Candidate Platforms 2024

Over the past year as CMAS President, I have done extensive work to improve the relations between CMAS and the MAE department, improve transparency to students, advocate for our rights and a smooth and fair education, modernize our programs, improvements to student study space, and continuing to have CMAS as a cornerstone of the community.

I facilitated alongside my faculty liaison coordinator monthly meetings between students and the department where we talked about student issues and improvements to the department.

I have advocated to the department issues students were facing, not only with their classes but also with lab equipment, examination and scheduling issues, and student life. I share ideas and issues the department has talked about at and outside of department meetings with the executive and general membership, including the new Mechatronics program, changes to the first-year ECOR classes, and modernization of the aerospace program.

I advocated and came up with a plan to add roughly 40 new seats to the EDC for students, while also ensuring that the space is well utilized.

Finally, I have continued to ensure that CMAS is the cornerstone of the community we know and love. Continuing the amazing work of previous presidents to ensure everyone is welcome and feels safe in the office and at our events. Empowering individuals of all programs, years, and backgrounds to be involved within the executive and at our events and meetings.

My plans for the future of CMAS consist of tying up loose ends from this year like the department meetings. Ensuring that they are a normal and habitual part of our and the department’s functioning. Working with CASI, CSME, and ASHRAE alongside my VP External to come up with a plan to affiliate with them while adhering to our constitutional obligations. I would also like to promote outside industry and research conferences to our membership. Ensuring that the CMAS membership is a worthwhile purchase by expanding the services offered by it.

I am not just asking you to vote for me but also to vote for the CMAS you want to see. I am committed to hearing all sides and not just those that are vocal. I want to hear from the little guy, the MAE student who is not involved. I hope that my track record as CMAS president this past year is enough to show that I am the right person for the job. To ensure that we will not stagnate and coast off of our past successes and that we will continue to plow forward and safeguard our future.

A vote for Xavier Haziza as CMAS President is a vote for compassion and vision.

To quickly summarize my platform my areas of focus are a long-term Strategic Plan, Transitions and supporting CMAS’s increased advocacy role. A big area we are currently lacking is having a long-term vision that we are working towards at CMAS, not only is this motivating for our team members but it brings into focus what our priorities should be. I’d like to help the new President and exec team develop a long term strategic plan for CMAS to ensure its long-term sustainability.

In addition to this I’d like to improve Transition reports by creating templates for execs to follow that would be revised and built upon yearly instead of rewritten every year to reduce generational knowledge loss and formalize a transition procedure for every executive position likely including a mandatory meeting of the current and incoming office holder. I’d like to continue to foster and grow the Student-Department Council with documents outlining governance at a Department, Faculty and University level to empower each subsequent team to know how to effectively advocate for our members.

From a personal perspective I want to focus on mentorship with the exec team and looking to incorporate Jr director positions to grow the talent pool we have to draw from. Basically reducing the risk of generational knowledge loss when the current generation of CMAS execs graduate or move onto other things and promote leadership development in the younger members of the team by getting them thinking longer term.

About Me:

Hello there!

I am running to be the 2024-2025 CMAS Vice President External. After serving for the last two years as the Vice President Internal, and before that as Events Director and First Year Representative, I’m looking forward to transferring my experiences with co-op jobs, conferences, and external training opportunities into the VPX role.

I’m entering my fifth year of Aerospace Stream D (Space Systems Design), and I currently work as a Satellite Engineering Student at the Canadian Space Agency, assisting in the operation of our nation’s fleet of orbiting spacecraft.

As a former CMAS Events Director, I understand firsthand the depth of work that goes into all of the amazing events CMAS holds every year. I aim to improve attendance to all CMAS events, including research talks and other industry-focused events to support upper year students in post-graduation transitions into the academic or professional world. I also want to promote a 2024-2025 as a year of exploring Ottawa, full of tours and expositions around the city showcasing engineering opportunities

If you have questions about my campaign, or just want to talk space with me, I can be reached at declanmccloskey@cmail.carleton.ca or on Discord @flightdeck.

