Esther Lai
Hi everyone! My name is Esther, a second year student studying Psychology and Health Studies, and I’m excited to be running for the Volunteer Coordinator position in a slate with Sunny Chen.
With my positive experiences being a PSA volunteer this year and understanding team responsibilities, I would seize the great opportunity to serve my peers and optimize volunteers’ experience. In addition, as a PSA mentor for two first-year students, I find great fulfillment in supporting fellow psychology students. My position as Director of Marketing at UofT Volunteers Connect has further built my connection and involvement with various volunteer organizations. There is no doubt that PSA volunteers have brilliant ideas to offer to the club and the wider community, and I am dedicated to creating an inclusive and welcoming platform where those ideas are heard and achieved.
Sunny and I bonded over our common goals of creating a tight-knit volunteer community and increasing engagement in current initiatives.
Together, we aim to:
- Diversify podcast topics and areas of interests beyond research, encouraging volunteers to participate proactively
- Strengthen relationships between volunteers during office hours
- Introduce on and off campus psychology-related volunteer opportunities
Please vote for Esther Lai and Sunny Chen as your future Volunteer Coordinators!
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Pritika Vatsa — In Slate with Zayna Aqeel
Hi there!
I’m Pritika, an incoming fourth-year Psychology specialist student here at UofT. I’m running for Volunteer Coordinator with Zayna Aqeel for the 2024-25 school year. I have previously been involved in the PSA, where I have one year of general volunteer experience and one year of executive experience as the volunteer coordinator.
In addition to my experience with PSA, I have volunteer experience with schools such as Branksome Hall and as a research assistant at the Toronto Early Cognition Lab at the University of Toronto. I strongly believe that these positions have helped me strengthen the skills that I require to be a proactive and efficient Volunteer Coordinator.
As a volunteer coordinator, I plan to:
- Continue the PSA Podcast, focusing on working with professors and faculty at the University of Toronto to gain more information for psychology students about our professors’ backgrounds and work.
- Work with the PSA general volunteers for more external volunteer roles, such as working with local communities and volunteer services.
- Play an integral role in all psychology students’ weekly hours.
I hope to work with the rest of the PSA members to achieve their mission and create a diverse and accepting environment for all Psychology students at The University of Toronto.
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Zayna Aqeel — In Slate with Pritika Vatsa
Hi everyone!
My name is Zayna Aqeel, and I am one of the current Volunteer Coordinator for PSA! I’m an incoming 4th year student doing a double major in Psychology and Health & Disease, and am very excited for the opportunity to continue on with my role.
As the current Volunteer Coordinator, my involvement with PSA has given me executive experience with planning and hosting events, being in charge of groups with 30+ members, and facilitating office hours/ study with me hours.
Furthermore, a large part of my role includes maintaining the PSA Podcast (@psapodcast on Spotify!). I have taken on the role behind the scenes in editing and uploading these podcasts, as this is something I am very passionate about!
Some of my goals for the upcoming year are to continue:
- Facilitating office hours/ study with me hours to allow psychology students to navigate their program while building a sense of community
- Organizing and planning events that allow PSA volunteers to come together while also giving back to the community
- Creating and uploading podcast episodes tailored to psychology students to facilitate collaborations and a sense of community among students
Thank you for considering my candidacy.
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