sie Cas on nt A USC for

VPSE

Check out my previous experience within the Student Events portfolio at: cassieanton.com

Role of the VPSE: To coordinate involvement and facilitate engagement of students in events
and programming to enhance the student experience.

THE PLATFORM:
Understanding the VPSE Role:
The VPSE wears two hats:

1.The Executive Board Member I will work with all other executives to facilitate the best programming for students at Western through my portfolio and by supporting my fellow executive in their initiatives, in order to create the ultimate student experience.

My Vision for the SE Portfolio:

Approachability: Improve communication between commissioners/coordinators, councils, affiliates and the VPSE. Accessibility: Streamline resources internally (for commissioners and coordinators within the portfolio) and externally (for club executives, club members, head sophs, programming assistants). Innovation: Implement new ideas & programming that will benefit students of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs. Sustainability: Build upon the groundwork that has already been established within the portfolio.

2.The Leader & Mentor I will schedule bi-weekly meetings (check-ins) with all commissioners and coordinators within the SE portfolio to improve communication, support, and approachability. I will empower my commissioners and coordinators so that they can build their portfolios to new heights.

Share your vision with me: canton3@uwo.ca

AN OPEN SE PORTFOLIO:

Work with VP Communications and USC staff to streamline internal processes and procedures for commissioners/coordinators. Establish an All-Encompassing Events Calendar for the USC, Councils, & Clubs o by using WesternLink (new online events hub) to its full potential o club events will automatically be added upon event proposal approval by SOAs

e ssin Experience Ca to Knowledge n Afor USC Approachability

VPSE

EMPOWERMENT HIGHLIGHTS: Empower Commissioners & Coordinators through: Effective Transitions Finance Training Professional Development

Empower Students via the New Initiative Application

EMPOWERING COMMISSIONERS & COORDINATORS:

Goal: I will work with USC staff and the Executive to implement a comprehensive volunteer training program to orient commissioners & coordinators to the resources available to them to complete their jobs. - Improving commissioner and coordinator transitions o Identifying Resources: Tours of USC Operations & Services o Establishing relevant portfolio contacts early on o Meet & Greets with USC staff and fellow commissioners/coordinators o Explaining processes & resources beyond final reports - Implementing mandatory finance training o Work with USC VP Finance to ensure that the SE Coordinators are trained on budgeting and financial processes - Offering opportunities for professional development o The Student Success Centre offers many programs and workshops that will help the commissioners/coordinators improve their leadership skills and build upon their professional goals, such as effective communication and conflict management

EMPOWERING STUDENTS:
ISSUE: Currently there is no formal process for students who are interested in starting up a new initiative at Western. Students must jump through hoops in order to find meaningful support and resources. SOLUTION: The New Initiative Application - Modeled after the New Club Application, students are given a direct opportunity to submit ideas in the form of an official proposal to the USC Executive who will then provide feedback. - This application is specifically for events, initiatives, or awareness campaigns that a student is interested in implementing and leading at Western. - The Executive will consult the Idea Forum to gain a better understanding of the type of programming students want to see happening at Western. - This allows for student empowerment, new initiatives to grow under the USC, and for students with exciting ideas to receive improved support and resources. - Approved proposals will automatically be entered into the grant application process or the boards $20,000 programming fund - This initiative is reflective of how the new Special Events Coordinator can support student initiatives. Each year at Western, the demographic changes, yet our programs have remained the same. Its time for some student input.

Commitment to Improvement & Sustainability

THE SE RESEARCH PROJECT:

ISSUE: The SE por*olio must change and grow in order to adapt to the dynamic demographic of rst-years students walking through the Richmond Gates each year. Currently, we are not the best when it comes to all aspects of clubs, charity, or theatre. We must look to other post-secondary insEtuEons to nd out how we can improve and where our resources are lacking. SOLUTION: The Ocial SE Research Project We like to think that Western does things BIGGER and BETTER than any other school, but lets do the research to ensure that the SE por*olio evolves in a posiEve and sustainable direcEon. Lets build a knowledge base on programming standards across the country.

VPSE will work closely with SE Commissioner-at-Large to research other universiEes to see how we can improve and if there are new ideas or processes that the USC should consider implemenEng within the SE por*olio. This report would include recommendaEons to be approved and implemented in a Emely manner.

The research ndings will be compiled into a report to be presented to the SE Standing Commi;ee and council. With the addiEon of the extra curricular transcript, it is important to research how other educaEonal
insEtuEons are documenEng the learning outcomes gained from professional development programs.

