Indigenous students’ representative

Arianna Gamblin

Arianna Gamblin is a second-year student and Swampy Cree woman from Norway House Cree Nation. She is passionate about advocating for the Indigenous community and grew up on a reservation. These experiences are what guide her to advocate for her community.

Gamblin wishes to continue the tradition of the UMSU Indigenous Leaders Gala and build a deep and meaningful connection with the Indigenous associations and representative all over campus.

“I myself haven’t had a good experience at the U of M as an Indigenous person and as a First Nations woman specifically,” she said. “My goal is to make sure that no one feels the way that I feel. That no one feels the loneliness I’ve felt and the isolation I’ve felt the past two years at the U of M.”

If elected, she would define her term as community driven and empowering. She would like to see the UMSU board of directors be accountable, collaborative and inclusive.

Jonah Harper

Jonah Harper’s whole reason why he is in university is because he wants to graduate and go home to make it a better place by doing what he can. He likes to make people laugh and enjoys learning about people.

“I don’t think I’m the perfect candidate,” he said. “But I’d still appreciate it if I was given the chance to work for my community and I’d still like to do the best job I can for them.”

Harper would like to see more inclusion and interaction in the Indigenous community on campus because he has noticed that not a lot of Indigenous students attend the Indigenous Students’ Assembly.

“I thought running would be a good chance for me to be more involved with UMSU and my own community,” he said. “It’d be nice to be able to listen and talk to people, represent them.”

Harper has been involved with UM Pre-Law as the Indigenous representative and with UM Debate Club as the secretary.

International students’ representative

Mahfuz Haque

Mahfuz Haque began his journey at the U of M in 2023 after a transferring from the International College of Manitoba. He has since built relationships within the university community that has helped shape his experiences. He is passionate about books and being involved with the community.

He believes his leadership qualities make him a stand-out candidate. He is also convinced that his political studies background makes him a better leader who understands the experiences of international students.

Haque’s main goal for international students is to improve involvement. “There should be more programs, workshops, events, which will benefit the community, which are international students. We need more workshops on immigration, on jobs, and helping on academic things,” he said. “They did their part, and I appreciate them for their time and effort. But I think we need more change here.”

As a student who likes to get involved, Haque hopes that if elected, his term is remembered for being welcoming to all international students, active and impactful.

Andrii Kotochihov

Andrii Kotochihov wants students to feel supported. He has passion for creating spaces where people feel connected. Kotochihov is convinced he is the right candidate for this position because he believes he understands the needs of international students.

“I’ve experienced the challenges of studying in a new country and I’m here to listen and act on what we need,” he stated. He intends to ensure every voice is heard and that everyone feels represented. He is motivated to run in this election as he wants international students to experience better support.

If he were elected, Andrii hopes his term is remembered for creating an inclusive, supportive and action-oriented environment for international students.

Fiih Patel

Fiih Patel loves to describe herself as a very inquisitive person. She is a psychology student, passionate about reading and promoting international students- related programs.

As an international student herself, Patel emphasized her participation in on-campus events that deals with interacting with student groups, clubs and the U of M community at large. “I’ve spent a lot of those meeting not only meeting and getting to know new people, but also learning what matters most to them, what about campus and as international students are the difficulties that they face,” she said. “I’ve gathered a lot of information and what makes me ideal is my experience.”

Patel’s main goal is information.  She intends to provide steady information to international students to help them navigate through the challenges they face on campus – to know the places or programs that are right for them.

She remains motivated to “build a better-connected student body.” She hopes that if elected, her tenure will be remembered for being informative, collaborative and impactful.

Saumitra Saran

Saumitra Saran is a second-year student from the faculty of science who has a passion for coding. He also likes to watch movies, read books and is a fan of rap music.

He credits his suitability for the position to his passion for advocating for cultural unity. His intention is to “create a holistic and welcoming environment.” He added, “there are a lot of students from around the world, from global cultures, who have their own customs. And I would like to unify them under one umbrella, so that they learn about each other’s culture and build a sort of respect to each other and their respective cultures.”

His main pillar — cultural unity — rests on a concept from India called “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which means “the whole world is my family.” He wants international students, regardless of being far from their home country, to look after each other. This would ensure a sense of belonging and that no feels left out.

He is convinced that his problem-solving skills and leadership qualities will help guide students into “doing what they do best.” If he were elected, he would want his term to be remembered as progressive, impactful and enjoyable.

2SLGBTQIA+ students’ representative

Ayush Singh

Ayush Singh is a computer science student running unopposed. One of their passions includes working with children as a child-care assistant and a math teacher assistant. They enjoy playing music and currently play in the U of M concert band.

