, my ability to organize and execute different events, and my ability to manage my time and priorities to ensure that all tasks are completed in a timely and responsible manner.

I have demonstrated these skills over the past two years in my various roles and their accompanying responsibilities, for example, as president and as a don this year, I learned a great deal about managing and supporting a team, and working with people individually to help them achieve their goals and develop their strengths while also working towards realizing some of the larger goals that had been set this year. Managing these two high-involvement roles with a full course load has also helped me to develop time management skills that allow me to work accordingly with the demands of each role and ensure that all tasks are still being accomplished.