Sophie Le |
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Running for:
VP EDI, VP External
About me:
My name is Sophie (she/her) and there’s many ways I could describe myself! I’m proudly a first-generation Canadian who was born and raised in Viet Nam. I started my undergraduate degree at Guelph in Molecular Biology before switching into Arts and Science in my third year to specialize in Gender Studies. I hold strong values about being anti-oppressive and pursuing equity, although I’m still learning what this looks like in action and unlearning my preconceived biases. I love connecting with others, especially when they inevitably hold different beliefs from mine. I think it’s beautiful to try meeting each other with kindness and shared human experiences despite our differences. One thing I’ve been trying to work on recently is how to sustainably balance self-care and working/studying. I’m also a huge cat lover who’s never had a cat and a passionate singer regardless of what my karaoke score might say!
My platform:
In this past month, it’s been a wonder to meet so many outstanding peers from every campus and have the privilege of learning from everyone’s unique experiences! As a huge extravert, I have always thrived in building connections and using open discussion to contribute to complex problems. For instance, I was on the Guelph Federal Youth Council to influence political issues by sharing youth perspectives with the MP. On White Ribbon’s National Youth Council, I organized a gender-based violence prevention initiative with input from peers around the country. As VP External, I would use my interpersonal skills from these experiences to connect with other schools and seek creative ways to improve our program, while also proudly sharing McMaster’s strengths in community-building and clinical learning. I still have much to learn about our program and this role, but I promise to prioritize our student body and put my best foot forward!
How do you plan to ensure that EDI is integrated in your role(s)?
As VP External, I believe integrating EDI would mean noticing who is and isn’t being accounted for in every discussion that I have the privilege of participating in. It would look like contributing to a culture that explicitly prioritizes EDI both within and outside the program because this becomes a social determinant for the kind of care that our patients will end up receiving. I also must acknowledge my positionality as someone who is part of some equity-deserving groups while also being unfamiliar with others. It would be my responsibility to research current issues around EDI and familiarize myself as I would be representing our diverse student body. I also recognize that systemic patterns of injustice exist but everyone will experience these differently on an individual level. As such, I would prioritize openly listening to different perspectives without generalizing them to entire groups and commit to representing them fairly.
VP EDI, VP External
About me:
My name is Sophie (she/her) and there’s many ways I could describe myself! I’m proudly a first-generation Canadian who was born and raised in Viet Nam. I started my undergraduate degree at Guelph in Molecular Biology before switching into Arts and Science in my third year to specialize in Gender Studies. I hold strong values about being anti-oppressive and pursuing equity, although I’m still learning what this looks like in action and unlearning my preconceived biases. I love connecting with others, especially when they inevitably hold different beliefs from mine. I think it’s beautiful to try meeting each other with kindness and shared human experiences despite our differences. One thing I’ve been trying to work on recently is how to sustainably balance self-care and working/studying. I’m also a huge cat lover who’s never had a cat and a passionate singer regardless of what my karaoke score might say!
My platform:
In this past month, it’s been a wonder to meet so many outstanding peers from every campus and have the privilege of learning from everyone’s unique experiences! As a huge extravert, I have always thrived in building connections and using open discussion to contribute to complex problems. For instance, I was on the Guelph Federal Youth Council to influence political issues by sharing youth perspectives with the MP. On White Ribbon’s National Youth Council, I organized a gender-based violence prevention initiative with input from peers around the country. As VP External, I would use my interpersonal skills from these experiences to connect with other schools and seek creative ways to improve our program, while also proudly sharing McMaster’s strengths in community-building and clinical learning. I still have much to learn about our program and this role, but I promise to prioritize our student body and put my best foot forward!
How do you plan to ensure that EDI is integrated in your role(s)?
As VP External, I believe integrating EDI would mean noticing who is and isn’t being accounted for in every discussion that I have the privilege of participating in. It would look like contributing to a culture that explicitly prioritizes EDI both within and outside the program because this becomes a social determinant for the kind of care that our patients will end up receiving. I also must acknowledge my positionality as someone who is part of some equity-deserving groups while also being unfamiliar with others. It would be my responsibility to research current issues around EDI and familiarize myself as I would be representing our diverse student body. I also recognize that systemic patterns of injustice exist but everyone will experience these differently on an individual level. As such, I would prioritize openly listening to different perspectives without generalizing them to entire groups and commit to representing them fairly.