IS
Fall 2015-2016 Electoral Texts
NOSM Student Society (NOSMSS) Executive Position
1) NOSM Student Society Year 1 Class Representative
a. East
James Campbell
Easties of e2015, I would love to be your class rep. Why might you vote for someone who seems to only care about his small arms filling out his scrubs and someone who has been wildly accused of hiding an Instagram account from the class? Indulge me as I explain.
One reason is I love the duties of class rep. Creating cohesiveness through our class is something I would enjoy and will certainly strive to do irrespective of my student society involvement. There are lots of ways to do this, and scotch tastings certainly aren’t the only way. Activities that involve the community such as fundraisers or events can bring a class together as much as any party can. I also would love the opportunity to be involved with planning orientation week next year. I believe everyone in our class had an amazing time and it would be a privilege to be a part of organizing and being creative with orientation week next year. I also really enjoy the responsibility that comes with representing our student body with any issues that come forward, whether it be curriculum or otherwise. This is something I’ve had to do before, which leads me to my next point.
I have experience with this. In physiotherapy school I was actively involved in the student society and was president in my last year. This came with a wide range of duties, one being orientation week. I oversaw the execution of orientation week which received very positive feedback. In my time there, I also took feedback from students and implemented a business symposium where physiotherapy and healthcare leaders from around Toronto came for a day and gave workshops. This has now become a standard part of the curriculum. I also acted as the main point of communication between external organizations such as the alumni society, insurance companies, banks etc. for our class, along with overseeing and being involved with countless other duties. Because of this experience, I also know what it takes to balance extracurriculars and school. This will not be put on the backburner during busy times. For me, involvement is a stress outlet. I love this stuff.
I’m also someone who generates ideas. To say I know what we need to change at this point would be irresponsible, but I am truly open to anything as long as it doesn’t involve crime. One thing I want to implement in the class is a wellness accountability system, basically helping our class stay healthy through the ups and downs of medical school.
Finally, I promise you, I will find Fred the Med. I will not rest, I will not sleep, until Fred is brought to justice.
Nora-Beth Saunders
Hi Everyone,
Most people are familiar with my background at this point, however just in case, I will provide a quick synopsis. I completed my Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. While there, I ran cross-country as well as track and field for the University (5 and 10 kilometer distances). I returned home and luckily, after 8 months of searching, found a job as an engineer in my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. My responsibilities and the experience I gained at this job, in particular, make me confident I can take on the role of the Year 1 Class Representative.
I was hired by Arauco North America to be their Operational Excellence Coordinator, a fancy title for the engineer that would develop and implement their continuous improvement program at their wood panel manufacturing facility. A few specific challenges I took on while in this position will demonstrate that I can be an effective representative on your behalf.
Some of the responsibilities of our Class Rep. are to assist in organizing buddy events, Student Orientation Week, and other events NOSM’s Student Society may be involved in. During my time at Arauco, I was tasked with developing and marketing an improvement program. This included creating informational flyers, ordering T-shirts, and organizing meetings with specific groups of employees. Additionally, I became comfortable speaking in large and small groups (I’m tiny, but I have a big voice!), as I had to conduct training presentations with the site’s 120 employees. This shows not only that I am organized and also that I am comfortable running events and communicating with fellow colleagues.
More importantly, the First Year Class Rep. must act as an advocate for all Year 1 students. This is exactly what my job at Arauco entailed! I was the middleman between management and operations, just like I would be your liaison for you and your concerns. In all honesty, this facilitator’s role was my favourite part of the job. I loved the hours I got to spend each day within the facility, away from my office, chatting with the technicians and listening to their ideas, comments, and concerns. I would then meet with management the next day to actively promote the needs and desires of my coworkers and advocate on their behalf. I found this responsibility incredibly rewarding.
In closing, I really hope you will elect me as your representative. Since coming in August, I have been interested in getting involved with the NOSM SS, hopefully over the next four years. Further, attaining this position would be an opportunity for me to deepen my relationships with all of you, as we continue in this new, exciting phase of our lives.
Thanks everyone!
Nora-Beth
Benjamin Cassidy
VOTE CASS’ (with sass) FOR CLASS!!!
Benjamin Cassidy for NOSMSS Year 1 Class Representative (East)
PLATFORM
I am by no means a politician… but I am a policy maker and advocate.
I HAVE NO INTEREST in being disingenuous or showing face for the sake of gathering support.
I AM interested in making a difference and representing the beautiful collection of unique persons that make up the Year 1 class.
I believe I have the energy, character traits and past experience to embrace the different facets of this role:
- embodying the work hard/play hard mentality and organizing INCLUSIVE social activities,
- while also articulating our class’ concerns at NOSMSS and administration meetings.
I will do my best to bring student-led curriculum reformation to the table. A few things I have already noted and plan on pursuing:
1) Inform NOSM policies surrounding LEAVES OF ABSENCE due to personal situations (e.g., grief leave) to be more in line with NOSM’s mandate of encouraging healthy work-life balance.
2) Work with Francophone Affairs to provide more FRENCH LANGUAGE EXPOSURE AND COMMUNITY INTEGRATION OPPORTUNITIES for anglophones to facilitate active engagement in NOSM’s social accountability mandate (i.e., ICE/CCC placements).
3) Work with Aboriginal Affairs (and fellow students!) towards further opportunities to INTERACT AND BETTER UNDERSTAND ABORIGINAL PRACTICES AND LANGUAGES.
