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VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC BIOGRAPHY
VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC BIOGRAPHY 150 150 admin

JESSIE DINH

Jessie Dinh was born and raised in Northeast Calgary, to two immigrants who both fled the Vietnam War as boat people. While this led to many crazy tales and some pretty high expectations, Jessie attributes much of her drive and confidence to her parents’ unwavering support. Over the years, they contributed to her excellence in swimming and gymnastics.

Jessie’s first few jobs included summer camps, receptionist roles, and a stint as a barista. She quickly learned that she loves to work with people, no matter how difficult they may be. After spontaneously applying for and eventually serving two years as the SU Kinesiology Representative, she found a passion for policy and advocacy and developed her leadership skills to support others. Jessie was once a passive and reserved person, particularly in times of conflict; however, this role enabled her to grow into the “assertive, passionate, and sometimes annoying” person she is today. This growth led to her decision to run for Vice President Academic where she aims to advocate for student interests on especially juicy matters. Her biggest goal is to help those who feel small learn how to advocate for themselves as well.

Jessie is currently studying for a BSc in Kinesiology. She loves learning about human health, exercise, and nutrition. She hopes to apply this knowledge in helping those around her live healthy lifestyles, as well as learning how to enhance her own.

Whenever she is not in the office, you can find her on the tennis court, hitting the slopes, or wandering the mountains with her friends. While she is not the most athletic person, she tries her best to stay active where she can, and also because it is just embarrassing for a Kinesiology student to be sedentary. Jessie also loves a quick little 1000-piece puzzle.

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Arlington Antonio Santiago – Biography
Arlington Antonio Santiago – Biography 150 150 admin

Vice President Operations & Finance

Arlington is originally from Barranquilla, Colombia. After being displaced at age three, he became a political refugee and entered Canada via Montreal as a protected person at the age of five. He moved again to northeast Calgary a few years later. Growing up, Arlington loved making others laugh. He also enjoyed anime, playing street fútbol, and baking bread at his parents’ family business.

In 2021, as a first-time volunteer with the Falconridge-Castleridge Community Association, Arlington was elected Secretary and joined the Board of Directors. The association accessed a grant to install solar panels that reduced the operating cost down to zero, enhancing the quality of services offered by the community centre. Later that year, Arlington also volunteered as a project manager to build a fit park dedicated to an underfunded and underdeveloped part of the city.

Arlington’s journey so far has taught him to be proud of overcoming setbacks, and what it means to make important improvements to structures of power in his local community. He is passionate about breaking down barriers to entry when it comes to post-secondary education such as the cost of education, access to affordable housing and proper economic development conditions for students. He will be the first but certainly not the last member of his nuclear family to attend university and graduate with more than just a degree.

Arlington is in the Faculty of Arts, with majors in Political Science, Law and Society, and Sociology. Over his time as an undergraduate, he has been studying the possibility of an anticipatory post-work society.

Arlington loves to work out and go for long walks around the Bow River with his dog, a CattleJack named Astro-Juice (AJ for short). He aims to hike five times this summer and go for at least one winter hike. Arlington is big fan of Manchester City Fútbol, and can be also found at the library reading manga, geo-political economy and watching a wide variety of documentaries.

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Ermia Rezaei-Afsah – Biography
Ermia Rezaei-Afsah – Biography 150 150 admin

PRESIDENT

Ermia Rezaei-Afsah grew up in Tehran, Iran, and moved to Calgary when he was 10 years old. As a kid he loved trivia and geography, and was interested in world history and politics even as young as seven years old.

After serving last year as an SU Faculty of Arts Representative on the 80th SLC, Ermia was elected to VP Student Life. His passion for equity and accessibility is informed by his experience as an immigrant to Canada and by his experience as a student trying to navigate the university system to access resources. His practice in the latter turned him into an advocate to help others navigate the system as well. These experiences are what inspired him to run for VP Student Life.

He has previously worked at a farmer’s market and landscaping. He has been a part of clubs such as the History Students’ Association, Food Justice Now, Philosophia, and Students for Direct Action.

Ermia is majoring in History and Anthropology, with a minor in Latin American Studies. He is most interested in Middle Eastern and Latin American history and their intersections. His favourite subjects are culinary history and the history of food.

His interest in cooking stems from an interest in both learning about other cultures and carrying on his own. Ermia likes to learn recipes through learning about the context and politics behind the dish. Food is a great way to connect, and he loves to host and create space for people. His interest food in naturally led him to gardening, and includes different growing techniques, light woodworking, growing things on a budget, growing culturally important produce in very different climates, and more.

Ermia loves to cook complex and unique food and grows as many ingredients as he can. He knows how to ferment foods and make his own yogurt, cheese, fermented pickles, sauces, kombucha, among other things. He even knows how make vinegar from scratch. He also loves preserving produce by making jams, vinegar pickles, and Cheong-style preserves (Cheongs are Korean syrups made with zero-heat). His four food obsessions are tea, yogurt, olive oil, and vinegar. He’s also obsessed with pasta.