My Platform:

OPPORTUNITY EXPANSION

• Conduct more tours of engineering facilities around Ottawa, including the National Research Council wind tunnel research facility, the Rideau Falls Generating Station, and more!

• Reignite connections to ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), an organization CMAS is officially affiliated with but has not upheld communication with in many years.

• Begin directly promoting external training opportunities available to MAE students (including courses with the European Space Agency, professional qualifications like LEED, and practical training certifications in CAD like SolidWorks and Autodesk).

• Organize the final tour of the David Florida Laboratory.

SUPPORT TO DIRECTORS

• Work directly with Events Directors to develop strategic goals for the year while fostering efficient planning and management skills, drawing on my past experience as an Events Director to help them manage workloads, plan events, and anticipate challenges.

• Reinvigorate the Publications Committee to ensure the CMAS membership is kept informed of all upcoming events and opportunities, with a focus on promoting research talks in an engaging and meaningful way.

• Present Year Representatives with a functional understanding of the content for research talks, allowing better explanations to be presented to classes.

CO-OP NETWORK

• Build a network of current and former co-op students to serve as ambassadors, who can be reached at any time during the year for questions and advice on the co-op application process

• Bring the very successful Co-op Conference to a functional hybrid setting, allowing students on campus to interact more fluidly and directly with current co-op students and other applicants.

• Incorporate resume roasts, application tailoring workshops, and more engaging activities into industry-focused events like the Co-op Conference.

• Communicate to the school about MAE student feedback on the current Carleton co-op resources available, and seek improvement on the application methods and positions offered.
  

About me:

Hi everyone! My name is Jack, I am in first year Aerospace, and I am running for VP External for the coming year. I was a first-year rep for CMAS this year, and have experience in a variety of directorships and positions both in C-ENG and in my life. I love rock climbing, robotics, anything space related and hearing about people’s hyper-fixations!

Platform:

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

I will focus on promoting career opportunities and fairs. I also believe conferences are a great way to expand your knowledge and views. As such, I will continue co-op conferences, and reach out to other mechanical and aerospace related conference organizers (such as for the Canadian Space Conference) to offer CMAS members and students discounted rates to encourage networking and development. I plan to collect member feedback on companies and organizations that they would like to see at career fairs and form working relationships with highly requested ones, as well as further our existing relationship with CASI.

EVENTS AND PROMOTION/SOCIETY ENGAGEMENT

I plan on organizing talks with different industry professionals throughout the year. I also intend to promote collaboration in research between students and professors in the MAE department by presenting research highlights, following the example set this year. I also want to work with the Astronomy Club to have more regular astronomy nights.

I will put an emphasis on promotion and work closely with the publications and office director to promote events and display them on physical and virtual calendars well in advance, to reach as many students as possible.

I hope to use these events, conferences and discounts both to promote CMAS and encourage new membership.

Bonjour folks! My name’s Jake Birkness and I’m a 4th year Aero D currently on co-op in Montreal. I’m running to be the 2024-2025 Vice-President Finance for this incredible society. Here are a few reasons to vote for me:

Systematic Financial Planning and Forecasting!

• Let’s use our financial history to plan events, determine costs, and apply for funding!

• Let’s consolidate that data into clear analytics!

• Let’s use those analytics to set balanced and reasonable prices!

• Let’s communicate those analytics to our community to show how we’ve improved!

Ex. Working with technical, I can collect information about filament usage and previous purchases. This information can be used to estimate upcoming cost of filament, apply for funding for those costs (with data to back it), and factor into printing/membership prices.

Passionate Problem-Solver and Leader!

• I’ve been involved with CMAS for 3 years now, working with many different people and roles – Events Director (2021), Vice-President External (2022), Co-op Coordinator (2023)

• I bring a ton of energy, CONSISTENTLY.

