Name: Andrew Seymour
Faculty: Arts
Major: Political Science
Year: 3rd

What has been your greatest accomplishment at Saint Mary's?

Organizing the Fall Open House 2006. It was an event attended by over 500 prospective students. It involved a lot of coordination with the staff at Saint Mary’s and organization on my part, communication with community members and leadership to ensure that the event was a huge success.

Describe a situation where you showed leadership.

As Campus Tour Coordinator for Student Recruitment here, I have to show leadership every day. Whether it is something as simple as giving a tour to prospective students, leading Student Ambassadors in training sessions, working closely with SMU staff to coordinate events or making sure that my staff are paid each week- I must exemplify leadership and be accountable for my actions every day.

What previous experience qualifies you for this position?

As an RA and Campus Tour Coordinator I have learned a great deal about what it takes to succeed and be a leader, how to be organized and accountable. As a Political Science student, I can communicate clearly and I understand what needs to be done to generate change. As an athlete, I learned how to be a team player and to work hard. I believe I have all of the qualities- knowledge, leadership, communication, organization, accountability and work ethic- that make me an ideal candidate for VP External Affairs.

Why are you the best candidate for the job?

My experience at Saint Mary’s has always had a similar focus: serving students and their interests. As a Residence Assistant, I was responsible for the members of my floor. For eight months, I got to know them, listened to their concerns and interests and accommodated them. Now, as Tour Coordinator, I am still serving students by communicating with them, facilitating tours and working toward giving the best experience at SMU possible. All the roles I have taken on have not only been with Saint Mary’s, but as a leader. As someone who gets things done. As both an RA and Tour Coordinator, I have been fully accountable to the students, and I have succeeded. I believe I am qualified because of my genuine interest in serving the students of Saint Mary’s, my experience as a leader and event organizer, and dedication.

What is the most pressing problem/situation at SMU that you intend to solve/improve?

As a student myself, I am concerned with rising tuition rates and the increasing costs of going to university. The extent to which education is no longer accessible to those who seek it is a problem that will not go away unless the future VP External is dedicated to and focused on addressing those issues with the lobby groups that represent SMUSA. As your VP External, my main priority is to lobby for dedicated education transfers from the federal government to Nova Scotia and ensure that this is a priority for the government.

List up to five main campaign goals:

- An open meeting in September for students. An opportunity to discuss education concerns, ask questions, and get comfortable with how they will be represented by the VP External, SMUSA and the two lobby groups that SMUSA supports, CASA (Canadian Alliance of Student Associations) and ANSSA (Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations).
- Lobby toward dedicated education transfers. One of CASA’s main priorities and something I am passionate about is seeing money come from the federal government and be promised to make post-secondary education accessible and affordable for everyone.
- Get SMUSA more involved in the community and in the media through a series of charity fundraisers over the course of the year. A large part of the VP External portfolio is getting recognition from the community and Canada for the great things it is doing for students.
- Implement the SMU Web Radio, a long-time project in the VP External portfolio. Web radio is an important opportunity for students to find out about upcoming events, volunteering and it has a great number of other possibilities.