Singh believes they are the ideal candidate for the role due to their ability to take feedback well and remain open to diverse perspectives. Someone for this role “needs to be able to take criticisms and feedback very well,” they said.

They also believe that confidence is vital to holding this position.

According to Singh, one major goal they want to achieve is to maximize community involvement. They understand that there are many voices in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community that are not heard — something that Singh wants to change.

Pride alone is not enough, Singh stated. They stressed that more activities like picnics and laser tag would be beneficial to keep the queer community together.

“We need to do more things than just focusing on pride. There are so many queer students on campus so being able to give queer students a safe place throughout the year […] is what I want to do.”

Singh’s motivation for running stems from their own experience of not finding a strong and compelling queer community on campus. “I am privileged to have queer friends and have a sense of community by myself, but there are a lot of international students from different places that do not have a sense of queer community.”

Their goal is to create an environment where all students feel included and supported.

When asked to define their mandate if elected, Singh said “engaging, welcoming and fun.” They hope to provide students with a sense of belonging while balancing the demands of university life.

Leata Goulet

Leata Goulet is a third-year psychology major pursuing a women and gender studies minor. She is passionate about advocacy, supporting others and continuous self-improvement, both personally and professionally.

Goulet said she has volunteered over a hundred hours at the Women’s Centre, first as a key holder and now as an executive. These roles demonstrated her reliability by attending all Women’s Centre events, team meetings and mandatory office hours, she stated.

“My engagement in student life reflects my passion for fostering inclusive and supportive spaces, which I believe makes me a strong candidate for this role,” she said.

Goulet’s main pillar for her platform is anger. “We have seen so many great outcomes, so many great movements that have been fueled by anger,” she said. “This anger drives me to fight for tangible improvements on our campus.”

Goulet said she will bring compassion and empathy to the position if elected. She stated that she would like the UMSU board of directors to be defined as effective, punctual and committed.

Shutkrati Tyagi

Shutkrati Tyagi is a computer science student who is passionate on standing up for women, giving them free spaces and providing menstrual products in each and every washroom in the university.

After multiple traumatizing incidents on campus, Tyagi said she wants to provide security so women can feel safe on campus. Her involvement as an executive for the Women’s Centre when these incidents occurred had an impact on her.

“I want to be the voice of each and every woman,” she said. “I just want to stand up for all of them because I just imagined being the person who goes through stuff and it’s a lot to take in.”

Tyagi hopes to abolish the bias in male dominated majors and to make the tunnels safe for women on campus. She wants a safe space for women where they can be themselves, free from judgement.

If elected, Tyagi would like her term with UMSU to be defined as expressive with leadership attributes and comfort. She would like to see the UMSU board of directors embody power and change.

Accessibility students’ representative

Gurminder Singh

Gurminder Singh is a second-year computer science statistics student running unopposed. Singh believes that he is the ideal candidate for the position due to his involvement with the current accessibility team.

He shared that he understands and is up-to-date with the needs of the accessibility community. He knows the “goal for next year,” and wants to carry on that progress while applying his insights.

Singh added that he is also motivated to run for this position because his passion for conversation allows him to connect with the uniqueness of each individual. In this role, he looks forward to engaging with more people to better help them.

Singh said that his first goal would be to create an accessibility lounge that promotes inclusivity and hosts a safe space for students to connect and re-energize.

Another goal for Singh is to spread awareness about accessibility information to first-year students through guides or information sessions. “When I was a first-year student, I had no idea what accessibility was, what it meant,” he said.

Singh wishes for his term with UMSU to be defined as impactful, transparent, and inclusive. He would like to see the UMSU board of directors as transparent, student-centred and inclusive.

Mature and part-time students’ representative

Gurnoor Singh Arora hopes to extend service hours, have more flexible course options and provide financial aid opportunities for part-time and mature students. Singh Arora is passionate about fostering inclusive communities so that all students, regardless of their background and schedule, feel supported and heard.

“Part-time and mature students make up an important part of our university and our university community, yet they often feel disconnected from student life,” he said. “I want to change that by ensuring they have a strong advocate.”

Singh Arora stated that he would bring leadership, experience, problem-solving and a deep commitment to student well-being to the role.

“Members of my own community returning to university in their late thirties and forties seek better career opportunities, but they face barriers like financial stress, financial constraints, limited class availability and lack of flexible academic options,” he said.

Singh Arora would like to see his term with UMSU as impactful, result-driven and inclusive. He would like the UMSU board of directors to be transparent, accountable and student-focused.

