Psychology Students’ Association of UBC
2015-2016 Executive Election Candidate List
PRESIDENT CANDIDATES
Candidate Name: Bowen Li
Running for: President
• Goal 1: Bring in funding and sponsorship from UBC organizations and businesses as
well as to work with other UBC clubs in order to create more psychology social and
academic events to bring psychology students together.
• Goal 2: Create new opportunities and events outside of UBC for psychology students
that goes beyond the field of psychology through working with businesses,
community and business figures, etc…
• Goal 3: Build a new team dedicated to marketing of PSA events and to increase
PSA's campus presence.
Candidate Name: Jenny Ho
Running for: President
• Goal 1: To offer career-related events and networking opportunities for students to
explore different career options asides from graduate school. This is crucial as the
majority of BA/BSc Psychology students do not choose to pursue postgraduate
studies. Currently, there are limited opportunities for psychology students (and Arts
in general) to network with UBC alumni and industry professionals.
• Goal 2: To establish partnerships with other AMS Clubs, such as (but not limited to)
the Arts Co-op Students’ Association. By establishing partnerships with other AMS
Clubs, PSA members can benefit from opportunities organized through these
partnerships, as well as further expand PSA's professional network.
• Goal 3: To establish a sponsorship with Copiesmart at UBC Village or with any
other printing company. Similar to partnering up with Artona, I envision that
offering students a discount to a printing company will greatly increase membership
sales. Numerous students have raised the issue of high costs associated with printing
their posters to present at PURC and other research conferences.
Candidate Name: Matin Jafari
Running for: President
• Goal 1: Series of Self-esteem training events: Low self-esteem is the cause of most of
mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, and social phobia which can lead to
isolation and suicidal thoughts. Training UBC students to become high self-esteemer
can prevent all these from the beginning.
• Goal 2: Finding job, research, graduate study, and volunteer opportunities for PSA
members by just knowing their interests:Recruiting and training volunteers who
•
search and find opportunities specific to each member throughout campus and offcampus and preparing PSA members for interview, CV & Resume, letter of interest,
and so
Goal 3: Organizing new academic, research, graduate studies, and career events with
increase of frequency throughout upcoming academic years as well as holding most
popular events such as Career Nights at the beginning of the academic year.
Candidate Name: Tashya De Silva
Running for: President
• Goal 1: Unify science and arts by increasing personal communication with students
through improvements in marketing strategies such as social media and website
updates.
• Goal 2: Increase accessibility to professors through “get to know your prof” video
interviews, as well as increasing lab tours.
• Goal 3: Increase opportunities in career transitions by hosting socials with graduate
students and focusing on events such as career panels.
VICE PRESIDENT ARTS ACADEMICS CANDIDATE
Candidate Name: Ruzzelle Gasmen
Running for: VP Arts Academics
• Goal 1: Organize group training/workshops for Suicide Intervention & Positive
Space's LGBTQ+ Education to creative an inclusive and safe environment for all
students. Apply for funding to host these events when necessary.
• Goal 2: Organize Mindfulness Research & Practice Sessions by having professors
present research on mindfulness, its effects on the brain, and its benefits for students
as a positive way of coping with stress. Have a psychologist or counselling from
UBC's Counselling Centre come in and lead mindfulness exercises.
• Goal 3: As the Political Science Student Association has started for their program,
lobby for Psychology professors to include sexual harassment and gender sensitivity
in course syllabi: address these major social issues on the first day class.
VICE PRESIDENT SCIENCE ACADEMICS CANDIDATES
Canadidate Name: Kimberly Go
Running for: VP Science Academics
• Goal 1: Establish connections with more psychology labs in the Science stream to
offer volunteer or RA experience in these labs to Science students (and any interested
Arts students)
• Goal 2: Hold events and workshops that will allow psychology students to gain (or
improve) the skills required for an RA (for example: workshops for R, Excel, SPSS,
etc.)
• Goal 3: Have an event that explores post-graduate opportunities for the Science
stream of Psychology (exploring the many different possibilities that best fits the
material and skills learned in the Science-based Psychology courses and labs)
Candidate Name: Mohit Sodhi
Running for: VP Science Academics
• Goal 1: Create more events targeted towards not just psychology majors entering
grad school, but also medical school.
• Goal 2: Unite the psychology majors studying in the faculty of science and arts with
more inclusive activities and events.
• Goal 3: Collaborate with other UBC clubs related to psychology/neurology (UBC
Project PATHS, MHAC, and UBC Neurology Club) to expand awareness of the
field.
VICE PRESIDENT OF SOCIAL AFFAIRS CANDIDATES
Candidate Name: Felipe Triana
Running for: VP of Social Affairs
• Goal 1: For PSA members to have the opportunity to be paired up with mentors, in
their respected area of interest, with psychology alumni. This permits students to
network and gain valuable knowledge on how to make their psychology degree work
for them.
• Goal 2: Find and implement effective methods to trade or purchase psychology
textbooks at an affordable price. Work out deals with publishing companies to offer
discounts on psychology textbooks.
Candidate Name: Kyungeun (Sora) Lee
Running for: VP of Social Affairs
• Goal 1: I hope to facilitate events that are not only appealing to PSA members and
Psychology students, but also to a variety of students from other faculties as well.
• Goal 2: Provide increased opportunities for professional development and
networking for PSA members.
• Goal 3: Create a space that allows for feedback and suggestions on the kinds of
events and opportunities students would like to see to be able to cater to the student
body.
DEPARTMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER CANDIDATES
Candidate Name: Gurjit Pawar
Running for: Departmental Relations Officer
• Goal 1: Incorporate more events with the psychology department over the school
year, specifically organize events in which current UBC professors (as a panel)
answer various student questions relating to their research, grad school and general
study habits.
• Goal 2: Communicate more with current Psychology Graduate Students and arrange
a mentorship program to set up 3rd and 4th psychology major students with graduate
students to help them in their process of applying of grad school and general
questions about psychology studies.
Candidate Name: Dylan Meng
Running for: Departmental Relations Officer
• Goals 1: To increase the amount of information about health care related postundergraduate studies such as medical school, dentistry, and nursing
• Goal 2: Increase communication with grad students to give updated and more
relatable advice to students pursuing graduate studies
• Goal 3: Communicate with students to increase attendance for PSA events
Candidate Name: Yimiao Gong
Running for: Departmental Relations Officer
• Goal 1: Facilitate an even tighter relationship between faculties and students through
communication. Attracts more attention, interests, and cares from faculties on
students.
• Goal 2: Enhance the popularity of PSA among non-local students in order to benefit
more varieties of students.
• Goal 3: Create more thorough service to meet different groups of students’ different
demands, e.g., the international group and local group.
INTERNAL COORDINATOR CANDIDATES
Candidate Name: Weiting Su
Running for: Internal Coordinator
• Goal 1: Building up relationships with at least two potential clubs or organizations as
well as fundraising at least $500 higher than last year for PSA.
• Goal 2: Creating a effective network within the PSA team for better communication,
such as updating working processes and financial budget detail for team within 20
hours.
• Goal 3: Besides updating for President regularly, controlling and checking balance at
least once every week.
Candidate Name: Hayami Lou
Running for: Internal Coordinator
• Goal 1: Transparency: As someone working behind the scenes with the PSA, I am
interested in knowing where and what sort of areas students would like to see our
finances directed. I want to be able to hear from you and have student feedback in
how they want to see PSA funding working for them.
• Goal 2: Psychology department gear: One area I would like to see our budget in
action is creating UBC Psychology clothing; namely sweatshirts, but also continuing
production of T shirts and possibly adding others depending on demand and interest.
• Goal 3: Campus Involvement: I would like to see the Psychology department work
more closely with organizations around campus that could provide great resumebuilding opportunities as well as invaluable experience. As the PSA member who
would be working closely with the AMS, I propose a collaboration with great
campus organizations such as the UBC Sexual Assault Awareness Center and the
UBC Women's Center and would love to hear other suggestions from you.
Candidate Name: Desmond Fung
Running for: Internal Coordinator
• Goal 1: Invest in funding opportunities for higher quality social or academic-worthy
event.
• Goal 2: Keep a robust and organized documentation of financial matters that would
allow for quick access to funds whenever necessary.
Name: Emily (Gee Hee) Jeong
Running for: Internal Coordinator
• Goal 1: I will market existing PSA merchandizes (e.g., key chains and T-shirts) that
has been around and make them profitable
• Goal 2: I will make a track sheet for the cashbox so every PSA executive member
can readily follow budget on a daily basis
• Goal 3: I will actively budget all events and pursue all available grants. Moreover, I
will regularly update current finance situation so all events can be evenly supported.
MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR CANDIDATES
Candidate Name: Tanya Feng
Running for: Membership Coordinator
• Goal 1: I would try to increase the number of new members, especially by actively
recruiting new psychology majors.
• Goal 2: I would try to establish an even stronger social media presence by increasing
the number of Facebook likes and Twitter followers. A way to do this may be to
create incentives to like the PSA page (eg. if you like the PSA Facebook page, you
will be entered in a draw to win a prize).
Name: Sarah (Bo Hyung) Kim
Running for: Membership coordinator
• Goal 1: Develop membership recruitment and identify the expectations of each
member from the association.
• Goal 2: Coordinate various information sessions as well as meetings with VP Social
based on the topics that members will be the most interested in.
• Goal 3: Try to maximize the benefits of becoming a member of the psychology
student association by providing information as well as connections. Also, create
environment where members can actively participate and explore the field of
psychology for the preparation of the post-graduation.
ACADEMICS COORDINATOR CANDIDATES
Candidate Name: Stephanie Yeh
Running for: Academic Coordinator
•
•
•
Goal 1: I would like to focus on forming a community of learners/friends and
essentially celebrating and embracing being a student. We are all here to learn, and I
hope to make learning the best experience it can be for everyone!
Goal 2: My second goal is to allow students to develop important skills and tools
they might find helpful in their academic career. For example, through fun and
interactive academic CV writing sessions; career-planning; public-speaking and
presentation skills workshops; a crash course on how to land that coveted RA
position.
Goal 3: My third goal is to work on bridging that invisible and somewhat awkward
gap between students and professors by developing a short radio show-style podcast
where professors can discuss scintillating psych facts; research they themselves have
done; are doing; or just stuff in general. I hope that this will be helpful to students in
having a great conversation-starter when talking to a professor; deciding what
courses to take; labs to work in; or maybe spark a bit of inspiration.
Candidate Name: Laura Hadden
Running for: Academic Coordinator
• Goal 1: Community Volunteering: Setting up psychology students with the
opportunity to expand their knowledge beyond the campus and into volunteer
positions within the Vancouver community.
• Goal 2:New to UBC Social: Providing recent transfer students and major or minor
changes with chances to get involved in the UBC community through volunteer and
job opportunities.
• Goal 3:Student Feedback: Investigate student engagement options through online
and on-campus resources to solicit feedback on how PSA can improve and expand
on current services provided.