Hey WRDSB! My name’s Kinjal Kaur. I’m a Grade 11 student at Galt Collegiate Institute, and I’m running as student trustee, not for the title, but for what I can do for students.

So about me; I’m a resilient student with strong leadership skills, who aspires to follow the footsteps of past trustees. I have a strong drive for success that’ll empower me to build the best possible education for students.

What’s more? I’m an all-rounder who excels in many subjects, including athletics. I’ve been a proud member of my school’s basketball team for 2 years in a row, and this year, I was honoured to be named a team captain. This showcases my leadership skills and my cooperative abilities to create support for everyone.

Beyond this, I’ve been a part of leadership and social justice groups at previous schools, and have participated in many math, science, business, and writing competitions, where I’ve obtained high rankings, and even won. I have published short stories, am a photographer, and volunteer time at the Cambridge Public Libraries. As a result, I’ve developed strong citizenship and cooperation skills, critical thinking, and the mindset required for a competent student advocate.

Along with creating an inclusive education that supports and empowers all students, I have bigger plans to ease the stress of exams, and advocate to reduce public transportation costs for students.

My name is Krishna Aarya Trivedi. I attend Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute. My initiative to become a student trustee stems from the student roundtables, and how they encouraged a variety of opinions to build the WRDSB community. During the roundtables at Preston High School, Cameron Heights, and recently at Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate, I often expressed my concerns and ideas in an effort to get my say on how district operations would run. However, I soon realized that it is not just my contributions that effectively generate growing foundations but the mindsets of others that can prosper our collective goals. Other attendees at the student roundtables often give the discussed situations a new perspective, especially because the experiences of others vary based on their experiences with the region, often creating an opportunity to offer more diverse foundations for problem-solving ideation. Additionally, as a member of the Cameron Heights Student Activity Council, I learned that effective democratic leadership styles are most beneficial as they account for all students involved in decisions, and by applying this leadership style to the role of student trustee, we can express the opinions of students through accurate representation. Finally, my goal is to have students help each other structure their education, giving them the open opportunity to learn and grow with support from all members of their community.