Ready to make a difference

Sagar Jha feels like he’s been part of the Dal community since he was a teenager.

“I’ve been at Dal since I was 14,” as he puts it. “I’ve danced in culture shows in the McInnes Room and I became part of a society when I was in grade 11.” When it came to his studies Jha always knew where he’d end up: “No question, I knew I was going to Dal.”

Jha, elected as DSU president in March, took office last month. The Marine Biology student has a long history of involvement at Dal, including working with the Dal Student Union as a society member, an orientation week leader, a presenter at events, event staff and more. This involvement has helped Jha to shape his vision for the DSU: “All of that has helped me realise what is here, but also what’s missing.”

When it comes to his vision, Jha has noticed the lack of focus on spiritual and emotional health within the DSU — not in the sense of religious affiliation, but rather, “Those take your breath away moments; moments where you feel totally empowered and self-actualized, where you think ‘This is who I am; this is what I’m good at, this is what I love doing.’ That’s more than just emotion.”

It’s also about mental health. In September, the DSU will be launching a peer support program for mental health, which will add support to the existing Dalhousie counselling services.  

Building connections

Another focus for Jha this year is student connection: helping students feel they can reach their full potential with the support of the DSU. “I feel like many students only see the DSU as something that puts on event after event, but my goal is to change that.”

He also hopes to work with his executive team to improve communication among Dalhousie’s student societies. There are 283 of them that function under the DSU, and Jha wants to see more collaboration between them.

Through his various roles with the University Board of Governors, the University Senate, and as the chief liaison to the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations and Students Nova Scotia (the DSU’s national and provincial lobbying groups), Jha hopes to help improve student life on campus by making the DSU into a connector.

“I see these silos on campus of all these people doing great things and I see the role of the student union as breaking those down and making sure everyone is connected,” he says. “Efficiency and finding exactly what you’re looking for is a huge part of that.”

Learn more about the DSU at its website.