CBW hires 2015-16 council

New hires all say they’re looking forward to starting their terms on May 1

From left: Miriam Bart
Image by: Arwin Chan
From left: Miriam Bart

Hiring for the incoming AMS Council has concluded after the incoming executive, consisting of President-elect Kanivanan Chinniah, Vice-President of Operations-elect Kyle Beaudry and Vice-President of University Affairs-elect Catherine Wright, reviewed 31 applications and conducted two rounds of interviews.

Beaudry said while they weren’t looking for one specific attribute when they were hiring their teams, they did place more emphasis on maturity and humility.

“Throughout all of the interviews, whether they were for director or commissioner, those were kind of the common themes we were trying to draw out in our interview questions to make sure that the team dynamic would be strong, regardless of the discussion topic at a council meeting or an issue we’re facing,” said Beaudry, Comm ’15.

Wright, ArtSci ’14, said the executive is excited for the upcoming year.

“The team that we have hired, we’ve seen a lot of potential in them — both from their proposals and from their performance in their interviews. I think we’re really excited for the strong ideas that they’re ready to pursue and we’re really excited to see them expand on that potential,” she said.

Emma Fuller, ArtSci ’16

Media Services Director

Emma Fuller said her experience as executive producer for QTV drew her to the position.

“I definitely want to see Studio Q become very successful, I want to look at making the Journal expand their video news possibilities and look at Walkhome to see what kind of changes we can make so that the service can better service the patrons,” she said.

“I think there’s a lot of new exciting changes coming with the media services portfolio, so I’m excited to see how that will all work out this year.”

Danielle Kimmerly, ArtSci ’15

Campus Activities Commissioner

Danielle Kimmerly said she has a passion for student engagement and student-led events.

“I’ve seen the positive effects of these events both within myself and my peers and so I definitely look forward to helping these events continue,” she said.

Kimmerly said her first step will be to create a team that can work collaboratively, adding that she’s most looking forward to Orientation Week.

Read Leask, ArtSci ’17

Academic Affairs Commissioner

Read Leask said he’s interested in student advocacy, which led him to apply for the position.

“To be provided with an opportunity to advocate for peers and learn from peers is what really attracted me to the position,” he said.

Leask placed emphasis on his transition into the position, which will involve a lot of learning.

“I have a real keen interest in learning from experts in different fields and I look forward to learning from experts in academic policy and academic representation so I can serve the students who are members of the society better,” he said.

Stephanie Harper, ArtSci ’15

Hospitality and Safety Services Director

Stephanie Harper was this year’s Food Purchasing Manager for TAPS. She said she’s excited to continue working within the AMS.

“There’s so much behind the scenes that you don’t realize happens and kind of immersing myself in the other services that I don’t know about and hiring a team of really passionate students who want to see their ideas come to life,” she said.

Harper said she thinks that what’s unique to Queen’s is that the AMS is entirely student-run, and she’s looking forward to learning more about her position.

“I think part of it’s the passion for the services and part of that is also being a really great team player, working with other students.”

Miriam Bart, ArtSci ’15

Commissioner of Internal Affairs

Miriam Bart said her experience as clubs coordinator this year led to her interest in continuing to work for the AMS.

“From this experience late in my undergrad career, I became very excited by the AMS and wanted to get involved with elections, referenda — help strengthen that and the clubs community,” she said.

“I would like to be an effective voice for the student body and I believe that through being approachable and available to the student body, I can best represent them.”

Matt Kussin, ArtSci ’15

Municipal Affairs Commissioner

Matt Kussin said he was interested in the job due to a passion for student advocacy.

“The portfolio of the Municipal Affairs Commission is so diverse and has so much room to grow and has a lot of potential, so that’s really enticing to me,” he said.

Kussin said he’s looking forward to learning and meeting as many people as possible, adding that his past experiences have developed his strong relationship-building skills.

Tyler Lively, ArtSci ’16

Retail Services Director

Tyler Lively said he put in a bid for the job because of his appreciation for what happens in the corporate services.

“This year I served on the AMS Board of Directors, so I got to learn a lot about how the corporations function from a strategic standpoint,” he said.

“I felt that by applying for one of the full-time positions, and moving up from a volunteer position to a full-time position, I’d be able to contribute more to the corporate side of the AMS.”

Lively added that since he was an external hire, he still has a lot to learn.

Peter Liberty, Sci ’16

Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainability

Peter Liberty said he wants to make sure Queen’s remains as environmentally sustainable and responsible as possible.

“I think it’s a really important issue that a lot of people feel kind of apathetic towards, and I’m hoping that I can help change that,” he said.

“I think I’d like to look into what some other schools have done in terms of increasing their school sustainability — what works for them, what doesn’t work for them.”

Liberty added that he would like to look at Queen’s own history and what the University has done that hasn’t worked.

Alex Chung, ArtSci ’16

Social Issues Commissioner

Alex Chung told the Journal via email that she thinks the SIC’s mandate to strive for progress towards an equitable environment is important.

Chung said her love of meeting people and openness to learning will help her in this position.

“Discourse on equity and anti-oppression is an ever-changing field, and I am more than aware that there will always be room for improvement,” she said.

“I think this will keep me humble and motivate me to stay a relevant and suitable representative for students and appropriately advocate for student needs and opinions.”

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