Madeline Provost has been elected the Queen’s Engineering Society’s (EngSoc) second vice-president (Student Affairs) (VPSA) for 2026-27.
Following the resignation of former VPSA Pranav Velpandi on July 6 due to undisclosed personal reasons, Provost ran uncontested in a council election and was elected on July 12. Provost had previously campaigned in January’s executive election against Velpandi, and third VPSA candidate Saige Poliwoda.
READ MORE: EngSoc VPSA resigns for personal reasons
When the position became vacant, the student body was notified by email and social media. Self-nominations to fill the role were accepted until July 11.
Provost was the only candidate to confirm her nomination, Stephie Leitch, president of EngSoc, said in a statement to The Journal.
During this period, Provost’s candidate profile was made available, and a live debate was hosted at 5 p.m. on Friday, July 10. Council members received a recording of the debate and could then cast a vote of confidence, open for 48 hours between Friday and Sunday.
Leitch did not share vote totals when asked by The Journal, citing standard practice in EngSoc elections. The threshold for the vote to pass was quorum for council, meaning at least 19 members participated.
In a statement to The Journal, Provost shared some of her motivations for choosing the role and her goals for the year.
“Throughout my time at Queen’s, I have had the pleasure of interacting with many diverse student groups, services, and internal affairs, allowing me to appreciate the amazing diversity, tenacity, and innovation of all members of the engineering student body,” she said. “I wanted to serve as VPSA in order to help support these amazing student initiatives and connect with the student body.”
Provost has previously held several leadership roles within EngSoc including first-year treasurer, co-president of Queen’s Engiqueers, speaker of council, and chief electoral officer.
These roles “have given me the understanding of the operations of the VPSA portfolio while also providing me with a passion for the diversity of initiatives included therein,” she said.
Provost also served as EngSoc’s director of human resources last year, which she said has helped her understand the “role and responsibilities of the Executive-Director team,” as well as the “variety of roles within the VPSA portfolio itself.”
Provost listed two main goals she hopes to accomplish in her role: ensure EngSoc functions as an organization “run by and for engineering students” and providing support to both directors in the student affairs portfolio and their teams.
“I want to ensure that everyone knows that I am here to be a resource, a knowledge bank, and a support system,” she said.
Coming into the role later in the term, Provost said she experienced an “incredibly supportive” transition.
Tags
Elections, EngSoc, Madeline Provost, resignation
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