WGSI is pleased to announce and congratulate Sam Sanchinel who is this year’s recipient of the Margrit Eichler Student Leadership Award!! Sam’s work this year has been really important in helping to build a sense of community and connection, and we applaud them for commitment and grace and for bringing positive and inspiring energy to conversations and initiatives!!
Sam is a second-year PhD student in WGSI, Chair of the WGSGSU, and recent completer of their comprehensives! Originally from the Jane and Finch neighbourhood in Toronto, they received a BA and MA in the Humanities from York University. They are currently supervised by Prof Dina Georgis, working on a project that intertwines trans identity with religion.
Previous roles they’ve had in the department include being the WGSI Department Steward to CUPE 3902, a member of the conference committee, and a TA for the wonderful courses Gender in Pop Culture and Writing the Body.
As Chair, they aimed toward further developing our WGS community. During this covid year it’s been especially difficult in trying to bypass our isolation, but working with a fantastic team, Binta Bajaha, Esra Kazanbas, Darlyne Bautista, Ferdie Lopez, and Keira Mayo, they’ve all managed to hold some events, gather surveys, start the new grad mentorship program, and begin the planning for the next WGS conference!
In working with the current WGSGSU team, and in the steps of the previous executive, they hope to communicate the needs of our grad students to faculty/admin and further work on creating a stronger WGS community for the soon post-covid reality.
Read Sam’s full bio here.