PP Council Elections

PP Council is your First Year Council, run by PPs for PPs. PP Council enhances the First Year experience, from events to teams to academic advocacy. Read below to learn about your PP Council candidates.

The Legend of the PPs

So why are First Years called PPs? Although we don’t know for sure, we have a pretty good guess that reached us in a form of The Legend of the PPs.

Back in the day, when the old Cheeze Factory was the gathering place of UBC engineers, all decisions of the society were made during weekly tEUSday meetings. Departments spoke in alphabetical order, and to keep first years in the last spot, they were referred to as ZZs. First years obviously thought that it was unfair, but could not do much about it for some time.

However, these meetings operated in a somewhat democratic way, which meant that votes were won by whoever was the loudest. One day, enough ZZs rallied together and passed a motion to rename themselves AAs. This left upper years quite upset, so they banded together and passed a motion declaring that tEUSday meetings would be held in reverse alphabetical order. This carried on back and forth until it was decided that the first years could be called whatever they wanted. Somehow, this ended in the name PP, which stuck.

Today, the president of PP Council sits on the EUS Council, meaning they have a vote on the EUS Council. Although there is no official policy regarding the order of speaking, PPs present their updates after all department clubs.

Positions

President

The President leads PP Council - they are the official spokesperson of all first years, they sit on EUS Council and the AMS First Year Committee, and they supervise the PP Councillors.

Omar Soliman

My name is Omar Soliman & I’d be honored to advocate for you as PP President.

From PHYS 170 homework help (with snacks), an informal mentorship program (older eng students give us study tips + resources), to a kitten cafe, Spikeball tourneys, or even therapy dogs– I've spoken to many of you, I hear your feedback and I promise you I will do my best to advocate and uplift your voice.

Your vote would mean a lot to me, & I'm committed to doing my best to represent your interests & values.

If you ever see me don't hesitate to say hi, the conversations I have with you guys are what keep me going :)

Vice President

The Vice President supports the president, and takes on special projects. They are responsible for coordinating the PP E-WEEK team, and making sure the PP Chariot and Ball Model are up to scratch!

Julian Kyle

A vote for Julian is a vote for the Culture, but not just the meme. With the position of VP my #1 goal, if elected, is to transition us PP's into the EUS CULT(ure) and win E-Week! My plans for E-week preparation are to hold practice events, for things like boat racing and, and recruit teams for the more creative events, like film FilmfEUSt and Ball Model. On top of having a design to make the PP chariot faster than ever, I think I am the best PP for the job because I understand and love the CULT(ure). I am the keeper of the Baby Cairn and the PP Chariot record holder for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place

Academic Rep

The Academic Rep works alongside the EUS VP Academic to improve the academic experience of the First Year class. They represent the PPs alongside the President at Grand Council and other academic meetings.

Emma Xu

My name is Emma Xu and I am excited to be running for the position of Academic Rep on the PP council! As your Academic Rep, I will be actively collaborating with the EUS VP Academic to ensure EUS first year tutoring is expanded to cover ALL first year STT courses as well as working to foster continual communication between us first years and the engineering faculty. To achieve this regular academic feedback, I plan on not only employing legacy events such as Beef & Pizza and the bi-annual surveys but also maintaining a year round feedback form to allow for maximum communication. This combination of Beef & Pizza nights to vent about academic problems and receive free pizza, surveys to analyze students’ overall opinions, and the aforementioned year round feedback form will ensure that open communication will be prioritized between first years and the corresponding faculty. Better academic resources and clear communication is my platform and I will do everything in my power to ensure this academic year will run smoothly for everyone. Finally I will conclude with the fact that I am an individual with many thoughts and opinions; I’m here because I would love to hear your opinions too, and work with the entire engineering first years community to foster a space where learning can overcome gpa and, academics such as ourselves can thrive.

Social Coordinator

The Social Coordinator is - as you could probably guess - responsible for social events! They strive to enhance student life and the social environment for the PPs. They sit on the EUS events committee, and meet with the social/events coordinators of Department & Ex-O clubs.

Ava Steiginga

Hi there I’m Ava. I love to travel, dance, play the ukulele, and I’m a songwriter.

I plan on throwing the best PP events ever: Sunday sundaes, trivia nights, foosball and air hockey tournaments, capture the flag games, paint wars, water balloon fights, coffee house, karaoke… and much more. I’m excited to host mini design challenges for the engineers, such as the spaghetti bridge and egg drop challenges. 

I want to place an emphasis on community and getting to know our classmates. I also plan to work hard, party hard. #DressUpToGetDown with me as your Social Coordinator for this year’s PP Prom!