4) Encourage CROSS-SITE CLASS COHESION (Warren has done an amazing job with his creative idea of Guess the Classmate emails!)
5) HAVE FUN!
PAST EXPERIENCE
- First openly gay student elected to Catholic high school presidency in Ontario
- 4 years Undergraduate Student Association experience (Tutor Director, VP Internal)
- 2 years executive member Psychology Graduate Student Association (Secretary & Treasurer)
- VP Finance of York U Graduate Student Association (balanced $400,000 budget, used Roberts Rules when chairing meetings)
NO STRANGER TO THE JUGGLING ACT
Balanced my role as VP Finance with both a full time job and full time masters program- I am equipped with the skill set to balance my own study with my role as class representative.
STRONG SENSE OF INTEGRITY
As some (or many!) may have noticed, I do not hesitate to speak up when I feel something is unjust or unfair. I AM ALWAYS THERE WHEN IT COUNTS.
CLASS 2019 REPRESENTATIVE
As a member of a marginalized group (LGBT2-SQ),
As a mature student with a youthful, open mind,
As a boy who grew up on a farm and a man who lived in the city,
As a world traveller, but Canadian at heart (I even have a maple leaf tattoo!),
As a professional deeply invested in medicine with many other passions (Crossfit, fiction writing),
As someone who balanced a 7-year relationship while in school, but currently single,
As an older and younger brother…
As a fellow NOSM FAMILY MEMBER, I actively seek to represent everyone. The diversity of our class is our greatest strength and I want everyone to feel like they have a voice.
So, I ask you to do me the honour of voting CASS (with sass) FOR CLASS rep!
b. West
Warren Stevenson
I'll try to keep things concise, I'm sure many of you don't want to read too much! First of all, I'd like to humbly thank whoever decided to nominate me for the First Year West Class Rep. Your confidence in me has inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and apply for something I admittedly do not have any experience with. I've never been Class President, I've never been on any form of Student Council, and I'm not even very good at organizing things!
So what would you get out of me? More activities like "Guess the Classmate" to get to know each other better and to maintain contact with our brothers and sisters on the East campus (NOSM at Laurentian). I have experience as an orientation week leader and was a Resident Adviser in my last year at the University of Waterloo. As an RA, I was responsible for developing weekly social programs for my floor of 40 first year students and I worked closely with several other wonderful and inspiring people to construct the best residence experience for residents and RA's alike. In addition, I'm honest, always open to criticism, outgoing and I will defend my classmates and what they feel they deserve without question. We are family after all.
So a vote for me means that you may not have the most experienced Class Rep, but you'll have someone who represents our class to the best of his abilities and will (hopefully) grow to be a strong leader for NOSM's Graduating Class of 2019.
Jessica Gencarelli
I am in a unique spot because as soon as I was conceived I wanted this position. Getting into NOSM was an important stepping stone but this is just so much more. Jokes aside I believe I am good candidate for this position based off my past volunteer experiences, one in particular being co-founder and President of the UWO chapter for the Sunshine Foundation. As President, a large portion of my role consisted of communicating between the UWO chapter and head office to organize events. I also established connections between our chapter and other organizations for sponsors, and engaged the community and school in various activities to raise funds and awareness. Feel free to ask any other questions about my past experiences
Andrew Bond
2) Global Health Liaison (Jr.)
Victoria Shaw
Global health has never been so important and so accessible. With the power of communication and media outlets, we are more connected with the rest of the world than ever before. Many of you know that I spent 8 months last year living and working in Uganda, a small country in East Africa which has faced historical hardships and devastating health conditions. I was privileged to work as an intern for Save the Mothers, a program whose mission is to reduce maternal and infant mortality; preventable deaths that would never occur in a 1st World health care setting. With my experience in Uganda, as well as a short term trip to Nicaragua 3 years ago, I have developed a passion for global health and the impacts that we as future physicians and health advocates can have. This impact is not just within our own communities and those of Northern Ontario, but has the potential to reach and change the conditions of health across the world.
As the Global Health Liaison Jr., I would do my best to give students the knowledge and opportunities for International electives and share my own experiences and those of others to ensure that each student was well briefed and oriented for pre- and post-departure training. I have personally experienced unfamiliar culture and health care settings and can say that preparation and orientation are key to successful experiences. I would encourage and promote participation in volunteer events for the Global Health committee and ensure that current world issues and global health topics had a forum for discussion and involvement.
Lastly, it is important to recognize that you don’t have to travel half a world away to make a difference in global health; there is power in advocacy and through advocacy there is power to change.
3) NOSM Student Society Recording Secretary
Nora-Beth Saunders
Hi Everyone,
I believe everyone may know my background at this point, however, just in case I will give you a quick synopsis. I completed by Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. While there, I ran cross-country as well as track and field for the university (5 and 10 kilometers on the track). I returned home and luckily, after 8 months of searching, found a job as an engineer at home.
It had been suggested to me several times that I might be a good candidate for the NOSM Student Society Recording Secretary, and I thought I might just share a couple of the reasons why that might be. I think I have above average typing skills, since taking Grade 9 business, which certainly would help me in keeping accurate meeting minutes. Furthermore, I am a note-taker by nature. While in class and during small group sessions you will usually see me writing or typing down everything that is said. Lastly, I believe I’m an organized individual so the meeting minutes I record would be sent to NOSMSS members quickly and also in a logical and easy to read format.
In closing, I hope you will consider me for NOSMSS Secretary. Since coming in August, I have been interested in getting involved with the NOSMSS for the next four years, and this position would allow me to do so.