79.9

On behalf of the 79.9 team, I am pleased to announce our new AEOSA co-presidents for the 2010-2011: Danish Ajmeri and Alyssa Moledina! In what was described as an “extremely close” election by current co-president Jie Zhang, Alyssa and Danish came through as the victors, beating out Kevin Kim and Nadeem Nathoo for the top positions in the AEOSA.

“I’m really looking forward to next year and I know it will be a great one” said Danish of his successful election, and Alyssa expressed similar feelings. Both candidates come from strong backgrounds of leadership, in high school and during their first year at Western. In addition, both have executive experience in the AEOSA; Danish is currently a member of the Finance Committee, while Alyssa comes from the Communications Committee, which she feels has given her “a strong understanding of how the club functions internally.” Looking forward, Danish expressed a key priority from his platform, stating that, “In a club that caters to so many different people and interests, it is important that we can offer something to everyone.” Additionally, the co-presidents feel confident that they will be a good team; Alyssa said, “I think Danish and I work extremely well together. We both bring a great deal of innovative ideas to the table and our leadership styles are well-matched – so I look forward to a good year.”

Kevin and Nadeem, although unsuccessful in the election, both expressed gratitude for the campaign experience.  Nadeem said, “I was disappointed that I was not elected AEOSA president ,” but continued on to say, “The campaigning experience taught me that one can’t make excuses. Instead, as cliché as it sounds, overcome whatever is stopping you from being the best you can be.” Kevin was also thinking of the future, saying, “Although my campaign was not successful, I am confident in the new co-presidents’ leadership abilities. As long as they keep the importance of communication in their minds, next year should be a blast.”

It’s clear that communication is a key priority for the co-presidents, and the entire AEOSA executive. Some of their key goals are, from Danish’s perspective, “to establish a stronger connection between all the AEOs”, and “to focus on uniting members and creating a network that will help individuals grow- whether it be through meeting new people, developing new interests or simply bringing AEOs closer to reaching their goal of getting into Ivey.” according to Alyssa. Unity was a key theme in both platforms, and will become a major focus for the AEOSA’s future with our two new co-presidents.

Now, here’s a rundown of who your co-presidents are, and what you can expect from your AEOSA in the upcoming year.

Name: Danish Ajmeri
Hometown: Mississauga
Current faculty: Social Science
First Year Residence: Elgin Hall
Dream Job: “Lottery winner!”

Greatest Strengths: “I consider myself to be an open-minded and approachable person…I know I am not an expert in all areas, so I will more than gladly take all the help of my executive team and the rest of the AEOs as frequently as possible. After all, our purpose is to serve them and my goal is to make sure I can do everything in my power to do so.”

Top AEOSA Priority: “If I could do only one thing, I would want to establish the sense of community among the AEOs. Coming from so many different backgrounds and faculties, we often forget that we share a common goal and, through the AEOSA, I hope to establish a sense of unity. The organization must act as this central figure and I really hope our initiatives next year can create more networking opportunities for AEOs in an attempt to foster this community.”

Name: Alyssa Moledina
Hometown: Markham, ON
Current Faculty: Science
First Year Residence: Elgin Hall
Dream Job: “I’ll get back to you.”

Greatest Strengths: “My experience [in the AEOSA Communications Committee] has allowed me to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the club and will definitely help me in my attempts to make improvements.”

Top AEOSA Priority: “There are a lot of things I’d like to accomplish, so it’s hard to wrap them up under one umbrella. But I think a general concept I’d like to work towards would be changing the image of the AEOSA. Currently, the club is viewed as being very serious and “for keeners”. I think it is important that members realize what this organization has to offer. Besides attending events, there are many ways to get involved and plenty of opportunities to gain valuable leadership experience. I’d really like to stress that the AEOSA is not all business – we have fun too!”