2011-2012 STU EXECUTIVES

President: Dong-Ling Chen

Hi! I’m Dong-Ling Chen, your STU President for the 2011-2012 year. I’m more than excited to serve you in this position and truly believe that if we all work together we can make this year unforgettable! I am in the SP1 Winston Churchill cohort of the I/S program. Out of class, you can find me on the Ultimate Frisbee fields or advocating for social justice and equity causes. In my undergrad I was Editor-in-Chief of Hey, Teach! Magazine, Student Co-ordinator for the Equity and Education Committee, and a varsity player for U of T’s Ultimate Frisbee Team. I want to hear your suggestions/ideas so please feel free to spam my email or come see me during my office hours. I guarantee your suggestions will be considered! Have a great year and I look forward to seeing all the things we can accomplish together!

Vice-President: Robert Meynell

Robert is a teacher candidate in the School, Community, and Global Connections cohort in the Intermediate/Senior division. His curriculum specialties are history and politics. Robert has a longstanding commitment to education, having taught political studies (Canadian politics, US politics, and political philosophy) at University of Ottawa,

Waterloo, and Trent. He has also taught at Yukon College, in Old Crow, Yukon, where he later was employed by the Vuntut Gwitch’n First Nation to serve as the executive director of the Old Crow Community Centre.

Robert is the author of Canadian Idealism and the Philosophy of Freedom (McGill- Queen’s University Press, 2011), and his articles, editorials, and reviews have been published in a variety of magazines and newspapers, including The Toronto Star, Toronto Life, Quill and Quire, Canadian Journal of Political Science, and Canadian Dimension.

Through his work to make positive change he has been involved with many excellent

initiatives. He has advocated for greater accessibility for people with physical disabilities

as a government relations associate at March of Dimes Canada. He is on the Property

Management Committee of Meynell House, which provides affordable supportive

housing for people with physical disabilities. He is on the Advisory Board of the Museum

of Contemporary Canadian Art. He served on the board of Citizens for Safe Cycling.

He was a founding member of Ottawa River Keepers, and he is a former Senior Public

Policy Research Fellow at the Dominion Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in political studies

(University of Ottawa), and he is very proud to be serving on the executive of the OISE

student union.

Treasurer: Amanda Reda

My name is Amanda Reda and I am your STU Treasurer for 2011/2012. I am currently enrolled in the GTA Catholic Option in the Primary/Junior Cohort. This year at OISE has started off great and I hope to make your experience here the best it can be. If you have any questions regarding the STU Budget or your student fees please don't hesitate to send me
an e-mail at amanda.reda@utoronto.ca. Good luck with everything this year!

Media Coordinator: Stanley Koh

Hi Everyone, I'm your Media Coordinator for the 2011-2012 School Year. I'm in the I/S Program at OISE and in the SP 10 Toronto West Cohort. A bit of background about myself, I'm a graduate of McMaster University majoring in Economics and Multimedia. I was involved in many student leadership initiatives at Mac (Maroons, Horizons, CLAY, etc) and have brought my leadership experience to OISE. The month before I started at OISE, I have worked with highschool students that have been accepted to various universities across Ontario at Basecamp (A Leadership Camp, by Altitude Healthcare Mentoring). Which brings me to where I'm now at OISE. So if you have any questions or concerns in terms of the STU website, please do not hesitate to email me. Also the door to the STU office is always open, if you prefer to talk to me in person. I look forward to getting to know as many OISE students here as the year goes on and good luck!

Athletics Coordinator: Isabel Jarosz (Picture Pending)

Hi Everyone, I'm Isabel, one of your Athletics Coordinators. I'm very excited to have this opportunity to get OISE students involved in athletics and I will do my best to provide you with as many opportunities as possible to participate in sports. As for myself, I love tennis and am currently a member of the UofT varsity tennis team. I also like playing squash, beach volleyball, flag football, and ultimate frisbee. I finished my B. Sc. at UofT with majors in human biology and economics then I worked for a few years here in Toronto as a sales rep. I'm now in the SP10 (Toronto West) cohort for I/S. I'm looking forward to a great year with all of you and if you have any athletics related questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me.