RSHIP: LEADE

Strengthening Ties with SSC

ISSUE: Currently there are leadership programs and resources oered through the USC and the Student Success Centre (SSC) that overlap. Programs compete for aOendance and students face frustraEons when trying to navigate through informaEon and resources that are not centralized. SOLUTION: Strengthening Ties & Building RelaEonships In order to provide the best resources, services, and programming to students, the USC must recognize the value in direcEng students to services that are already available, instead of trying to be the experts in everything. RESULT: Enhance the USCs STEP Leadership Program by collaboraEng with the Student Success Centres LEP (Leadership EducaEon Program), which oers a Le/er of Accomplishment, signed by Dr. Chakma, for all parEcipants who complete a module. In todays compeEEve job market, students are looking to dierenEate themselves through extra-curricular involvement and leadership development. Lets help students achieve these goals of by collaboraEng with the Student Success Centre, which oers many programs such as SAO, Mock Interviews, AlternaEve Spring Break, Resume Workshops, and more! I will support ongoing collaboraEons between the USC and the Student Success Centre.

LEARN MORE: CASSIEANTON.COM

Purple Pride
School Spirit: Engaging Upper-Year Students through Programming
Purple Frost

FROST WEEK:

ISSUE: Extensive Frost Week programming is offered for first-year students via Residence, OC, and Affiliates, while upper-year students are left to make their own plans. SOLUTION: Committed to working with incoming Executive Slate to facilitate Purple Frost, which is similar to Purple Fest & Purple Finale. Purple Frost will welcome ALL students back to Western after the winter break and will feature 1 or 2 big events on campus. We can encourage upper-year students to get more out of their Frost Week by offering coupons or discounts for activities in the London Community, with options such as a discount at Boler Mountain, Marble Slab, Smokes Poutinerie, skating rentals or even a promo on hot chocolate from the Spoke.

THE PURPLE MOVEMENT

WESTERN PRIDE
The Welcome to Western Campaign: An SE & VP Com. collaborative initiative. 1. The Video: The Lip Dub trend is long gone, but well be the first to ignite a campus-wide promotional campaign that various student groups can get involved with: Increase school spirit This Western promo video will showcase aspects of Western that students love and involvement opportunities, while also strategically highlighting USC services and operations.

An SE & VP Internal collaborative event. A Pay-It-Forward Project where students would receive a purple bracelet that has a simple message written on it, such as: DO GOOD. PASS ON. The bracelet would also have the hashtag #purplemovement written on it so that students could tweet about a good deed they did, or perhaps a good deed that someone did for them. An online campaign would accompany the bracelets to promote the twitter/feedback aspect A twitter feed would be set up via projection screen in the UCC atrium so many students could share in the positive messages. I am passionate about implementing a movement that will increase purple pride and help develop the best student experience.

2. The Tradition: Introducing students to their first CLT! In their O-Kits, all first-year students will receive a discount or coupon for the Wave & Spoke, which will advertise the classic CLT and/or other menu items.

USC Student of the Month: Lets recognize our outstanding students who have demonstrated excellent leadership skills or who have volunteered within the Western community. Lets tell their story and highlight their accomplishments! Students can nominate themselves or peers by filling out an online form and briefly explaining why the nominee deserves recognition. A news post on the new & improved USC website will feature the student & their accomplishments. This is one small step in making sure that hard work and passion do not go unnoticed.

Supporting First-Year Students & Enhancing O-Week

ORIENTATION PROGRAM:
Community Involvement

Work with the VP External and community partners to ensure the success of our first-ever downtown Shinerama! Introduce programming options, such as kid-friendly activities & stations, that will entice local families to come out.

Bringing Clubs to O-Week 2013 Work with the Clubs Coordinator and Orientation Coordinator to orchestrate club involvement in O-Week for September 2013. Addressing the concerns of the recent O-Week survey results, the participation of a variety of clubs (cultural, academic, interest-based) will create a more inclusive and comfortable environment Introducing clubs to O-Week 2013 is already in the works, and it will be my goal to ensure the smooth implementation of this initiative so that student involvement in O-Week expands beyond the sophing and residence staff community.

Academics ISSUE: The orientation program needs to see a greater emphasis on academics. I will work with the Academic Orientation Coordinator and the Student Success Centre to establish guidelines for academic programming (lectures that feature academic interest, counselling info) and faculty day programming in order to set students up for success. Work with the Orientation Coordinator and the Academic Orientation Coordinator to ensure faculty soph accountability. Centralize resources by critically examining programming offered by the USC and the Student Success Centre in order to mitigate overlap and strengthen collaboration. LAMP Peer Mentors and Faculty Sophs can work together to promote academic initiatives instead of offering similar programming that competes for attendance & resources.

