Q&A with Student Association’s New Pres and VP

Posted on Thursday, April 14th, 2016

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On April 1, Algonquin College welcomed two new student reps — the Students’ Association (SA) President and Vice-President — who will sit on the Board of Directors and begin their terms this fall.

Congratulations to Egor Evseev, who will be taking over as President from Sara Grainger, and Charlene Dygos, who will be taking over as Vice-President from Tomas Kolafa. Congrats to both Sara and Tomas on extremely successful terms! As for Egor and Sara, they filled us in on the upcoming year, their goals, and even their spirit animals!

What made you want to run, and what drove you to victory?

Evseev: I’ve been on the Board of Directors for the past year, and I have spent the year learning and becoming more and more ingrained in the College community. I’ve heard a lot from students and I’ve gained a good understanding of how the College runs and how to influence decisions and advocate for students. So I decided that I want to use my experience to be the students’ voice, so each and every concern is heard by the College. As for what drove me to victory — I think it was students that I have met and become friends with over my time at Algonquin that supported me and carried me here.

Dygos: Being on the Board this year has really made me realize and understand the role of Vice-President, and that has been a big factor in why I decided I wanted to run for it. Initially I had an opponent running for VP and then he later dropped out. I’m glad but also sad that I didn’t get to campaign.

What is the main goal you hope to accomplish?

Evseev: As President, first and foremost I want to make sure the SA is truly working on behalf of the students. I want to make sure that any goal that our Board is working towards is serving the student population. In terms of actual deliverables, if I had to choose one thing that I’ve heard time and time again is that e-text needs fixing. Most of all, though, I want to be a good leader to our board, the SA as an organization, and every student at Algonquin College.

Dygos: The biggest goal for Egor and me was to win as a team and having accomplished that, we have plenty of ideas moving forward. As VP and President, we don’t decide on our goals. It is a Board effort that we decide together. For myself, I want to make sure all students are enjoying and getting involved with their student experience. That is what they will take with them for years after graduation.

How do you plan on involving and engaging the student body in your future plans at the College?

Evseev: One very large success of the current 2015-2016 board has been a revamped class representative system. I want to continue to make sure that the class rep system works smoothly for representing all students in all of the various areas of the college. In combination with the class rep system, I want to make sure the board and myself, are always out in the College talking to students and listening to their concerns. Plus, my door will always be open to any student that wants to chat.

Dygos: Engagement is a tough issue to come across. You have students who want to participate, students who will participate once you show them how to, and other students who wish not to be involved whatsoever. If we can operate our SA in a forward way, showing students they should and want to get involved, that would be a great start.

Is there anything we can look forward to in the fall once you are in office?

Evseev: Two words: nap lounge.

Dygos: Egor and I are pushing for a nap lounge! Also keep your eyes out for details about the new athletics and recreation complex; it’s going to be awesome!

What’s your spirit animal?

Evseev: My spirit animal is definitely a duck. First, ducks are universal animals — they fly, they swim and they walk. Second, the duck is a representation of living in the now, ducks love slow moving waters ponds and creeks — they go with the flow and solve problems as they arise.

Dygos: I took a little online quiz to tell me, because the questions never occurred to me before. Turns out, I’m a wolf.

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