Events Coordinator: Sasha Faraone

I am very excited to serve as one of the events coordinators on the Student Teachers’ Union (STU) for the 2011/2012 academic year. Having graduated from the business program at the University of Western Ontario and being involved in various committees and sorority life, I truly believe a great student experience involves more than academics... you need to have fun too! I strongly encourage all of you to make the most of your time at OISE by getting involved. I recognize that we are a diverse student body, and it is my objective to host a broad range of events that appeal to everyone’s interests. The STU exists to enhance your experience while you are a student at OISE. Additionally your feedback and suggestions are very important since these events are designed with you in mind. I am looking forward to a wonderful year ahead and I hope to see you all at upcoming events!

Events Coordinator: Michelle Treleaven

Hello OISE! My name is Michelle Treleaven and I'm one half of your events coordinating team for the year. I have extensive experience planning events through my work in Residence Life at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I'm very excited to be a part of the OISE community and contributing to the events of the year. With our busy schedules it's important to take time for yourself so be sure to check in often for new events. We are always open to hearing new ideas so please feel free to email myself or Sasha (the other events coordinator for those of you who haven't read that far yet!). I'm looking forward to a terrific year!

Equity Coordinator: Richard Park

"Howdy all. I'm Richard Park, and I will be serving as one-half of the powerhouse that makes up the Equity Coordinators. I'm currently a teacher candidate in the SP3 cohort (School, Community, and Global Connections) with my teachables being Biology and General Science for the intermediate/senior levels. I spent the year after my graduation teaching English in South Korea, and am feeling great about being home and attending OISE. Although the majority of us will only have one year here, I hope that the events and services the STU provides for the student body will promote professional growth, an enhanced sense of social justice and equity, and of course, a great time for all. There's so many people I have yet to meet here, so if you have a great idea, a question, or just want to say hello, please don't hesitate to do so!"

Equity Coordinator: Michael Kim

Hello everyone, I'm Michael Kim, one of your STU Equity Co-ordinators for 2011-2012. I recently finished my undergrad at the University of Toronto, studying English literature and history. Being a part of the OISE community is a huge delight for me, as education has been my passion from early adolescence. As an executive member of the STU this year, I am thrilled to be given the chance to serve you all however I can, and to raise awareness of important Equity issues as we all look forward to an amazing year. Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions and concerns! Cheers.

Secretary: Emilia Macdonald

Hello, my name is Emilia Macdonald. I am studying to become a math and computer studies teacher at the Intermediate/Senior level. I hope that I can use my passion, enthusiasm and love for math and science to help motivate students to learn. I believe that being a teacher is an honor as well as a lot of responsibility. I am very excited to be here at OISE and I am looking to become more involved with the student community. So, I am very happy to be the secretary for the STU. I believe that an important part of our journey towards become teachers is to reach out and make connections with each other. I recently graduated from Stony Brook University (in New York) with a bachelors of science in electrical engineering. Throughout my years there I was involved in and supported many different clubs and organizations.

Speaker Of The House: Chris Brooks-Prenger

Hi! My name is Chris Brooks-Prenger and I’m your Speaker of the House. I completed my B. Sc. in electrical engineering at the University of Ottawa, worked for a couple years here in Toronto to get some experience (and help pay off my student loans). Now I'm at OISE and excited to be an I/S teacher candidate in the SP10 Peel/Halton Cohort here at OISE. Right now my main hobby is learning to play the guitar. I just started in September so hopefully by the time we all graduate I'll know one chord from another! I'm looking forward to being a part of the STU exec team and getting to know you all throughout the year.

External Coordinator: Mark Roxas

Hello. My name is Mark Anthony Roxas and I am your external coordinator for the 2011-2012 year. I did my undergrad at the University of Toronto Mechanical Engineering program. Within this program, I spent countless hours working on great projects and participating in clubs and student life, founding and growing a mentorship program for first year students within the department, and served as class representative for a graduating class of over two hundred students. Since graduation, I have held positions in both academic and private industry as an engineer, researcher, and financial analyst. My love of teaching was fostered at a young age where I showed patience and instructional leadership towards teaching peers, and students and continued on in several classroom positions serving as an instructor and mentor to both undergraduate and high school level students. After taking some time to work and travel, I have now returned to studies at OISE to become an Intermediate/Secondary Teacher in the areas of Mathematics and Physics. With my knowledge of the University of Toronto and its community I look forward to using my experience to serve the OISE community.