Incoming director of student experience, Peter Corno has clear goals to execute.  

General Elections at the Student Association of George Brown College (SAGBC) have come to an end.  

Among 11 candidates vying to be elected as the director of student experience, Peter Corno, the class representative of the Construction Management program, stood out with a total of 540 votes. 

Simran Malhotra, who currently holds the position, came second with just 78 votes less (462). 

The elected candidate will take their seat on the board May. 1. 

Corno mentioned in his candidate statement that he wanted to build a bridge for students to connect with each other after coming back from the pandemic. That was the purpose of starting a foosball club with his friend this semester.  

“We started realizing that everyone just kind of wants an excuse to meet a new friend, to meet other students like you and I. And after covid, it got really difficult,” said Corno. 

The role of the director of student experience is to promote and support recreational activities and events at campuses.  

Corno, having the experience in starting a table soccer club for peers, has found two major issues that block students from participating in school events.  

“One was about the events the schools were holding, and the issues they were having is the price being too high. Some students were saying there are not enough spots in different events. So, I think tightening around those would be crucial.” Carno explained. 

As the price and the available spots of events are identified as two main barriers for students to participate, collaborative efforts are needed to tackle this issue, said Corno. 

Increasing students’ involvement in organization events has been a challenge in recent years.  

Other than that, spaces allocated for recreational activities are not enough across all campuses.  

“We were very fortunate at Casa Loma campus because we have a Student Association area where students can go hang out, meet new students, the pool table, the table soccer tables. It’s easier for students to meet more students,” said Corno. 

In his opinion, it is important to provide space for students to meet new friends through doing different activities at GBC. 

“I think another very important aspect we should look at is the Waterfront and St. James campus. The Waterfront campus and the St. James campus does not really have those things [SA pool table and foosball. They could have been a lot better if they added a pool table or a Student Association lounge where students can go,” he added.  

One possible action, Corno may take, is to develop a common area with leisure activities provided at both St. James and Waterfront campuses.   

With adding common areas for students at St. James and Waterfront campuses as the goal in the term, Corno is working on the implementation process. 

Meanwhile, the feasibility of implementing the idea is determined by the budget available for the academic year.  

Despite college experience being unique to every student, the need for them to connect with each other is found to be equally important. 

Student experience consists of many aspects, such as course load, working hours and transportation. Although not all aspects could be taken into account at the moment, Corno is looking forward to discovering what needs to be done more from students. 

“I think some of the most important qualities is making sure you’re listening to everyone, making sure that everyone feels that their voice is opinionated,” said Corno. 

Corno also showed much appreciation for the support of those students who helped get him elected. 

“Thank you all so much for your support. It truly means a lot to me. I’m excited to help shape the school into a better vision of what we imagined.”