Happy Winter Term everyone! I am Olamide Olatunbosun (Mide for short), I am a 2A Chemical Engineering student, and I am honoured to be serving as your VP Student Life! As someone who has always been involved in numerous extra-curriculars from a young age, I see the importance of having some sort of outlet to have fun, meet new people, and escape the classroom. It is very easy as engineering students to be so focused on school; I hope to promote a welcoming environment where students can feel comfortable and, well, enjoy their lives as students.
I have a handful of goals to accomplish this goal and improve the Engineering Society as a whole. A large focus this term will be on acquiring event feedback from both attendees and directors; the data gathered will be used to answer questions like “What demographics are we reaching?” and “What events are worth running in the future?”, as well as improving internal documentation. Speaking of data, my predecessor Emma Swarney ran a big data survey and discovered that workshops are the most highly requested EngSoc service. However, from term to term, we struggle to find people to run said workshops. I am looking into ways we can combat this, whether it be changing the way we look for workshop directors or reaching out to student design teams or other WUSA clubs.
Now on the front-end event side, I have a few initiatives I have been/will be rolling out. First is the implementation of a dance directorship. As someone who has danced their whole life, I realized I did not have an easy outlet to continue that in university and decided to use my role to create one. Every Wednesday from 8pm-9pm and Thursday from 9pm-10pm in PAC Studio 2, I have two lovely directors teaching students various styles of dance, so feel free to drop in! Another idea I had was the creation of the EngSoc Photo Competition. This term alone, we have well over 140 events running, meaning there are a plethora of chances for photo opportunities. Whether it be an image from the EngSoc Flickr page or one from your phone, post a photo from an EngSoc event from that month on Instagram, tag @uwengsoc, and you may win some cool engineering swag! Lastly, I am working with the Director of Interschool Events at Conestoga College to build a better relationship between our schools and plan an event together. The start of this term has been a bit of a whirlwind, but I will reach out in the coming weeks and hopefully have something planned for you all to enjoy!
As mentioned before, I’m excited and truly honoured to be your VPSL. EngSoc has truly changed my life and I want our society to positively impact as many students as possible so they can call it a home like I can. If you have any questions about events, my goals, or any ideas/feedback, feel free to email me at vpstudentlife.a@engsoc.uwaterloo.ca or stop by the Orifice (CPH 1327) if you want to chat. Good luck on your midterms, and have a great rest of the term!
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