Queen’s engineering students head to the polls next week to elect their new Engineering Society (EngSoc) executives.
Running uncontested are Aidan Shimizu for EngSoc president, Monique Wun for vice-president finance and administration (VPFA), and Sophia Thurston for vice-president (student affairs).
President
Aidan Shimizu, Sci ’23, is running uncontested to be EngSoc President for the 2023-24 academic year.
One of the first interactions engineering students have when coming to Queen’s is with EngSoc, and Shimizu recognizes the importance using EngSoc to engage the community.
“This is a role [where] I can make those changes for the better that can change [EngSoc] and its direction,” Shimizu said in an interview with The Journal.
Shimizu’s platform is four central pillars: accelerate involvement and maximize retention, effective academic advocacy, evaluate and optimize the structure of EngSoc, and inspire innovation.
“There’s so many opportunities for professional development,” Shimizu said. “There’s so many ways that students can advance themselves outside of the classroom.”
When addressing why he does not have a pillar for EDII, Shimizu said EDII is encoded across all his pillars and wants consideration for marginalized communities to be the default and at the forefront when considering his platform.
Much of Shimizu’s platform centers around being present and accessible to his constituents. He outlines a mechanism of accountability which involves him being able to have open and honest communications with individuals in and outside of EngSoc.
Shimizu has held multiple leadership roles in EngSoc starting in his first year, as a project coordinator, year representatives in second and third year, and the Apple math president.
He has also been involved in the Fix’n’clean, which involved coordination of other charity events. Shimizu continues to fulfill roles within EngSoc and maintain a healthy presence, with lots of experience to back his candidacy, he said.
Focused on connecting with as many people as he can, Shimizu is looking to form relationships within the constituency.
“One of my main goals is to really get to know the student body [and] creat[e] an environment where anyone can come up and talk to me.”
Shimizu wants to work on the relationships with other faculty societies and student governments alike to create a culture where EngSoc is comfortable and accessible for anyone.
Vice President (Finance and Administration)
The VPFA is a new position this year, taking on works that was previously done by the Vice President of Operations (VPOP). Monique Wun, Sci ’25, is running uncontested.
With a new position, Wun hopes to remove some of the pressure on the back end of EngSoc, so some of the more front-facing services have the time to focus on rehabilitating student engagement following noticeable lows post-COVID-19.
“Involvement has been an issue and there has been a disparity in amount of people, per year, being involved,” Wun said in an interview with The Journal. “There’s a lot more opportunity to spur interest and involvement in all parts of [EngSoc].”
Wun is looking forward to being a part of increasing student engagement within the Engineering faculty and increase opportunities for students in Engineering to make money while still being able to dedicate time to their academics.
“The internal finance system needs a revamp and needs to be a little more sustainable. [It is] currently not a system that will carry [EngSoc] on for multiple years,” Wun said.
Identifying the weak spot in the financial background of EngSoc, Wun is passionate about spearheading the revamp of EngSoc financials, which will better the structure and increase opportunities for students to become involved with EngSoc.
When outlining daily tasks, Wun described meeting with financial officers twice a week to go over purchases, reimbursement, and lining up the books. She will also work with external financial bodies to ensure the financial stability of EngSoc.
With previous experiences within EngSoc and services such as working for The Tea Room as a barista, Wun is confident she will hit the ground running in this role and readjust as necessary should she come into issues while implementing this new executive position.
Wun is grateful for the opportunity to get involved and is excited about the year to come.
Vice President (Student Affairs)
Computer engineering student Sophia Thurston, Sci ’25, wants to get further involved with EngSoc for the community building aspect. She said speaking to current Vice President (Student Affairs) Ali Bekheet solidified her “why,” and desire to create a meaningful impact on campus.
Over the summer, Thurston worked a retail position, and was quickly promoted to a managerial role. She has been involved with high level fundraising for a music program in high school. Thurston oversaw close to 100 students and a budget in that role.
She is excited about the possibility of making events accessible to all Engineering students.
“Trying to spread out events and getting more people to go with busy Engineering schedules is important. Gearing the events towards what students would like to see,” Thurston said in an interview with The Journal.
Shifting the spotlight to diversity-based groups in engineering has been a large part of the vice president (student affairs) portfolio this year, according to Thurston. Her hope is to continue bringing these groups to the forefront.
“Getting [diversity groups] more into the forefront, and advertising more. Laying out what they do, what kind of events they run, getting them more into an easier spot for student involvement,” Thurston said.
Speaking to her own platform, Thurston would like to work on consolidating information and resources for Engineering students that would make their lives easier.
“There’s pages of campus and Kingston resources, but putting it all together [is important],” Thurston said.
Boosting resources for design teams and working to ensure there are maximum amounts of networking opportunities is a key focus in Thurston’s agenda.
“I would really recommend that everyone participates, it’s a massive resume boost. It’s a massive experience boost.”
Planning for the year ahead, Thurston is inspired to work with the other candidates. She believes a lot will be accomplished by the Society in the next year.
“We’re going to be able to do a lot with this. And it’s going to be a lot of fun as well.”
Tags
Elections2023. EngSoc, president
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