Incoming Executive: Our Team & Progress So Far
This Sunday, our Executive team for the coming year was made complete, with Nicola Plummer graciously accepting the nomination for Vice-President Operations. Nicola has been humbled by the responsibility and trust placed in her, and all three of us appreciate the outpouring of support from students. This being said, we wanted to take a minute to address some very understandable questions about the future of our team, our platform, and the work we have been doing so far.
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Our Team
One of the most important aspects of our approach to the AMS has been that of diversity, and representation. Nicola’s addition to our team has echoed and amplified this approach. As someone who has never worked for the AMS, yet has a strong record of student leadership and financial management, Nicola brings an external voice, from an underrepresented faculty. Most importantly, she shares our desire to learn, our passion for serving students, and our dedication to making Queen’s a better place for all. Combined with Eril’s experience in a smaller faculty, and T.K.’s contributions and involvement within the AMS, our team brings a variety of different perspectives – something we prioritize and continue to see value in.
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Our Platform & Our Work So Far
We have already begun working on several initiatives to ensure that by May 1st, we can start implementing our platform. Here are some of the things we have been working on in the past month:
- We have been approaching a number of key stakeholders about making innovation a pillar of the Academic Plan (the University’s overarching academic strategy)
- We have finished writing the policy for the Student Mental Health Advisory Board and will be presenting it to AMS Assembly this Thursday for approval.
- After carefully evaluating student feedback, we have identified a third area between main and west campus to install Blue Lights. When meeting with the City of Kingston and the University, this will be worked into our plan to increase student safety both on and off campus.
- Meetings are in progress with Queen’s IT Services and the Chief Information Officer, Bo Wandschneider. There has been progress towards the implementation of Wi-fi in the University District.
- We are currently identifying the aspects of our platform which can be jointly undertaken in partnership with Career Services (specifically, those revolving around employment and career opportunities).
- We have been in contact with the president of the Queen’s University Alumni Association to foster a strong relationship and ensure a successful plan for Homecoming this fall.
- In two weeks we will be meeting with the representatives of Student Care – the insurance plan provider for the AMS Health and Dental Plan. This will allow us to begin the conversation in regards to how we can maximize the value our plan provides our students.
- As per our platform, we are working on a plan for broad student consultation regarding the JDUC revitalization fund. This will most likely take the form of a student-wide survey, allowing students to express a preference for certain ideas as well as suggest their own.
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Aside from our platform, we continue to undertake all of the annual tasks involved in transition. We will ensure that we are ready to assume office on May 1st, and we are eager to learn all the details of our positions.
In the next few days we will notify students of a time and place where we will be publicly available to receive feedback. We want to give students the opportunity to ask questions, express any concerns, and tell us what they want from the coming year.
We are excited about the work that lies ahead of us, and we will tackle it with an understanding that we must work tirelessly not only to fulfill our platform, but to make every student proud. We truly appreciate your feedback and your thoughts, as our team remains committed to serving the diverse student body that we are privileged to represent. Feel free to send us an email, or comment below!
Cha Gheill,
Eril Berkok (Incoming President) – Email:
T.K. Pritchard (Incoming Vice-President, University Affairs) – Email:
Nicola Plummer (Incoming Vice-President, Operations) – Email: