CREDIT: LAUREN DIETRICH
(Left to Right) Christine Belanger, Andrew Waterworth, Jahmoyia Smith and Anthony Stergiu have teamed up as the Fanshawe Student Union's (FSU) co-ordinators and president, to make the 2018/19 school year a great one.

Christine Belanger - Advocacy and Communications Co-ordinator

Christine Belanger is the advocacy and communications co-ordinator with the Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) for the 2018/2019 school year. Her role is to help students with academic and code of conduct appeals, act as a support system for both students and colleagues and run all of the clubs at the school.

Having grown up in Ottawa, Fanshawe was not one of Belanger’s top choices. After visiting Fanshawe on an open house day she immediately fell in love with the school and confirmed that same day she would be coming to Fanshawe.

“I came here and I remember driving down Oxford and seeing the campus and being amazed and walking in and everyone being so nice and genuine,” Belanger said.

She moved to London almost two years ago and is enrolled in the bachelor of interior design program. Belanger has worked within the athletics department for the past two years where she developed a passion for wellness and getting as many students to be physically active as she could. Her plan is to continue to promote wellness in her role with the FSU. In addition to wellness, Belanger’s biggest goal is awareness.

“Students don’t know the kind of resources that we have here. There are so many resources with the school, the student union, and even London that students aren’t taking advantage of,” Belanger said. She wants students to be able to use these resources to develop their resumes and gain experience.

“I want students to say, ‘I went to Fanshawe and I enjoyed going to Fanshawe’,” Belanger said.

In the future, Belanger hopes to get a job in her field whether it be nationally or internationally. She plans to travel around for a while and find somewhere that fits what she wants. As long as she is designing she will be happy.

To contact Christine Belanger email c_belanger@fanshawec.ca.

Andrew Waterworth - Student Life Co-ordinator

Andrew Waterworth, from New Market, Ont., is the student life co-ordinator with the FSU this year. His job is to be a part of all the activities that go on at the college such as Frosh Week and Awareness Week. After coming to London to visit his sister at Western a few times, Waterworth fell in love with the downtown area, the feel of the city and how much London caters to the student life. He just graduated from the Music Industry Arts (MIA) program and will be starting the Audio Post-Production (APP) program in September for his final year at Fanshawe. Waterworth has been part of the entertainment crew at Fanshawe for the past year. Having experience with planning and running events, Waterworth knew that he would be an asset to the FSU.

“I feel I can help improve current events that we run and bring some new ideas to the table and get some new things going on in the school as well,” Waterworth said.

One idea that he has is bringing back pub nights on campus so students have an alternative to going downtown and having to deal with transportation. Another goal for Waterworth is to create a relationship between different programs at Fanshawe.

“People in media programs, such as myself, do not get a lot of communication with other media programs that could benefit from them,” Waterworth said.

Having this relationship will allow for opportunities such as graphic designers doing work for bands or the radio program working with Fanshawe musicians to broadcast their music. After Waterworth is finished his graduate certificate he plans on looking for an internship at an audio house in Toronto and continue to DJ.

To contact Andrew Waterworth email a_waterworth2@fanshawec.ca.

Anthony Stergiu - Finance Co-ordinator

Anthony Stergiu is the finance co-ordinator at the FSU this year and is responsible for everything to do with money. From handling the money coming in and out to signing off on cheques, Stergiu’s role is to ensure that the funds are in order. After completing a year of college near his hometown of Whitby, Ont., Stergiu decided that he wanted to move further away from home to pursue his education. He came to Fanshawe to study finance and hopes to create a good foundation for further education at Western. In addition to finance, Stergiu is also interested in music and snowboarding and is a member of a fraternity at Western. He chose to apply for the Finance Co-ordinator position to apply the skills he learned in the classroom.

“The position seemed really good and really suitable for what I want to do when I get older and is a good step into the industry. Financial planning and handling money for a unit as big as the FSU will give me great experience,” Stergiu said. For the upcoming school year, Stergiu has several plans to help students learn about budgeting and understanding their finances.

“I really want to hammer in some financial awareness seminars and things like that. We don’t really have a gage for the financial literacy at Fanshawe including whether people know how to budget and what they want to learn so I want to introduce a lot of information gathering to see where people are at and apply some program and events,” Stergiu said. After graduating from Fanshawe, Stergiu said he plans to go to Western and then hopes to get into the finance industry in either downtown Toronto or the states.

To contact Anthony Stergiu email a_stergiu@fanshawec.ca.

Jahmoyia Smith - President

Jahmoyia Smith was elected as the FSU president in the spring of this year and said she is excited to work alongside the co-ordinators to develop plans for Fanshawe students. Originally from Jamaica, Smith came to London almost four years ago and chose Fanshawe as she felt it had the most to offer. She is enrolled in the honours bachelor of early childhood leadership program and will be entering her final year in September. Smith has been a part of the FSU since her first semester at Fanshawe, in addition to the Student Wellness Centre, student feedback survey, presenting at leadership conferences on campus, international volunteering and many more.

“I have a passion for student government, leadership, and advocacy. I want to help students and make sure I am advocating for students,” Smith said.

Smith has several goals for the upcoming school year in terms of mental health awareness and services, improving food services on campus and helping the Student wellness Centre cater to more students. In addition to these goals, Smith understands that generating new ideas throughout her term is key to success in student government.

“Student needs are not universal. They change everyday and every semester for every cohort. Goals will come up throughout the year and when we set up our strategic direction with the board of directors we will be able to filter through some of the ideas,” Smith said.

In the future, Smith plans to use her bachelor’s degree to apply to law school with the focus on family law. She hopes to travel the world and is open to wherever the world takes her.

To contact Jahmoyia Smith email j_smith266@fanshawec.ca.