Black students’ representative

Damilola Ojo

Damilola Ojo is an economics and management student with a passion for business, particularly in areas such as marketing and supply chain management. Ojo is seeking re-election for the 2025-26 academic year.

Motivated by a commitment to amplify Black student voices, Ojo is eager to foster an inclusive campus environment where diverse perspectives are celebrated and supported. She believes that strong representation is essential for building community, enhancing opportunities and driving meaningful change.

Through collaboration and advocacy, Ojo plans to prioritize initiatives that address the unique challenges Black students face, ensuring they have the resources and support needed to thrive academically and socially.

Her main pillars for her platform are peace, passion and purpose. If elected, Ojo would like her term with UMSU to be strengthening and feature Black excellence and joy. She aspires for the UMSU board of directors to be peaceful, collaborative and diverse.

Temiloluwa Oyewole

Temiloluwa Oyewole is an ambitious and passionate advocate for human rights. Having grown up in Nigeria with deep pride in her Yoruba heritage, Oyewole values cultural diversity and inclusivity.

Her love for African literature and the arts has shaped her understanding of systemic injustices faced by marginalized communities.

“I believe that I’m an extremely capable person,” she said. “Whatever I want to do, I set my mind on it and accomplish it.”

She is committed to creating a supportive community where Black students can share experiences, celebrate their identities and access equal opportunities. With aspirations to become an international lawyer, Oyewole is dedicated to representing Black student voices and advocating for change on campus.

The three words Oyewole would use to define her term with UMSU if elected are impact, transformation and advocacy. She would like the UMSU board of directors to be defined as accountable, inclusive and supportive.

Racialized students’ representative

Patricia Martinez

Patricia Martinez is a third-year psychology student who loves to connect with people and try new things. She sees herself as adventurous.

Martinez believes she is the ideal candidate for this position because of the connection see can forge with the student community. “I like to speak with everyone. I like to find new places and people who may have a concern,” she said.

“I know a lot of people struggle with voicing their concerns, and that as a community rep., I find that it’s important, that it’s my job to just put those concerns forward and give them that platform.”

Her main platform pillar reflects this drive — connecting the community.

She stated that she is compelled to run in this election because of the need to create more “education on racialized experiences.” Martinez wants people to be proud of where they are from and who they are. She strives to make the experience on and off campus more enjoyable.

Simreen Shahi

Simreen Shahi is a first-year student at the Asper school of business with experience across multiple areas such as in management operations, health care, teaching, music and fashion.

Shahi mentioned she has volunteered for the Main Street project and Harvest Manitoba. She has passion for giving back to the community and has played tennis for over a decade.

Shahi is motivated to run for this position because she appreciates the importance of giving back to community. “There is so much fixing in our world, and I could probably look around this room and be like, ‘I need to fix that and that,’ and that’s what motivates me.”

She emphasized that she is the ideal candidate because “running for racialized student representative, you have to be compassionate, you have to be sensitive to people’s problems, you have to have that sense of perspective and that sense of understanding with people.”

She added that her background and her experiences position her well to relate and cater to people in ways that others cannot.

The main pillars of her platform are intersectionality and representation.

If elected, Shahi wants to make a difference and would want her term with UMSU to reflect representation. She wants people to “embrace their cultures, their races unapologetically.”

Devkarn Singh Gehlot

Devkarn Singh Gehlot is a third-year student in the faculty of architecture. He is a realtor and runs a social media marketing agency. His motivation is bringing change and having a positive impact on people’s lives.

He added that he likes “helping businesses succeed and get to where they want to.”

He believes he is the right candidate because he has an action-focused mindset. Singh Gehlot cherishes leaving an impact and stressed that his experience and background as a racialized student himself gives him an understanding of the struggles of other racialized students.

“I don’t believe in empty promises,” he said. “I will not let this position be a passive seat at the table. I will make sure it accomplishes what it’s supposed to and does beyond that. From housing, to policy, to representation, the experience, the strategy and just driving ideas into action.”

His main platform pillar is action. Singh Gehlot admits raising awareness is good, but implementing change is where his focus is at. He intends to push for a housing crisis scholarship because of his knowledge of the challenges students face with accommodation. He is convinced that his experience as a realtor provides him the edge to see the goal through.

Singh Gehlot also plans to use media platforms to amplify voices of racialized students, to make them feel heard.

Singh Gehlot is compelled to run for this position because he believes he can “sum” and “dilute” the challenges of racialized students regardless of colour. He wants his term to be remembered as unique, relentless and impactful.

— with files from Milan Lukes