R FOCUS 1ST-YEA

Soph Weekends: Leadership Development Resources

Enforce Team Building & Provide

Champions Cup & X-Cup

ISSUE: Currently these awesome involvement opportunities are not covered under the USCs insurance policies. This year there were several concussions and head injuries during Champions Cup, which were not dealt with in a safe manner. SOLUTION: To improve these highly-attended & widely-enjoyed activities, I will implement: o Mandatory training for coaches o New First Aid policies that will ensure there is a first aid kit and trained responder on the field at all times. o Mandatory mouth guards for all players. This is a financially responsible safety measure. Financial Accessibility: I will establish a $45.00 cap per student for participation in Champions Cup and X-Cup. Teams can still order jerseys or shirts within this budget. Inclusivity & Consistency: Cheer guidelines for these tournaments should be consistent with those of O-Week. Creating a comfortable & inclusive environment is an underlying principle.

MY EXPERIENCE: CASSIEANTON.COM

e ssin Experience Ca to Knowledge n Afor USC Approachability

VPSE

CLUBS COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS: Improving the student experience by:

Providing more accessible resources to Club Executives Facilitating Spring Training so clubs can be active over the summer & participate in O-Week Rewarding Clubs via monetary awards, which will be used for programming for club members

CLUBS COMMUNITY @ WESTERN

WesternLink (WL) WL is the new, centralized online hub for everything clubs-related. Club execs use WL to submit event proposals. ISSUE: After gathering feedback from hundreds of execs and members, it is evident that there is confusion surrounding how to use this new system SOLUTION #1: Online tutorial videos for all club executives, members, and students SOLUTION #2: Streamline current issues: Ensuring that improvements, such as basic text formatting and attachment capabilities, take place over the summer

Clubs Website ISSUE: Website is currently not user-friendly. Club executives have found it difficult to navigate. SOLUTION #1: Complete Overhaul required (Will work with VP Comm to ensure consistency with USC website) SOLUTION #2: Commence the transition of moving website resources over to WesternLink so that all information is centralized All relevant links will be made accessible & an interactive version of the new Clubs Handbook will be uploaded The Clubs Resource Room Complete renovations as accounted for in the approved budget and order new furniture once the new Governance Offices have been established. Add Egan Wall (whiteboard). Space is scarce: Booking system will be implemented so that club execs can book the space for regular meetings. The Student Organizations Advisors (SOAs) will be moved into the offices located in the new Clubs Locker room so that all clubs support staff are in a centralized location. This will be your one-stop clubs hub! Club Awards Clubs Governance Edit financial policies surrounding executive spending. There needs to be a limit to how much executives can spend on team dinners or exec sweaters Review all policies to ensure that the club members dollars are protected Implement a better support network for club executives, including: accessible resources in the Clubs Resource Room, additional leadership training and workshops such as conflict management Executive Training Assist the current Clubs Coordinator in organizing Club Executive Training for this Spring 2013. Re-evaluate the Finance, Events, and President breakout sessions to ensure that information is being relayed effectively. Collect feedback from club executives so they can have a direct voice in improving training for the following year.

New awards were created this year for Clubs Gala in March. Transparency: Awards and their descriptions will be added to the Clubs Website in May.

Clubs deserve recognition: A list of award-winning clubs will be displayed on clubs website One of the awards - Club of the Year - will receive a financial reward. Money would be allocated toward programming for the clubs members.

COUNCILS: ITS TIME

Council Training Councils, Ive heard your feedback, and Im making it a priority: Training for Councils will be separate from Clubs Training. I will work with the USC President and VP Finance to establish eecEve training that is geared towards the specic needs of council execuEves.

The Best Student Experience at A Research Intensive University

WORK HARD, PLAY HARD

EXAM SUPPORT: STUDY MARATHON

Beyond those delicious midnight breakfasts, there are initiatives that we can implement in order to better support students academic needs. Lets empower students to find that balance between student experience and academia. Tired of wandering the libraries for study space? Problem solved! A Study Marathon is a 10 or 12 hour event where students compete to see who can study the longest while sitting in a comfortable environment. Study Marathons have been very successful in residences previously and are monitored to ensure both safety and fun. Multiple study marathons can be organized to accommodate large volume. During the study marathon, there will be scheduled breaks which will include programming such as: interaction with puppies, a visit from a high-energy aerobics instructor, and complimentary tea or coffee. I will commit to supporting and developing effective programming with the VP Internal.

Many of these platform points came from my past experiences within the SE Portfolio. To learn more, please visit cassieanton.com

ACT ME CONT

QUESTIONS? CANTON3@UWO.CA

e Cassin for VP Student Events Anto

I want to hear from YOU.
Send me your ideas, input, & suggestions

@cassie_anton |cassieanton.com | canton3@uwo.ca

LEARN MORE: CASSIEANTON.COM