The 2025 Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union election concluded at Wilf’s restaurant on the Waterloo campus at 9 p.m. on Jan. 30. With a student turnout of 2, 815 or 12.4 per cent, Ryan Jobby won his bid for presidency and chief executive officer with 1,329 votes against Rogan Wawryk’s 999 votes.
All three referendum questions passed, the World University Service of Canada Fee Increase passing with 56.13 per cent of votes, the Grand River Transit U-Pass program/fee increase passing with 76.98 per cent of votes and the Board Structure Constitution Change passing with 86.89 per cent of votes.
“I’m definitely really excited. Honestly part of it hasn’t fully hit me yet and I’m still kind of digesting it all, but I’m really excited,” Jobby said when asked about his initial feelings following his win.
Joining the senate are Hamza Iqbal, Veronica Philip and Ruvahafi Jean Damour Mugabonihera. Veronica Philip will be joining the board of governors. Abby Yim and Ella Jazvac are the new co-presidents of the Lazaridis Students’ Society. Alyssa Scheifele and Arfan Sivarooban are the new co-presidents of the Faculty of Science Students’ Association. Sam Groves and Rahil Peerzade are the presidents of the Arts Undergraduate Society and Olivia Tremblay is the new Faculty of Music Students’ Association president.
“I think a lot of times when advocating for students, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in the status quo of what we believe always needs to be done for students,” Jobby said. “I want to be more intentional with how I intake student feedback and problems and then be able to advocate for them on different levels.”
For outgoing president and chief executive officer Ben Jesseau, concluding his term comes with bittersweet emotions but pride regarding all he has been able to accomplish in his term including building relationship with on-campus partners like Laurier’s administration.
“We’ve been able to do a lot of really important work with them this year, renegotiating some of our agreements and just building those relationships for future years. I think we’ve done a lot of foundational work to set the future teams up for a lot of success as they move forward working with some senior leaders at Laurier,” Jesseau said.
Jesseau’s work has inspired Jobby, calling him a “stable figurehead” that he looked up to while participating in Jesseau’s campaign last year.
“I think he really was able to build me up in terms of my strengths to be able to run confidently on my own this year. He’s someone I continue to look up to and someone I continue to admire for the work that he’s done and continues to do. I’d say Ben is a pretty big mentor and inspiration for me,” Jobby said.
When it comes to advice from one president to another, Jesseau advises Jobby to plan well, but also remain adaptable.
“This role has a really unique way of pulling you in six different directions at any given time. I think in a lot of circumstances, the circumstances of the year will determine what you’re working on, not necessarily yourself,” Jesseau said. “Plan with your best intentions and have a list of things you want to get done, but be open to changing and adapting what that plan looks like depending on how the year goes.”
Jobby’s year-long term will commence on May 1.
Contributed Photo/Jackie Vang
