Hey there! My name is Derek Broekhoven, and I want to be your Engineering Society’s president for the Fall of 2019 and the Spring of 2020. I am currently a 2A Mechatronics Engineering student. Through directorships, sitting on council, and getting to know people who are involved, I have gained a lot of experience and knowledge about how the society runs and some of the best practices. Most of my experience is through running events: TalEng, Semi, and Genius Bowl. This term, I am going through the process of building the Community Service and Patch Auction directorships. I have had a lot of fun so far doing these things, and I am looking forward to the outcome of these. I want to increase the community service done by the Engineering Society, as that has many positive effects on both the people doing the service and the people receiving the service. I also want to work with my executive team to implement more structured feedback plans throughout the term so as to optimize events for everyone in the society so that everyone can have fun at events like Semi Formal, TalEng, etc.
Mental health is obviously an extremely important topic. At Waterloo, school gets very stressful, and it is our job to help whoever is struggling. A lot of work is being done by the current executive team, but I would like to do even more. I would like to implement resources online that can tell people where the best place to go on campus might be for them based on what they are struggling with. This will help to increase awareness of the various services that we have on campus. I believe that this will make it easier for people to get help when they need it, as well as how they need it. I want to start doing fairly regular check-ins, with open conversations about mental health and what is causing stress. This will allow people to speak openly about their issues and find out what others have done when they had similar issues. One of the biggest things that I’ve found to be tied to mental health is physical activity. Even just a small amount of physical activity each day can really help with mental health, as well as help you study better. This is why I want to implement small incentives/mini competitions for things like reaching step goals.
I will advocate for all students across engineering, from first year to fourth year, and ensure that everyone’s voice will be heard. If you elect me to be president, I will represent you in every way I can. If you have any questions for me regarding my platform, or anything else really, feel free to send me a message on Facebook, email me, or come find me around POETS! Thanks for reading, and be sure to vote from February 1-5!
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