My name is Brittany McBeath and I am a Kanyen’kehá:ka (Mohawk) woman with roots in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. I have been studying at Queen’s University for the past 8 years and am currently in my 3^rd year of doctoral studies within the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies. Currently, I hold the Indigenous Student Liaison position with the SGPS and have become well acquainted with the SGPS as an organization and with the administration at Queen’s University. From my perspective as a Kanyen’kehá:ka woman, a leader must be grounded in serving the collective by positioning themselves on the same level as everyone else, never above. My leadership style as the VP Graduate will be to watch and listen before I speak. I also believe that a leader seeks to empower others through mentorship and thus I intend to be active and accessible within our SGPS community at Queen’s. I embrace a plurality of views and believe opposing views are simply reflections of the different realities of different human beings. When engaging with those who disagree with and/or oppose my views, I am always interested in first understanding their lived reality. This can only be done by engaging in conversation, leaning into and being curious about this issue or task at hand. My approach to leadership encourages an appreciation of the diversity of people. To bring innovative solutions within my time as the VP Graduate, I will be open to a plurality of perspectives, have the courage to ask critical questions, and enact change through taking direct action.

Key promises

• I will bring a strong focus on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity in advocacy work at the administrative level.
• I will ensure SGPS membership can work closely with the executive by serving as a bridge between the many established networks of student advocates and the wider student body.
• I will create opportunities for my leadership to be guided by the needs and concerns of SGPS Council and the SGPS Membership.

My name is Monica (she/her) and I am a mature student from northern Ontario who returned to school later in life. I have been participating on councils and committees since joining the Biology department at Queen’s in 2017, however the pandemic and other current events have led me to seek out deeper community building work by joining the SGPS as the Equity and Diversity Commissioner this year.

Accomplishments

• Advocating for the rights of students from all demographics through anti-oppression work
  • Creating a new Indigenous Consensus Representative position within the BGSC (based on Anishinaabe perspective)
  • Creation of various resource materials, documents, and events for marginalized communities (and allies) with UCARE, PSAC, AMS, HREO, CTL, and others; notably:
    • Low-income/first generation grad student resource guide (in progress)
    • Indigenous grad student resource guide (co-author, in progress)
    • Dis-orientation virtual event
    • Muslim Sharing Circle
    • Co-facilitating workshops/active panelist on Indigenizing the academy, Graduate student success (academically and wholistically), and TAships
  • Advocating for and supporting students with disabilities (BEAG)
  • Ground-level support and advocacy of LGBTQ+ students, those affected by sexual and gender-based violence, and international students
  • Advocating for student mental health and funding (BGSC, SMHN, UCARE subcouncils)
• Progress on the Soft Infrastructure Network to link EDII efforts across isolated departments

Promises

• Advocate for you and your particular concerns with compassion and conviction
• Bring everyone to the table via the Soft Infrastructure Network to listen to and advocate for, in real-time, the interests of all SGPS members at upper admin levels
• Push for policies and solutions to current member issues such as student housing, sexual harassment, mental health, and funding (generally, and extensions due to the pandemic)

Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to the opportunity to enhance my advocacy for SGPS members in this role.