Exec Corner: FSU Pres: It's been quite a rollercoaster ride this year!
This will be the last time that I write an article as your student President and it feels bittersweet. May 1st, 2005 was my first day and if you had told me then what kind of year I was about to have I don't think I would have believed you. But even after it's all said and done I wouldn't trade it for anything. Just a few short days ago I finally reached my 360 degrees of who I was, who I've been, and who I've become. It was at a London City Council meeting where I stood nearly a year ago when it finally hit me. When I presented there last year, I was nervous, having only been a few weeks into the job. This time I had all my other experiences behind me and all I needed to say was “thank you.” Last year when I left City Hall I was really hard on myself and thought I shouldn't be President at all, but I left this meeting feeling uplifted and proud of myself for the year I've endured. And when any typical girl feels good she goes shopping, so that's what I did.
As I went from store to store, I took the time to reflect on my experiences as President. My first month on the job I was tossed right into the limelight, since the outgoing board had decided to host the College Student Alliance (CSA) changeover conference at Fanshawe, and we had to make it fabulous. And we did - we immediately became the envy of all the other councils when they stepped foot in our Student Centre (recently awarded the 2005 Urban Design Award from the City of London), not to brag or anything... And as we hosted people from all those other colleges, I never knew that I would be meeting some of my closest friends.
Not long after that conference, the government announced a historic investment of funding for Postsecondary Education (P.S.E.). Yep, that was the $6.2 billion that we would all realize later wasn't as great as it sounded. Did you know that typically colleges received one third of the funding and universities receive two thirds? And that the one third will be divided between 24 colleges over five years? I'll let you do the math.
I did have the honour of attending the post Budget Breakfast with the (at the time) Minister Greg Sorbara who would later resign as Minister of Finance. During all of the chaos of the media at my end, back home in Stouffville my grandparents had started a collective tape of my TV appearances, which I believe will continue to haunt me in the future.
During the month of June I seemed to be living out of a suitcase. I attended a National Conference for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) in Moncton, New Brunswick and as soon as I came back to London, I delivered several speeches at graduations. Then it was off to COCA in North Bay, a flight to Kingston for a seminar, and then got a ride to Toronto for a summer forum on student health care. A week later I was back in London.
During the summer my favourite event became Movies in the Park, a FSU sponsored event in downtown London. I was able to choose one of my favourite movies for a showing so I chose a classic, Forrest Gump! “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you gonna get.” That line held true for me. I wasn't ready for what I would face next. July 7th I received a call that my boyfriend had been killed in an accident back home. Needless to say, my outlook on life would change forever. I will never forget the incredible support of my family and friends during that time of my life and it would be those friends from CSA that would get me back on track.
Mid-summer we had our CSA conference at Conestoga College, where I had two more opportunities of a lifetime. The first was meeting Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and the second was a change to speak with Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Chris Bentley, who I would work with throughout my term.
As the summer ended, our operations headed full steam ahead into the school year. Needless to say, Frosh Rock'd, thanks to efforts of many people, but mainly Mike Kokich and Mark Rawson. Behind the scenes, I was busily working with the College on a contingency plan since a potential support staff strike was looming over our heads. But once that strike was averted my efforts were lent to Christine Thomson and the outstanding Shinerama that Fanshawe had this year, which doubled our previous year's total with a final of $14,000 to Cystic Fibrosis research.
With the school year off and running, it was time to elect our Student Administrative Council (SAC). As soon as that was done, we had our haunted SAC retreat. Halloween was just around the corner, so a haunted theme sounded good at the time; we had treat bags and ghost stories, the whole nine. But a fall storm was brewing in Orillia and we lost the power in our cottage, so our haunted retreat came to life. I know that some members of SAC still think that it was planned that way, but I can only wish that that was true!
Later in October my VP External Cameron Boniferro and I would have the honour of attending a meet and greet with then Prime Minister Paul Martin. He was just like a grandpa, with a warm, friendly persona.
November 4th, 2005 was the proud day that I had been dreaming of since I moved to London in September 2003 to attend Fanshawe College and study Horticulture. On this day I graduated, and it is a day I won't soon forget. I delivered my speech as President and anxiously awaited my name to be called and walk proudly across the platform to receive not only my scarf and diploma, but a big hug from Howard Rundle, who I respect a great deal. You couldn't ask for a more caring College president.
Later that same month I was elected the Southwest Director of CSA, which I have truly enjoyed, representing the 6 colleges in the region.
Just before the holiday bustle I would announce the student pledge to the Capital Campaign. Along with past Presidents Crystal Boyd and Keith Allen it was announced that the students of this college would contribute $3 million to improve the campus for Fanshawe students in years to come.
