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Dear Civil Engineering Graduate Students

CEGSA is back, energetic, and motivated more than ever to offer support and bring our community together! So, please give yourself a 10-min break, grab a cup of your favorite beverage, and read this newsletter as you relax! For those who are not familiar with us, CEGSA (Civil Engineering Graduate Students Association) is a fantastic friendly voluntary team made of your colleagues (Civil Engineering Graduate Students from York University). We listen to your concerns and try our best to address them in an appropriate way. We also arrange different events, from fun gatherings to useful seminars, based on your interests. Long story short, we are here to promote the quality of your academic life. But to succeed in our mission, we also need your help.

Through this newsletter, you will meet the new executive team, and you will find brief but efficient information about events and updates. Please, take a few moments to read through this message. We would be over the moon if we got some feedback from our readers too!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Bests,

Arefeh Shamskhany

CEGSA President

Recent Events

York vs. McMaster Football Game

On October 23^rd, we had an amazing moment supporting our YorkU Lions with some members at our last event in collaboration with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) York U Chapter. We may have lost the game, but we did not lose the chance to make new friends.

Ice-Cream Get-Togethers

In September we hosted two ice-cream get-togethers for our members. One in G. Lord Ross Park, and one in High Park. Both were attended by a good mix of old and new graduate students from our department representing nearly all our research specializations!

How to join the CEGSA Executive?

Would you like to be part of a dynamic team? Do you like to work on your communication skills outside the classroom? Do you want to add some teamwork experience to your CV? If so, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at: CEGSA@yugsa.ca We are always looking for new members to join our team! And hey, no worries, we promise to keep the workload light, and we’ll always be there for you.

Brief introduction of the new executive team

Arefeh Shamskhany
President

My name is Arefeh! My favorite quote from Bernard Shaw tells everything about my intentions.

"Life isn't about finding yourself; It's about creating yourself." and I'm trying to create this story!

Adrien Sparling
Advisor

My name is Adrien Sparling and I am the Past President of CEGSA. I’m here to share my wisdom and experience gained from 6 long years of study as a PhD student at York and to encourage new students to get involved with CEGSA. Please wish me luck as I finish my degree and move on toward my next adventure.

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Benjamin Franklin

Artem Solovey
Vice-President

Artem is committed to building deep and long lasting connections between our graduate community. His passion is entrepreneurship, communications, and portaging.

"Those who don't risk, don't drink champagne"

Adonai García
Councillor

Adonai is committed to doing whatever it takes to have stuff done. Today we have the opportunity to change the world step by step. He's doing his part loving his dog, being a zero waster and making friends everywhere he goes.

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift... that's why they call it present”

Yousef Golabchi
Councillor

Yousef is energetic, kind, and sociable. Joining CEGSA helps him develop further his soft skills and it's also an opportunity for him to learn more about himself. CEGSA is a place for him to excel!

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” -Plato

Peace Ikpotokin
Treasurer

Hi! My name is Peace. I am a calm and kind person who loves to be happy, and I enjoy volunteering. One of my favorite quotes is "one step at a time"

Hamid Anghaie
General Member

Here is Hamid, a guy who is trying to make a more sociable version of himself. He has a good sense of humor in his own way and he has just joined the CEGSA group.

Hannah Carton
General Member

Hello, I'm Hannah! One of my favorite quotes is from The Book Thief by Markus Zusak "I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right." which is what I hope I will feel about my research.

Chloe Jeanneret
General Member

Hi, I’m Chloe! I am a graduate student looking to make a difference and get to experience all the fun graduate studies can be! One of my favourite quotes is from Alice in Wonderland: “It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

Contact Us

Please feel free to reach out by sending an email to CEGSA@yugsa.ca. We would be thrilled even if you would just send us a “Hello”! And of course, we would be thrilled multiplied by 100 if you give us feedback, or show interest in joining the CEGSA executive team or help us plan our upcoming activities!

Take care and stay happy!

CEGSA Executive Team

Upcoming Events

THEATAURANT Night

We are planning to have another amazing get-together event, early December. We will go to the theatres to watch a movie together, and after the movie, we’ll gather in a restaurant or bar to have a friendly chat with colleagues. So, if you are interested in any of these activities (or both), stay tuned and we’ll announce the details soon!

Industry Night

Canadian Society for Civil Engineering at York is tentatively planning to have the Industry Night event during the third week of January. This event is a great opportunity for Civil Engineering students to meet different relevant companies and get the chance to get more information and facilitate the process of finding their desired future job. Both graduate and undergraduate students are invited to join this event. The details of the event will be announced later. However, in the meantime, we are trying to make a list of companies who are interested in the sponsorship of this event. So, if you have any industry connections, please contact CEGSA (CEGSA@yugsa.ca).

Please send us the company's contact information or let us know in case that you are willing to send an information package to the company on our behalf.

Updates

CEGSA Weekly Meetings

Every week, the CEGSA team gets together to discuss students' concerns, and to plan for events. Please let us know if you would also be interested in joining our meetings; we would be happy to have you join so that you can share your comments or suggestions. Currently, our gatherings are online and via Zoom. However, we will hopefully get them back to in-person meetings. So, if you are interested in having a friendly short chat with some colleagues, please contact CEGSA (CEGSA@yugsa.ca), and it would be our pleasure to invite you to our upcoming discussions.

YUGSA Councilors Meetings

During the October meeting of YUGSA Council there was a long discussion about York University’s plans for returning to campus. YUGSA acknowledges that there is a strong uptake of vaccines in Ontario, and that the COVID-19 situation is improving. However, they will continue putting pressure on the University leadership for the duration the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure graduate students can stay safe as students as well as in our roles as TAs, instructors, and researchers. This includes advocating for improved ventilation and lower occupancy in classrooms as well as for the availability of rapid COVID-19 testing.

The election of the chief councilor position for Lassonde School of Engineering was administered during the November meeting of YUGSA Council. There were two candidates, Samira Eshghi and Ehsan Tabesh. Ehsan Tabesh was chosen as the next chief councilor.

Getting back to BGR 303 office

As per the latest information received by us from the Dean’s Office, as long as we follow all guidelines (including being fully vaccinated, completing the requested forms, and having the face covering), we are allowed to get back to the office. However, please keep in mind that you need to follow the instructions shared by our Graduate Program Assistant, Sindy Mahal, prior to coming to the campus. Note that renovations are underway on the third floor of the BERG building, including in room 303. Be careful around construction sites and expect construction noises during regular daytime hours.

Please note that CEGSA cannot advise students about their academic programs. Therefore, for all inquiries related to your program, contact our Graduate Program Assistant, Sindy Mahal, sindy.mahal@lassonde.yorku.ca, or our Graduate Program Director, Dr. Khan, usman.khan@lassonde.yorku.ca.