Neelofar Ahmed is a fourth-year full-time doctoral student in the Educational Leadership and Policy program in Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, running uncontested for the vice-president finance position at the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU).
In an interview with The Varsity, Ahmed said that her primary motivation for running is to provide more funding for students, with the new structure of the board offering an opportunity for a “new beginning.” She points to her experience working as a vice-president and president for her departmental association as having prepared her well for the role of vice-president finance.
Additionally, in her candidate statement, she mentioned the various other leadership work she’s done as an Education Specialist/Curriculum Advisory Committee for Paper Airplanes, Inc., which she describes as “a not-for-profit organization that provides educational support and programming to refugee students in conflict-affected territories.”
Ahmed explained that she wants to create more funding opportunities for students coming from non-funded programs and introduce more merit-based, instead of needs-based, fellowships, scholarships, and awards.
Voting for the UTGSU elections opens on April 8 and closes on April 14 at 11:59 pm.
