The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board is pleased to introduce this year’s Student Trustees.
Meet Grade 12 student Klara Pasalic from Bishop Tonnos Catholic Secondary School and Grade 12 student Joshua Canzio from St. Mary Catholic Secondary School. Both are eager to listen, understand and lead on initiatives and causes brought forth by the student body they serve. We know they will be an asset to this year’s Board of Trustees.
Recently, both Student Trustees took time to share a bit about themselves and what they hope to accomplish this year. Read their interview below:
Can you tell us a little about yourself and what inspired you to apply for the role of Student Trustee?
Klara: I've always been someone that likes to do everything and be everywhere. I’m into sports, I want to thrive in school, I want to talk to everybody and make friends with everyone. I like to see positive change in the world. Anytime I’m doing anything in my everyday life, I always think, “Oh, how can make this better? How can we do this better? How can someone feel better about this?” That's why I wanted to apply for this, because I think you can make a big change in the world. Even just by making a change in the school, it can impact so many students, which then those students impact the rest of the world.
Joshua: I also like to play sports, I'm mainly a football player, and the quarterback St Mary. I’ve been involved in Student Council, Prefects and Athletic Council – I really like to get involved in school. I wanted to become a Student Trustee because I've had such a great time in our school board the past 13 years, and I just had so many great role models, like teachers and principals, that really shaped who I am today. I'm honoured to step into this role and try to do the same for other students.
What do you enjoy most about being a student in our school board?
Klara: We have so many opportunities for everybody. There are sports, clubs and Student Council. I think it's important that our school board has these opportunities to do anything. If a student is interested in something, you can always start up a new club. This year our school started up a book club.
Joshua: I think our board is awesome at including everyone. We have so many things students can get involved in, like clubs and sports. And all our teachers are amazing.
Why do you think student voice is important at the school board level?
Klara: Times have changed so much with technology, phones, kids’ interests, and social media. I think it's important that we get a whole new perspective on things, because things are so different. I think we need to adjust the way we treat kids as well as the opportunities that they're given. They might need even more support because things are so different, and that's why it's important to hear from a student voice rather than just the adults.
Joshua: Because schools are about students, and if they are not happy going to school every day, they won't be motivated to learn and try their best. Our job is to make it more comfortable, fun and captivating for students to go to school and get involved.
What goals do you hope to achieve during your time as a Student Trustee?
Klara: Focusing on making better use of technology. So many careers in 10 years, even five years, are going to be changed by AI and technology. I think that's why it's so important how we shift the way we look at technology so we can use AI and certain aspects of that in our favour, because it’s going to be so prevalent in careers and even potentially take over careers. I also think it's important for students to be able to speak up without being singled out...so having anonymous votes for things. I know certain kids, the only reason they don't speak up is because they're afraid of how other people might view them. Being anonymous will help them still get their voice out.
Joshua: Looking at the Christian Service requirements, sometimes it’s hard for secondary students to find ways to complete the 40 hours. So it’s looking at what can we do to be better? I think we can help students with more options. Also, some students don’t go to school with a lunch. I know our school has a pretty good lunch program where you can just walk in a room and grab snacks. So, making that program better across the Board and also having healthier options in the cafeteria.
What do you think will be the biggest challenge for you as a Student Trustee, and how will you overcome it?
Klara: Definitely the biggest challenge for me will be to try to balance everything that I do, because I've been doing so many sports throughout the years. I've always done a fall, winter and summer sport. I think balancing that with Student Council, and being a Student Trustee, is going to be pretty hard. But I also am good at time management. I've always found a way to do it, and I don't expect that to stop. I also think it's important to do these sports as a way to get to know everybody in the school and, in a way, to just see what other people's opinions and lives are like. I think that's a very important aspect of being a Student Trustees, because you're immersing yourself in the student life.
Joshua: Same for me. Being a football player, the hardest three months of the year for me are September, October, November. I won't get home until six o'clock every day, and I know I will have to leave some practices early for board meetings and Student Council, as well. So, time management, for sure.
How will you ensure you are representing all students across the board, not just those at your own school?
Klara: Every month we have president meetings, so I meet with other presidents of the other schools, and at these meetings, we share what events we're doing in our schools... what works, what doesn't. I think that's definitely a good way that we’ll be communicating with the other schools because we share everything.
Joshua: Using technology... we could start a Student Trustee account on social media. We can also create surveys to send out to the other schools so they can share ideas with us.
What are your plans for next year?
Klara: I've always been geared towards sciences like biology and chemistry, so I definitely want to go into the healthcare field. I want to do my undergrad in science or healthcare, but I think I want to be a vet, because I've always had a soft spot for animals, So I would want to go to Guelph for my undergrad because that's easier to go into the vet program there after. But I am also looking at Queens and Waterloo.
Joshua: I hope to attend McMaster for science or kinesiology. I would like to become a teacher, a Catholic school teacher, in this Board. I would like to be a science teacher or a physical ed teacher, but science is my first choice.