I returned to a new year, ready to face new challenges. I kicked off 2006 by responding to over 500 emails from students that were concerned about the recommendation to cancel the Spring Break, which would soon become a part of the largest political issue of my year. I also had to deal with the devastating changeover in my Council, where we had to replace two Vice Presidents and four divisional representatives. This only caused confusion, as we were also in the election process for the 2006/07 executive board. At the end of it all was a proud moment for me when I would announce my successor, Christine Thomson. From that moment on, a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but only for a short time.
The end of February found me freezing in the North. Who planned these conferences? CSA in North Bay and ACAATO in Sudbury! Trust me, if it hadn't been for the friends I would see, I would have preferred to spend those weekends in my warm bed at home. But North Bay would give me the opportunity to try curling, which I was a big fan of and yes, I went to the Scott Tournament of Hearts here in London.
Now for the tough stuff: a faculty strike was not exactly the way I had planned on ending my year as President. I hosted protests to get students back in class and was interviewed by numerous media; so many, in fact, that I will admit to one day having had enough and actually hiding from the TV crew. (Jeff Sage can verify that story — he saw me do it!) It was an exhausting and frustrating time for everyone and when it finally ended, a huge sigh of relief followed by a big cry was just what I needed.
So here I am, my last few days in office. With many people to thank, I feel like it's an Oscar acceptance speech where you can't forget anyone. So with that being said, I will get to you all, but need to recognize a few right now:
Paul Massé, the office “Dad”: He's the best at what he does and always has the students' best interests in mind. Paul, thank you for always listening and providing the advice that would help me make it through all the various struggles I endured this year.
John b. Young, a permanent fixture within the FSU: John, as much of a pain as you may be sometimes, I want to thank you for being that pain and challenging me to do the best that I can.
To my Board: congratulations on making a difference in student life and being brave enough to do it.
To the FSU employees, you are all amazing people that provide top-notch student services and I thank you for that. And don't think that this is all I have to say about you…but it's the best I can do right now without breaking down and not finishing this article
To the College Administration: thank you for your continued support, professionally and personally.
To the Alumni: I am so proud to be apart of this organization and look forward to continuing to be.
To the CSA board: congratulations on changing the future of CSA during a challenging year; I am honoured to have been a part of it!
To my best friends, Hayley and Christine: I wish you both all the best in your future endeavours. I love you both. Christine, you will make a great president, and I am so proud of you.
And to my family: none of this would have been possible without your support for me to come to school at Fanshawe. Thank you for everything; I love you.
I'm just a small-town girl, who studied Horticulture at Fanshawe, worked as a RA, and then had a big dream to be President. I'm proud of the rollercoaster ride that I've had, and hope you are too.
Thank you Fanshawe!
As I went from store to store, I took the time to reflect on my experiences as President. My first month on the job I was tossed right into the limelight, since the outgoing board had decided to host the College Student Alliance (CSA) changeover conference at Fanshawe, and we had to make it fabulous. And we did - we immediately became the envy of all the other councils when they stepped foot in our Student Centre (recently awarded the 2005 Urban Design Award from the City of London), not to brag or anything... And as we hosted people from all those other colleges, I never knew that I would be meeting some of my closest friends.
Not long after that conference, the government announced a historic investment of funding for Postsecondary Education (P.S.E.). Yep, that was the $6.2 billion that we would all realize later wasn't as great as it sounded. Did you know that typically colleges received one third of the funding and universities receive two thirds? And that the one third will be divided between 24 colleges over five years? I'll let you do the math.
I did have the honour of attending the post Budget Breakfast with the (at the time) Minister Greg Sorbara who would later resign as Minister of Finance. During all of the chaos of the media at my end, back home in Stouffville my grandparents had started a collective tape of my TV appearances, which I believe will continue to haunt me in the future.
During the month of June I seemed to be living out of a suitcase. I attended a National Conference for the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) in Moncton, New Brunswick and as soon as I came back to London, I delivered several speeches at graduations. Then it was off to COCA in North Bay, a flight to Kingston for a seminar, and then got a ride to Toronto for a summer forum on student health care. A week later I was back in London.
During the summer my favourite event became Movies in the Park, a FSU sponsored event in downtown London. I was able to choose one of my favourite movies for a showing so I chose a classic, Forrest Gump! “Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you gonna get.” That line held true for me. I wasn't ready for what I would face next. July 7th I received a call that my boyfriend had been killed in an accident back home. Needless to say, my outlook on life would change forever. I will never forget the incredible support of my family and friends during that time of my life and it would be those friends from CSA that would get me back on track.
