First-year students and dons will take to the polls to choose the Residence Society’s (ResSoc) next executive team this week.
Kat Krivokapic, Allen Wu, Jana Amer, Harini Suntharalingam, and Grace Cao are the five candidates running for executive positions, with voting opening Feb. 1. The position of vice-president (society operations) is uncontested this election season.
Grace Cao
Grace Cao, HealthSci ’25, is running for vice-president (society operations). For the last two years, Cao held roles in ResSoc’s student operations wing.
As a former House President and Human Resources Coordinator, Cao built her campaign pillars on professional development, communication, and mentorship.
“I want students to feel they have the tools for successful career opportunities,” Cao said in an interview with The Journal.
As part of her professional development initiatives, Cao hopes to provide opportunities for students to prepare for interviews or get guidance for creating LinkedIn accounts. Cao wants to bring coffee chats and mentorship pairings between first-year students and upper-years to ResSoc.
A core part of Cao’s campaign hinges on ensuring the society has a greater campus presence at in-person booths, and through emailed newsletters. Cao hopes to create more feedback loops regarding services such as residence facilities, dining experiences, and cultural representation and inclusivity.
Jana Amer
Saying the position is a chance to do good, Jana Amer, HealthSci ’26, is running for vice-president (residence operations). Amer told The Journal her campaign pillars are unity, support, and integrity.
Amer would like to see ResSoc reach its full potential and build on its many present-day operations.
In the past Amer was a house president for ResSoc, serving as a peer mentor and volunteering for student academic success services (SASS). Amer is a house president again this year, although is currently on leave from her position.
Speaking from her personal experience as a house president for ResSoc, one of her key policies includes providing more support for house presidents in ResSoc. She intends to build mental health initiatives for more students at the Residence Society.
Haarini Suntharalingam
Running for the residence operations portfolio, Haarini Suntharalingam, Health Sci ’26, is leveraging her experience as Chown Hall’s house president, where she played an active role in residence events.
“I really want to create that home away from home experience in residence,” Suntharalingam said in an interview with The Journal.
The pillars of Suntharalingam’s campaign include diversity, inclusivity, and networking opportunities. Suntharalingam hopes to build more equity and inclusion focused initiatives and culture-specific events in residence to include students from various cultural backgrounds in ResSoc.
For networking, she wants to create more mentorship and networking events to connect first-year students with Don’s and upper-year students in the same academic programs.
Tags
Elections2024, president, residence society, ResSoc, Vice-President
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