• I have broad experience working to solve problems collaboratively, such as Leadership Director at a summer camp (2022) and National Coordinator of the NASA Space Apps Hackathon (2023)

Ex. After the Montreal Space Apps hackathon was unable to find a local lead for the event, I introduced the idea and helped facilitate a pivot to an online event – allowing for the participation of 30+ students.

Alternative Streams of Income!

• CMAS’s revenue has primarily come from Membership and Caliper Sales, as well as funding from CUSA and CSES

• Merch and other items, such as isometric pads introduced this year, help generate additional revenue for the society, which can be spent to improve events (more food, bigger spaces) or introduce new ones (transportation to industry events).

• Possible ways to get more funding?

• Taking feedback from the community to find new items to sell (early Amazon style, though this is my only Bezos comparison)

• Using crowdfunding sources to tap into our external community (alumni, industry, faculty)

• Working with VPX and Events to introduce new events that have cost, or supplemental revenue streams at events (selling baked goods, etc.)

These are just some of the ideas and skills that I’ll bring to the table as your Vice-President Finance! Looking for more information? Checkout my full platform on Instagram, @jake4vpf

Introduction:

Hello dear reader, my name is Chris Goodman, and I am running for Vice President of Finance for CMAS in this upcoming year. I am currently a first-year aerospace engineering student, participating in a plethora of C-ENG activities, including but not limited to: First year representative of CMAS, the Ontario Engineering Competition, Troitski, and many more. I think not only these activities but also the achievements before university would make me a great VPF. I love rock climbing, biking, camping and I love the engineering community as a whole and want to help in any way possible in the coming years.

Platform:

This past year I believe that our current VP Finance has run things exceedingly well, and part of me being elected would be carrying on the efficacy of this year, like the monthly reports. However, I would improve on it in terms of quality of life. I would centralize the running of the service itself, creating easier methods to access important forms like the reimbursement forms and KEFC applications. This would make getting returns on CMAS money much easier and simpler, leading to a better experience for CMAS. I hope to continue the proper budgeting of CMAS to allow for less of a financial strain on people going to events and members to allow for a better all around, and to increase the amount of money CMAS has in reserve to allow for less financial worries in the future for CMAS.

I put the SERVE in VP SERVICES

CMAS! CMAS! CMAS! In addition to running for VP Finance (checkout my full platform above), I am also running for Events Director! I served as Events Director in 2021-2022 during an online school year, and I would like to return to serve you for another term.

Events is an always-changing and extremely engaging position. As Events Director, I helped introduce new events, such as the Spooky Catapult Competition, and worked to promote with publications during a difficult year for participation. This year, with many new events introduced and modified over the past two-years, I hope to build on the good work of past directors with the following:

• First/second year participation has been amazing, I’d like to facilitate increased participation from upper years, especially those returning from co-op

• We can do this through hosting an event for graduating students and emphasizing promotion to upper years (lab announcements!)

• Adding and adjusting event details to encourage more collaboration between different groups – aeros/mechs/srees/biomeds, upper and lower years, different friend groups, etc.

• For example, adding a partnership category to paper airplane with an average distance, but partners are random!

• Introduce weekly/bi-weekly short events at lunch or after classes, specifically promoted to attract new members from outside existing community

• Promote in areas around campus, partner with diverse clubs and societies, offer a CMAS membership discount ($1-2) for attending, etc.

Lastly, I would love to establish a system for tracking event data and feedback. Small details such as participants and food quantity, as well as large items such as important feedback, can be stored and used for future event planning. Over a long term, this can be used to evaluate improvements to event quality and marketing, and share with the community.

I hope that interests you and convinces you I’m your candidate, but if you want some more information, head to my Instagram page, @jake4vpf where I have my platforms for VP Finance (my primary nomination) and Events Director. Cheers!

Introduction:

Hello dear reader, my name is Chris Goodman, and I am running for Events Director for CMAS this upcoming year. I am currently a first-year aerospace engineering student, participating in a plethora of C-ENG activities, including but not limited to: First year representative of CMAS, the Ontario Engineering Competition, Troitski, and many more. I think not only these activities but also the achievements before university would make me a wonderful choice. I love rock climbing, biking, camping and I love the engineering community as a whole and want to help in any way possible in the coming years.