Sports & Charity rep

Sports & Charity Reps oversee sports and charity events and services, from coordinating PP UBC REC and EUS interdepartmental teams to coordinating PP involvement in EUS charity events like Blood Drives or Movember.

Marcus and Owen Dustin

We're dedicated to making this year great for the PPs, with exciting intramurals and sports teams for all of you to join. Our passion for sports will drive us to ensure that you have a great time. We're open to receiving ideas about sports teams or events so let us know! We've got experience in event planning, and are excited to host a blood drive and support various charities. Your vote counts, let's make this year amazing

Vantage Rep

Our Vantage Reps focus on the academic and social interests of Vantage One Engineering students. They’re responsible for getting Vantage students engaged & involved with PP Council (and the EUS!)

Aomsin Nimsombun

Hello fellow engineers! I'm Aomsin, an international student from Bangkok, Thailand, and I'm excited to be running as your Vantage Rep. With my unique perspective, I understand the diverse needs and aspirations of Vantage One students. I'm dedicated to amplifying your academic and social interests. Let's work together to foster stronger connections between Vantage, the First Year Council, and the EUS. Together, as international students and engineers, we'll create an inclusive and engaging community. Vote Aomsin for a vibrant Vantage experience!

Social Media & Graphics Reps

Social Media and Graphics reps are responsible for promotion and communication regarding all events and services of the PP Council - they maintain the PP Council Instagram and other socials, create posters, and make the PP Slipstick (yearbook) pages.

Manmeet Sidhu & Ranvir Otal

Heyo, we’re Manmeet and Ranvir, we’re about to change the lives of every student who’s scrolling through instagram while procrastinating their chemistry homework (due at 11:59pm). If you’re gonna go off task, might as well have fun with it, so you’re gonna catch us randomly interviewing students, bringing the life of our first years to our posts, and building a community stronger than ever. Social media for us isn’t just about posting and being done with it, we want to bring your ideas, thoughts, opinions to life. Expect spam weeks in advance for every event happening, so don’t worry you won’t be missing out on anything. We’ll make sure of it. By voting for us, you’re taking one step towards creating the most memorable first year yet. 

Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for the money! This means recording all expenditures by PP Council, maintaining the PP Council budget, copying and submitting receipts to the EUS VP Finance, and keeping PP Council up to date with its financial status.

George Sleen

Goals:

As your 2023/2024 Treasurer, I ensure an amazing year for PPs. I plan to allocate funding for our big events like E-WEEK early, and KETCHUP (as well as other condiments) which has been notably absent from our engineering BBQs so far. Just as important as the budgeting is timely reimbursement and connecting with the student body, which I promise to have at the top of my priorities as treasurer. I plan to talk with fellow students and council members to ensure that funding is going to what 1st years actually want to do. I’m aiming to make this year the best it can be for all 1st year engineers!

Experience:

During high school, I started and ran a robotics club with about 20 members. Taking the club off the ground I learned a lot about managing finances and connecting with people, which I hope to bring into my role here as the PP treasurer.

About Me:

I’m here from Victoria BC, and I’m super excited for my time at engineering here! If I’m not studying I like playing the trumpet, rock climbing, and buying engineering merch.

Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for internal affairs; room bookings for meetings, taking and submitting PP Council minutes, and keeping PP policy up-to-date.

Ella Kaweski

Hellooooooo PPs, my name is Ella Kaweski and I am running to be secretary for YOUR pp council (first year council). About me: I am from Vancouver but am in res in Vanier, (so I am a true Van girl), my mom was part of the EUS back in the day and I like long runs in the forest. You probably generally know what a secretary does, I will be in charge of a lot of the administrative stuff such as taking the minutes for pp council meetings, booking spaces for pp meetings,  keeping the policies up to date with the motions we pass and I will be the one in charge of the first years room in the ESC (let me know if there are any improvements you would like to make). You may be wondering what experience I have for this role, if I am running I must have some experience right? I do indeed! I was secretary for my high-school's student parliament for two years so I know what the job is all about, I was also a member of the grad council running loads of fantastic events with a team so that should also be great experience for this role. I am quite an organized person. You should see my spreadsheets that I use to keep track of all my assignments and my google calendar. They are pretty cool if I do say so myself, so I am fully capable of keeping the PP council organized and on top of things. I’m looking forward to not just sitting and typing, but also be a member of what I know will be an amazing team that wants the best first year for all of the pp’s reading this right now. PLEASE VOTE YES FOR ELLA!!!!!!!!!!!!!