Name: Chantal Christina Khoury
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Major, Year: BMgmt, Major Sustainability, Fourth Year
What do you think makes you qualified for this role?
As a Management student, there’s more stress on being taught how to be a leader, and allocate your resources effectively to drive the goals of the organization forward. The DSU executive is full of leaders. I’m taught to work with other leaders so we can best allocate our skills and drive the organization forward, depending on the needs of the individuals it serves.
As a sustainability student, you’re taught to be problem solver, and to look for problems that may not even exist yet. You’re taught to provide a full analysis of your environment, and how you can improve it. These two programs have made me especially passionate about corporate social responsibility, and community engagement.
I have also had the opportunity to take accounting and finance classes throughout my degree as it is a degree requirement, teaching me basic financial literacy. Additionally, I was given the opportunity to work as a business planning coordinator for the Department of National Defence last summer. I was tasked with writing a business plan for my organization, and analyzing and creating financial budgets for a non-profit driven organization.
Do you hope to use the DSU’s spending to fund smaller student initiatives, or look at ways to use funds to invest in larger projects?
Any student initiative that supports or provides a service for students, no matter how big, should have access to adequate funding. Inclusivity is key when addressing how funding should be prioritized, and it’s important that we fund projects that are accessible and inclusive to the diverse population at Dalhousie. Both small and large initiatives need to be funded!
What do you hope to have accomplished by the end of your term?
At the end of my term, I want to put the framework in to move towards a more proactive VPFO. The VPFO should work more operationally to represent students. There are currently two accountants and commissioners that work for the VPFO, so I don’t believe that shift is going to be difficult.
This year I was given the opportunity to become a Street Team Campaign Leader with the Student Union. Doing so connected me with more student issues and made me want to sow the seeds to move forward towards an accessible, accountable, inclusive and transparent university, and I believe doing so can be done by shifting the responsibilities to represent the student’s financial needs operationally.
What sort of background do you have in finance?
Academically, I have basic financial literacy from mandatory finance and accounting classes required by a Bachelor of Management. I’ve also taken several economics courses, as that was my major before I switched into the BMgmt program.
I have also worked for the Department of National Defence, where I was tasked with creating budgets, writing a business plan, and several financial reports that aligned with my organizations vision and mission.
What is your favourite thing about Dalhousie?
My favourite thing about Dalhousie is the sense of individual identity that each student has. There is no over-arching culture. There is a huge diverse population of students with different backgrounds and interests. I also love my academic program, as it has taught me crucial leadership skills which I use every day!
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