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Mateusz Salmassi – Biography
Mateusz Salmassi – Biography 150 150 admin

Vice President External

Mateusz Salmassi grew up in Los Angeles, California. His parents moved to the United States seeking a better life, where they met as coworkers. He was a reserved kid who liked to read, before becoming obsessed with playing soccer.

Mateusz’s upbringing heavily influenced his interest in advocacy, and grassroots organizing. Whether it was the international factors that drove his parents to move to the US, or how policies like the minimum wage impacted the family, Mateusz realized that people and politics could explain so much.

His first job was canvassing for Greenpeace; the role connected his passion for politics with an understanding of the power of face-to-face conversation. Mateusz then campaigned for a public health care system in the state of California. He brought his political outlook with him when he moved to Calgary.

As president of the Faculty of Arts Students’ Association (FASA), Mateusz took a lead role in helping to defeat the privatization of the UCalgary bookstore.

Mateusz decided to run for SU VP External once he understood how the position could do more than lobby, but mobilize students around the major issues we face. His experiences with the challenges of being an international student,along with rent and food insecurity, make him like a dog with a bone when it comes to advocacy.

Mateusz is studying Psychology under the Faculty of Arts, completing a certificate in Sustainability Studies. While he originally wanted to become a counseling therapist, the love he developed for advocacy and grassroots organizing has pushed his interests toward work where he can pursue both.

In his free time, Mateusz likes to garden and spend time with friends and family. When he goes back to visit Los Angeles, Mateusz loves to eat Mexican and Persian cuisine, and dance.

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Sandra Amin – Biography
Sandra Amin – Biography 150 150 admin

Vice President Academic

Sandra Amin has always been bright, both in demeanor and intelligence. The Egyptian education system’s fierce competitiveness, as well as a drive to succeed, meant she spent much of her younger years studying. Her world would quickly change as she was a firsthand witness to the violence and instability that swept the nation during and after the Arab Spring. At the age of ten, she moved to Canada.

After serving last year as a Science Faculty Rep, Sandra was elected as VP Academic for the 81st SLC. She built an impressive portfolio as a Science Rep, hitting the ground running by spearheading the Open Educational Resource campaign. Her strong sense of responsibility and empathy have empowered her to make sure every student’s voice is heard. She firmly believes that change is necessary for post-secondary education, and this change is the reason she ran for office. While the world is quickly changing with the prevalence of remote work and AI, so too is our education system. She aims to reimagine assessments for a modern student, as well as ensure all students know their academic rights. She believes that the university must be prepared to support all students, through accommodating neurodivergence and offering greater mental health supports.

Sandra is studying neuroscience with a certificate in Wellness. After initially aiming to become a doctor to help others, her interests have expanded to include AI, software, politics, and policy.

In high school, Sandra volunteered for the Veteran’s Food Bank and CAWST (A Safe Water For All Initiative). More recently, she volunteered for Calgary’s Future. She has also worked as a DRO for Elections Canada.

Sandra is a singer – Disney songs are her specialty! – and dancer who can do leaps, splits, and pirouettes. In her spare time, Sandra loves to crochet, build puzzles, and play volleyball.

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Shaziah Jinnah Morsette – Biography
Shaziah Jinnah Morsette – Biography 150 150 admin

President

Born and raised in Calgary’s north east, Shaziah Jinnah Morsette continues to call the area home. Shaziah describes her childhood self as a “major nerd” who was also obsessed with dance and fashion. As a daughter of a refugee, she always had questions to ask, and was always creating connections in her mind, which she now attributes to undiagnosed ADHD.

The academic landscape is not friendly to all identities; including racialized folks to those with neurodiversities, and all the intersections in between. This is an issue that Shaziah can speak on with experience, having been placed on special academic probation in 2017 and navigating the process that took her from the Academic Turnaround Program to the Dean’s list, and being elected to Vice President Academic of the Students’ Union (SU).

Shaziah was featured for a Community Stories video with the Campus Mental Health Strategy, empowering others who share similar barriers to aspire to leadership positions. Ultimately, Shaziah prides herself on being an authentic and vulnerable leader, bringing both her failures and successes to the table.

In 2022-23, as the SU’s Vice President Academic, Shaziah advocated for a formal policy to prevent online exam proctoring and breaking down the stigma between mental health and academic success, leading her to continue to advocate for several policy changes regarding due dates over term break and access to experiential learning opportunities.

As an interdisciplinary student in the Faculty of Arts, Shaziah is pursuing an honours degree in Communications, and a degree in Multidisciplinary Studies with a primary focus on Political Science, and a secondary focus on Psychology. She also has two embedded certificates in Mental Wellbeing and Resiliency, and Pluralism and Global Citizenship. Her studies have led her to focus on post-secondary pedagogy practices and policies, including the future directions of liberal arts institutions and market-driven educational discourse.

You can find Shaziah spending time with her husband and their pitbull, Xena, catching up with her close friends, camping or gardening through the summer, and listening to audiobooks year-round.

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