The newly elected student union at St. Thomas University (STUSU) consists of an all-female and all-international student executive team, the first of its time on record.
The team will be led by next year’s president and current Vice-President of Education, Ana Lucia Pavon.
Pavon said that she was surprised to learn just how much of a milestone the team would become.
“It’s no secret that STUSU is mostly women,” she said. “I just think that’s pretty cool, because not many universities have that and I think it’s paved the way in the sense that as an international student, you have to work, I believe, twice as hard and as a woman, you also have to do that”.
“I think the team that was built, they’re not only prepared, they’re eager to take on this new role.”
Alejandra Baca, Camila Baquerizo and Sochane Campbell are the other members of STUSU’s executive team for the next academic year.
Pavon cited the team’s experience, eagerness to work and perseverance as their main strengths.
“Most international students have to pay their own rent and stuff and it’s harder because our tuition is doubled,” she said. “That just makes you want to persevere more. And there’s so much more to lose. I feel like, because we are aware of this and because we have been doing this for the past few years, that will just add to the strengths we have.”
The current President of STUSU, Ellie Namit, believes the team will bring lots of great perspectives, especially with the growing issues international students face.
“From what I know of all of them, from what I’ve heard from people during the election period and following it, is that they’re all already very strong leaders. They’re all very strong advocates. They have a lot of experience in what they’ll be going into.”
Namit’s grandfather immigrated from the United States to attend STU while it was still a Catholic institution. During that time, they explained that the student population was white and male-dominated.
“This is a really great shift towards what the university population is actually looking like and that there is a growing number of women in post-secondary education,” said Namit.
In 2024, Immigration, Refuges and Citizenship Canada capped the number of international study permit applications that could be accepted per year.
This measure has reduced the number of international students coming to Canada by about 40 per cent according to the government of Canada website.
“I’m hoping that this kind of leadership will show the government that international students are a strong asset to Canada and that it isn’t something they should be limiting, it’s something we should be encouraging more,” said Namit.
This year, the STUSU executive team consisted of three international students. Ana Laura Roman Rodriguez, the incoming international student representative, is looking forward to building on the work done by the previous group.
“I think that they’ve opened a lot of different doors for us and for students overall. I’m really proud to be in a group that’s following them,” said Roman Rodriguez.
She is excited to represent the students who she said has formed her “home away from home” with, praising the international community at STU for their “spirit.”
“We really focus on inclusivity and how important diversity is. We work really well together with each other and we always try to show a bit of where we come from, so that people can really see a different piece of the world outside of here,” said Roman Rodriguez.
Ultimately, Pavon hopes for the rest of the student body to share the level of excitement she has for the year to come as they begin a new and diverse chapter at STU.