Platform:

I plan to use my experience as first year representative to allow me to create a better experience for the events. I would like to improve this role through efficacy and planning, making sure everything runs smoothly and quickly through a deeper connection to the community. With constant feedback and checkups with C-ENG to allow the events team to cultivate a perfect experience each time. I also to plan to bring back favourite events like: Paper Airplane Contest, Egg Drop Competition, and the Uno Patch Tournament. Improving them in my own little ways to make them even better than the last years. I have an extreme passion for creating these events and plenty of ideas, these two together making me a great choice for this upcoming year.

About Me

Hello everyone, I am Simon Kusyk and I am a second-year Law Student at Carleton University. My hometown is Mississauga, Ontario and a little about is that I work at the Ottawa Airport as a Ramp Agent (I throw bags on/off a plane and wave the lights/wands at the plane), I was an Air Cadet for 5 years and have been to Aviation and Aerospace summer courses in my Cadet time. Some things I enjoy are motorsports, playing the guitar, biking and photography.

Platform/Campaign

My platform/plan for being Events Director at CMAS is to use my knowledge and involvement in the Carleton Engineering Community to bring about more events for the coming year, bring in more Non-Engineering Students and continue to improve and work on the previous events of the year before and bring about new ones.

• I want to use myself being an Eng-At-Heart to bring in more Non-Engineering Students to our current and future events to increase involvement in the Engineering community, societies, and events.

• Make sure that any event (past or future) works out seamlessly through communication within the community, the other societies that make up the 3300 block and the university.

• Open the floor for community requested events and with that have the members be heard and their ideas be put on the table for future events.

• I would make a form for this and utilize the results to make polls to have the community vote on the event they wish to see happen.

• Give my all to make sure that everyone has a memorable experience and ensure that all events go as planned.

About me

Hello! I’m Hayley Ross, one of this year’s first-year representatives for CMAS. I am also involved with the Conc Canoe, C-Eng Musical props, and Leo’s volunteer. I am in Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering; I am passionate about building prosthetics and artificial organs. Some Fun facts about me are that I love snowboarding, board games, and crocheting.

Platform

As the events director, I want to use my experience from being on the CMAS executive team to make this year’s events the best yet and bring in some new fun ideas for everyone. When I was a first-year rep, I got to learn from our current events directors and see how they put together events and how they were able to be inclusive to all. I even organized the Egg Drop Event, which was a big hit and a lot of fun. This showed me ways that I could improve next year as your events director, and make the events run more smoothly and I want to bring in more cool events like that as the events director. I want to make sure everyone in the 3300 block knows about our events. I’ll talk to other groups and make sure we’re all sharing what we’re doing. That way, everyone in C-Eng can join in on the fun, not just CMAS members. I hope to create more events toward mech, Aero, SREE, and Bio-Mech events. This year I saw that many events were more toward aero, and I feel that we need more events that include all the engineering streams that CMAS represents. I care a lot about what you all think, so I want to make sure our events are things you’re excited about. I’ll use feedback forms to hear what you liked and what we can do better. I would love to hear your ideas for events and plan even more awesome stuff for our CMAS community.

During my term as inventory director for CMAS I have noticed many things. Notably CMAS has a lot of assets and a space issue. I aim to find a more elegant storage solution to help mitigate some of the office clutter. Notably, I would like to paint all of the planes to be proper models to be properly displayed rather than in a pile. This would be a task I undertake over the summer using my own supplies. I also want to work towards implementing a better system for the temperature control of the office in the winter. It can get uncomfortably cold in the winter and I desperately want to make the office a more livable space. An option I am open to is getting some form of alternate flooring like a rug. Plans are also in the works in regards to a TV for the office to display important info, rocket launches, motorsports, a fireplace, and more.

