Announcement: Spring Election
Below are the candidate statements for the positions of Co-President, Treasurer, Social Media Director, Events Photography Co-ordinator and Equipment Manager. Best of luck to all candidates!
CO-PRESIDENT (2 positions)
I have already spent the last year as Event Photography Coordinator and it was a fantastic experience. Not only have I been introduced to the club, but I have been a part of its ins and outs as well, and, combined with my extensive knowledge and appreciation of photography and its practices, makes me feel as though I am more than ready to take on the task of being co-president.
Moving forward, I aim to finish the darkroom (this year has been rife with setbacks in this regard), increase the size of our rental program and make the club a more stimulating experience while still maintaining the level of fun, leisure, and involvement with the Vic community that our wonderful co-presents, Tina and Rusaba, have already established. In terms of potential workshops, this means I would like to run one all about retouching photos using Photoshop: the techniques involved over various categories of photography and how to do so tastefully and effectively. As well, I’d like to do an “Introduction to the Darkroom” workshop, once it is up and running, where we develop and print a roll of film from start to finish.
I am excited to see the club growing and I hope I am chosen to lead it in the future as its new co-president. The amount of enthusiasm I have been seeing from the community this year is heartening and a lot of it would not be possible without this position.
Portfolio: http://imgur.com/a/jWN0H
I am applying for the position of co-president because of the exceedingly positive experience I have had as VicXposure’s First-Year Representative. While being involved in the club for the past year – from designing the majority of the promotional media to leading photowalks to photographing Highball – I have been constantly impressed by the club’s meaningful contribution to the Vic community. I would love the opportunity to continue and build upon this.
Co-managing Caffiends has improved my communication, organisation, and leadership more than I imagined possible; I’ve also become acquainted with members of the Victoria community, including VUSAC, administration, and other club and levy heads. As a result, I believe I can successfully fulfill the responsibilities of co-president, including that of collaborating with other Vic groups and advocating for VicXposure’s interests.
VicXposure’s most valuable aspect, in my view, is its accessiblity to students, and I would really like to further our role as a student-focused photography resource. I plan to achieve this by:
- Organising photowalks and workshops based on student suggestions for destinations/themes,
- Applying to receive Student Projects funding for film for students that borrow the VicXposure SLR,
- Continuing efforts to receive Student Projects funding for both 35mm film and Fujifilm Instax film to shoot events, and
- Establishing our Tumblr as a photography Q&A platform using the Ask feature. (This would also create a searchable archive of general photography information.)
To complement the opening of the darkroom, I would like to hold a workshop on black and white film photography.
I hope you will consider me for the role of co-president. Regardless, I look forward to being involved in the club in any capacity and seeing all it will have to offer in the 2016-2017 year!
Work: hananikc.tumblr.com
Zayneb Ragheai
Hey Vickies! My name is Zayneb Ragheai and I am running to be the next co-president of Vicxposure. I have been involved with this club since my first year and have loved it ever since. I have been an exec for two years now – first as the Treasurer and now as the Social Director. These positions have taught me greatly about how Vicxposure works, from the events we run, to how equipment rentals work, to what methods of advertising are the most effective for us. I’ve also been involved at Vic as a Cat’s Eye Subcommittee member, a VOCA exec, a Caffiends volunteer and an Orientation leader. These positions have provided me with valuable leadership experience that would be a great asset to me as co-president. One event that I would be interested in seeing happen next year would be a ‘photography scavenger hunt’ in which participants must travel around campus and take pictures of various landmarks or objects based on set clues. This would be a good initiative because it would allow students who have experienced our workshops to go out and practice their skills, while simultaneously providing an opportunity for team building and competition! Being a part of Vicxposure for the last three years has been an incredible experience, and I hope to give back to such a great club as co-president this fall!
Julian Moran
As treasurer of VicXposure during the 2015 – 16 academic year, I believe I am best qualified to hold the position again for 2016 – 17. During my time as treasurer, I composed the VicXposure budget and worked closely with VUSAC to ensure our club got the funding it needed for Art Gala printing, transportation during photowalks, workshops, photo contest prizes, and lens cleanings. I represented VicXposure during the VUSAC budget meeting to explain all of our funding requests and push for more funding on our most important priorities.
While I was satisfied with the amount of funding we received from VUSAC, it was still important to me that we finance camera repairs to ensure all of our equipment is made available to Victoria students for rentals. I also wanted funding for Art Gala prizes so that we would get a good submission turnout. That’s why I worked with the Victoria Performing Arts Endowment so that all our funding request lines that weren’t financed by VUSAC still got funding.
I love film photography and I remain committed as ever to cultivating a vibrant photographer community at Vic. Next year, I plan to do what I already do well: ensure all our initiatives are properly funded. I’d like to work more closely with our co-presidents and darkroom managers next year to help as much as I can with Student Projects applications for our darkroom and for covering events like Highball.
Mark Wang
Hi my name is Mark, or at least my preferred name is Mark! I am applying to treasurer. I had helped with sponsorship for iGEM last summer, during which we raised several thousand dollars for the summer project. I understand deeply that photography is not an inexpensive hobby; sometimes better equipment may set apart a good photo with a great one. It may also open up surprising yet pleasant opportunities to whomever is involved. Acquiring additional funding outside of usual revenues, therefore, are key steps toward a better photographic community at Victoria College. It may be enticing to expand on the current set of equipment available for rental and hold events that may only be possible with additional monetary foundation. This is exactly what I am planning to do. I am also experienced with administrative duties a normal treasurer would be able to undertake as I love filling out forms!!!
Zayneb Ragheai
Hey Vickies! My name is Zayneb Ragheai and I am running for the executive position of Treasurer. I am interested in this position because of how much I have loved being involved as an exec for the last two years. This past year I was the club’s Social Director, and while it was it was an incredible experience, I would love to return to my first exec position on the team. In terms of experience, my involvement as a VOCA exec and Cat’s Eye Subcommittee member has required me to help with event planning, and by extension, handling how money should be spent. Being a member of the Student Projects Committee has also given me a lot of insight into money management and how budgets should be organized and spent. In addition, my familiarity with the club and how finances are generally allocated would be useful in managing next year’s budget. Being a part of the Vicxposure exec team this year has truly been a wonderful experience, and I hope to continue with it in the fall!
Hiba Siddiqui
Hey Vickies, my name is Hiba and I’m running for Treasurer. Throughout the years I have volunteered and worked with various organizations that have allowed me to experience firsthand what managing finances is all about, including collecting, budgeting and allocating funds. As a member of Vicxposure this year, I was also able to get a strong idea of the expenses required for executing successful Art Galas, Photo walks, Workshops and Prizes for Photo Competitions. I am a very approachable and friendly person who possesses great communication skills as well as great passion for photography. As treasurer I will make sure to spend more money where necessary for the club and cut back where possible to enhance the overall experience for Vic students. After all, it’s about providing a thriving, fun and creative community at Victoria College and I would love to be a part of it! Also, if you would like to see what my photography is all about you can visit my flickr account at https://www.flickr.com/photos/hibasiddiqui/
SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR (1 position)
Genevieve Wakutz
I have valuable experience with social media and I feel confident that I will be able to connect lots of students to VicXposure’s events through promotion. I am also skilled with Photoshop and other design programs, so I will be able to create captivating ads. I have really enjoyed being involved in VicXposure so far, and I want to help more students experience the fun events and photo walks that are planned throughout the year.
I am applying for the position of Social Media Director because I believe that, in my year as First-Year Representative, I have already successfully undertaken many of the responsibilities of Social Media Director. I will continue to do so (with consistent improvement!) in the future. I have designed nearly all of the promotional media for the 2015-2016 year and have had a very positive reception.
I have also been heavily involved with visual design for Caffiends and Dumbledore's Army. My involvement with all of these groups — VicXposure and Caffiends, most notably — has also given me a crash course in the most valuable forms of communication, especially when aiming to reach as large and as varied of a community as possible. I am responsible for ensuring that a team of 120+ volunteers and 13 execs stay informed with regards to Caffiends news, operations, and upcoming events, and I have learned firsthand that well-promoted Facebook events, for example, are far more effective than email updates, as is the enthusiastic placement of posters all around the Vic campus. Above all in terms of importance, however, is word of mouth — I would make it a priority as Social Media Director to always be informed and available to talk about VicXposure's upcoming events and about the club in general to the Vic community.