Mid-summer we had our CSA conference at Conestoga College, where I had two more opportunities of a lifetime. The first was meeting Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, and the second was a change to speak with Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Chris Bentley, who I would work with throughout my term.
As the summer ended, our operations headed full steam ahead into the school year. Needless to say, Frosh Rock'd, thanks to efforts of many people, but mainly Mike Kokich and Mark Rawson. Behind the scenes, I was busily working with the College on a contingency plan since a potential support staff strike was looming over our heads. But once that strike was averted my efforts were lent to Christine Thomson and the outstanding Shinerama that Fanshawe had this year, which doubled our previous year's total with a final of $14,000 to Cystic Fibrosis research.
With the school year off and running, it was time to elect our Student Administrative Council (SAC). As soon as that was done, we had our haunted SAC retreat. Halloween was just around the corner, so a haunted theme sounded good at the time; we had treat bags and ghost stories, the whole nine. But a fall storm was brewing in Orillia and we lost the power in our cottage, so our haunted retreat came to life. I know that some members of SAC still think that it was planned that way, but I can only wish that that was true!
Later in October my VP External Cameron Boniferro and I would have the honour of attending a meet and greet with then Prime Minister Paul Martin. He was just like a grandpa, with a warm, friendly persona.
November 4th, 2005 was the proud day that I had been dreaming of since I moved to London in September 2003 to attend Fanshawe College and study Horticulture. On this day I graduated, and it is a day I won't soon forget. I delivered my speech as President and anxiously awaited my name to be called and walk proudly across the platform to receive not only my scarf and diploma, but a big hug from Howard Rundle, who I respect a great deal. You couldn't ask for a more caring College president.
Later that same month I was elected the Southwest Director of CSA, which I have truly enjoyed, representing the 6 colleges in the region.
Just before the holiday bustle I would announce the student pledge to the Capital Campaign. Along with past Presidents Crystal Boyd and Keith Allen it was announced that the students of this college would contribute $3 million to improve the campus for Fanshawe students in years to come.
I returned to a new year, ready to face new challenges. I kicked off 2006 by responding to over 500 emails from students that were concerned about the recommendation to cancel the Spring Break, which would soon become a part of the largest political issue of my year. I also had to deal with the devastating changeover in my Council, where we had to replace two Vice Presidents and four divisional representatives. This only caused confusion, as we were also in the election process for the 2006/07 executive board. At the end of it all was a proud moment for me when I would announce my successor, Christine Thomson. From that moment on, a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but only for a short time.
The end of February found me freezing in the North. Who planned these conferences? CSA in North Bay and ACAATO in Sudbury! Trust me, if it hadn't been for the friends I would see, I would have preferred to spend those weekends in my warm bed at home. But North Bay would give me the opportunity to try curling, which I was a big fan of and yes, I went to the Scott Tournament of Hearts here in London.
Now for the tough stuff: a faculty strike was not exactly the way I had planned on ending my year as President. I hosted protests to get students back in class and was interviewed by numerous media; so many, in fact, that I will admit to one day having had enough and actually hiding from the TV crew. (Jeff Sage can verify that story — he saw me do it!) It was an exhausting and frustrating time for everyone and when it finally ended, a huge sigh of relief followed by a big cry was just what I needed.
So here I am, my last few days in office. With many people to thank, I feel like it's an Oscar acceptance speech where you can't forget anyone. So with that being said, I will get to you all, but need to recognize a few right now:
Paul Massé, the office “Dad”: He's the best at what he does and always has the students' best interests in mind. Paul, thank you for always listening and providing the advice that would help me make it through all the various struggles I endured this year.
John b. Young, a permanent fixture within the FSU: John, as much of a pain as you may be sometimes, I want to thank you for being that pain and challenging me to do the best that I can.
To my Board: congratulations on making a difference in student life and being brave enough to do it.
To the FSU employees, you are all amazing people that provide top-notch student services and I thank you for that. And don't think that this is all I have to say about you…but it's the best I can do right now without breaking down and not finishing this article
To the College Administration: thank you for your continued support, professionally and personally.
To the Alumni: I am so proud to be apart of this organization and look forward to continuing to be.
To the CSA board: congratulations on changing the future of CSA during a challenging year; I am honoured to have been a part of it!
To my best friends, Hayley and Christine: I wish you both all the best in your future endeavours. I love you both. Christine, you will make a great president, and I am so proud of you.
And to my family: none of this would have been possible without your support for me to come to school at Fanshawe. Thank you for everything; I love you.
I'm just a small-town girl, who studied Horticulture at Fanshawe, worked as a RA, and then had a big dream to be President. I'm proud of the rollercoaster ride that I've had, and hope you are too.
Thank you Fanshawe!