Overall my main goal is to make the office a more livable and welcoming space. This will be accomplished by reducing the clutter and making the space more open as well as having measures in place for the comfort of office patrons in regards to temperature. I am more than willing to pour my heart and soul into this office and I feel to some extent, I already have done this during the past year. I deeply care for CMAS and all of the people in it. This past year I have done my best to support everyone in the office through my work. Be it the duties I am responsible for as inventory director or on other matters such as printing the CO2 cars. I vow to work as hard as I can to make The CMAS office a comfortable, livable, and welcoming space for its members. Being someone who is experienced with the office stores management system and someone who spends a lot of time in the office I believe I am qualified for this position. I hope you believe that I am as well. I have many more ideas and plans.
I can go into much more detail than I have here. If you have any questions please feel free to ask anytime 🙂 – Liam Downey-Pollard

My name is Khaled Ghannoum you guys might know me as the CSES first-year rep and I’m running for Cmas office manager. I’m commonly found in the CMAS office as I enjoy studying there.

I plan on:

• Maintaining the office by keeping it organizing it, and cleaning it as often as possible.

• Ensuring the office is kept as an academic space, where everyone is welcome.

• I know the office can be intimidating for first years, so I want it to be as welcoming as possible.

Some possible ideas for next year:

• The idea of installing a TV to watch motorsports, rocket launches etc.

• better space management.

liz 4 pubs pt 2: electric boogaloo

• posters? yippee!

• media? yippee!

• posts? yippee!

Due to my interest and experience in publicizing and advertising club agendas, I believe that I have a lot to contribute to the position of Publications Director of CMAS. As Publications Director, I hope to upgrade the current social media theme and put out more engaging content that aligns with the themes and events organised by CMAS. Additionally, I also aim to increase CMAS’ outreach and increase advertisement of the events held annually by CMAS. If appointed Publications Director, I look forward to using different forms of graphic design and social advertising to effectively communicate CMAS’s message to its target audience.

Hello! Just as before, I’m Sam! I’m in my second year of Mech Eng and I’m looking to be your Technical Director once again. To those who have not met me around the office, I’m always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it be with tech or otherwise, and I’d like to continue offering that helping hand to all.

Under my direction new initiatives such as the Tech/Tool Loan Program have started up, while the ability to print in colour was restored to the people of CMAS. All regular upkeep has taken place, between discord moderation and server updates, along with toner and filament stocking. Uninvited upkeep has also taken place, naturally, such as the repair of our one and only beloved microwave, cooker of many Leo’s patties.

If I am elected I’d like to focus on improving organization. For the TLP to be functional and successful, everything must be tracked accordingly, and volunteers/desks must have a simple table or numbering system to work with. We also do not want any unexpected expenditures, such as missing items needing to be replaced, so ensuring good organization is critical. Eventually, I hope to hand off this position to someone just as enthralled by tiny linkages and electric circuits, and I hope to smooth out this two year transition for them and their incoming team.

Also, now that we have a precision toolkit and a nice soldering iron, I believe hosting device repair workshops, or one-on-ones where people can repair or replace components of their phones/laptops would be great for members of CMAS.

Thank you for considering my re-election for the Technical Directorship, and I hope to see you around the office 🙂

Hi! My name is Grace (she/her) and I’m one of CMAS’s Events Directors. I am in Aero D, and love all things space. I am also currently part of the cast & chorus for the C-Eng Musical! Outside of school, I love skating, crocheting, and playing video games.

Next year, I hope to represent MAE students by being your 3rd Year Representative! This year, CMAS has made amazing strides to improve student-faculty relations, and I hope to continue and build upon this as 3rd year rep. I am passionate about advocating for students, so I plan to have frequent and accessible feedback systems in place so that every 3rd year may voice their concerns without fear of judgement. As a former CMAS 1st year rep, I know what it takes to solicit feedback from my peers, as well as promote opportunities that represent the interests of MAE students. With this feedback, I also plan to host events using my experience as Events Director. These events will be fun destressors for 3rd year students during such a difficult time in our degrees.

If you see me in the 3300 block or the CMAS office (where I spend most of my time), please feel free to say hi!