Hey Sheridan!

You may have heard that the SSU welcomed Ben LeBlanc as the new incoming President for the 2019/2020 academic year. You might recognize Ben from his time as Vice President at HMC, former Board of Director, and President of Jack.org Sheridan. We wanted you to get to know him a little better so here’s an inside scoop on Ben!

Q: What are you hoping to accomplish as President?

“Having had the opportunity to represent the SSU as a Vice President last year, I’ve gained insight surrounding the challenges that are posed to the services and activities that students have come to expect when they are here at Sheridan as a result of the Student Choice Initiative. In saying this, I’m looking to use my past experience and work collaboratively with Sheridan and our incredible SSU staff to ensure that we’re able to provide our students with the best experience that we can. As well, I’m committed to ensuring that our services, programming, and engagements are representative of the interests of our student body, which means more actively collecting feedback, being involved more in our community, and being more accountable and transparent with all students.”

Q: If you were stuck on an island, what would you rather have: wi-fi or someone stranded with you?

“I would much rather have a person with me on the island, but think that I would take Wi-Fi... My reasoning is that I wouldn’t want somebody else to have to sacrifice having a good life somewhere else just to be with me on the island, and think that having them remotely available to video call/chat would be more valuable. As a benefit, they could coordinate a way to rescue me!”

Q: What is/was your favourite food special at our food venues?

“My favourite food item at the food venues is a classic poutine, but instead of regular fries, I substitute sweet potato fries... It’s delicious!”

Q: What would people be surprised to know about you?

“I don’t think that there are a ton of things that people would be surprised to know about me... I’ll list two things in the hopes that one of them is interesting! First, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic Torch for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, which was one of the most incredible couple minutes! Having people cheer you on, and knowing that you are running with a small part of the Olympic flame really is an amazing experience! Another smaller piece of information about myself that some may find interesting is the amount of movies that I see in theatres every year. My girlfriend and I have made a habit of trying to see as many new movies in theatres as possible, so in 2017, we saw 39 movies in theatres!! I think that’s a little higher than average, which hopefully is something interesting 😊 ”

Q: What are some goals that you have for the year?

“This year, I’m really looking forward to pursuing a couple of goals. First, as the SSU has recently undertaken a strategic planning process under Enrique, a major goal that I have surrounds the alignment of our activities as an organization around this strategic plan, and integrating it into everything we do. This means looking at how each area of the SSU is able to work together to execute the vision and mission of this plan, while still ensuring that we’re responsive to the needs of our students. Another goal that I have surrounds increasing our collaboration and partnership with Sheridan as a means to provide a more seamless and positive student experience. Our students are the community that drives us here at the SSU, so ensuring that they feel heard, their needs are acknowledged, and that they feel represented are all very important to me. Additionally, I’d like to be able to work on advocating for a variety of student concerns that may come forward, and helping to empower others in the Sheridan community to get involved on campus! ”