Office of Student Advancement looks to the SA for help with Student Advancement Fund

Caring for students both present and future has always been on the minds of those at George Brown College.

However, caring for alumni is something Cindy Gouveia, vice president of advancement and Krisztina Arany, director of advancement and alumni engagement, hope to add to the repertoire.

At a board of directors meeting Aug. 15, Gouveia and Arany presented their ask for help with the Student Association (SA) Advancement Fund, something they hope will assist students of the past, present, and future, and ensure they are able to succeed.

“My first hope is that you not only consider and think about our current and future students, but you also think about our students of the past, our alumni. A group that you will all belong to, I’m sure, at some point and to think through what are some of the programs, initiatives, activities, facilities that you would put in place today, that would motivate you to come back 10 years from now,” said Gouveia. “I would say students in the past are just as important. But without you we can’t do this. So, you’re the first step we’re approaching to say, we think there’s a there’s a unique opportunity here to fill to fill some gaps.”

The ask was for $250,000 over two years, with the first $125,000 coming at the start of September 2022.

During the meeting, Dhwani Bhalavat, director of operations, asked how the money will be spent.

Gouveia replied by mentioning a potential in-person convocation for students who graduated during the pandemic and had to have a virtual convocation.

She also mentioned how the fund can help support students who may experience a disconnect after leaving school.

“There seems to be a huge gap upon graduation, not just for international students, but international and domestic students alike. The challenges may be unique to each group or similar. One of the key concerns that we’re hearing from alumni is that there seems to be this cutoff point of graduation where they’re [saying] ‘I still need help. I’d like to reengage I would like to participate; I need help with settlement services, I need help to process my work permit, my visa, I need an employer.’ We don’t have the resources to support that gap right now. But I think that we could play a key role together in closing that gap,” she said.

Arany followed that up by mentioning how the power of collaboration could help bridge the gaps seen by many students – especially since the pandemic.

She says there have been many which have become more evident, gaps they did not even know exist, as some couldn’t take advantage of many services, including career fairs, because they are alumni.

Arany hopes the fund will be able to help students, no matter where they are – or how long they have been alumni – and set them up for success.