Having always loved the visual arts, I truly appreciate the opportunity to create it purposefully. VicXposure's amazing contribution to the Victoria community deserves the most effective promotional and aesthetic presence that it can have, and I believe that I am the right person to take on this responsibility!
Work: hananikcvicxdesign.tumblr.com
Hello my name is Katie Pereira, I would like to apply for the position of Social Media Director. I want this position because I admire the heavy social media presence that VicXposure has on all platforms already and would like to be in charge of helping to inform people of the wonderful events and opportunities that VicX offers. I have experience as events coordinator on VicPride as well as assistant communications director on VCDS. I have experience with managing social media accounts for clubs and will be taking a Photoshop course this summer in order to hone my skills with graphic design for posters and such. I am also passionate about photography and visual art being someone who values art as a form of expression as well as a much needed outlet in the stressful environment that is the University of Toronto. As such, I am eager to let people know about events and workshops that VicX would be putting on in the coming academic year. I feel that I could bring my extensive experience with managing social media, most prominently VCDS’s Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr accounts as well as postering and helping to design posters as I have done for Equity Commission, VCDS, and SEC. I appreciate being considered for this position and look forward to potentially working with the amazing group that is VicX in the coming year.
EVENTS PHOTOGRAPHY CO-ORDINATOR (1 position)
Kolton Wieczorek
I have been Event Photography Coordinator for the past year, and though I feel ready to take the reins of co-president, if the community is satisfied with the job that I have done I’d graciously accept the job again.
This year I changed the way my position operates in a way that makes opportunities more fair and accessible to those interested and have made the whole process more efficient. I have also fought for fair compensation for work since I took the position and will also
continue to operate in that regard.
The work that I have done in my time as Event Photography Coordinator, I feel, has further cemented the club in the broader community at UofT by working together with it, and events photography is only growing because of it (as I am writing this, we currently have too many requests for us to even fill).
I am amped about what we have accomplished this year and I would be more than honored if I am chosen to continue the success of the club by way of event photography.
Mark Wang
Hi my name is Mark, or at least my preferred name is Mark! I am applying to event photography coordinator. I was the coordinator of UTMUST competition and contributed to the planning of UofTBiohacks, both of which are testaments to my coordination skills. I understand the necessity to reach out and levy benefits for event photographers, both in terms of monetary compensations and enjoyable experiences. I myself have quite some event photography experience myself, helping out events such as those held by NAMUN and VCAA. I understand that event photography can be challenging and rewarding at the same time. If I get elected, I am planning to build a platform of event photographers, whose efforts are unique solutions to many events happening around campus. This could be achieved with better marketing strategies such as a dedicated webpage. I am also planning to leverage additional benefits to event photographers and to provide the necessary knowledge / equipment to make it possible.
Genevieve Wakutz
I have personally enjoyed photographing events and being able to explore the various opportunities. I would like to fill this position to help students get more photography experience and I have a lot of connections at Vic that I think will help me to provide opportunities. Photography events also helps new photographers to build portfolios, which I would love to help with. Finally, I have great organizational skills from my experience as an exec at multiple clubs.
EQUIPMENT MANAGER (1 position)
I am applying for the position of equipment manager because I want to be more involved in photography and the VicXposure community. As someone without a DSLR camera, I would appreciate more exposure to the variety of equipment; it would be a learning opportunity and a chance to experiment. I also see this position as a way to contribute to and learn from the VicXposure community through working with fellow execs and interacting with members.
I have experience maintaining and using DSLR cameras; I had often access to use and maintain family members’ camera equipment -- though I don’t own a camera myself, I am confident in my ability to take care of VicXposure equipment. With extensive administrative and teamwork experience, I will be able to work efficiently and fit in with club dynamics; I also have the adequate customer service experience to give renters a smooth and pleasant borrowing process. Furthermore, I am willing to take on any other challenge as an equipment manager and executive to make VicXposure a better community.
