Katie Ma

Position you are running for: President

What do you believe are the main concerns for students in SAF right now? How would you like to approach fixing them?

The main concern for students in SAF is the integration of the student body back into in-person activities. For the past two years, our students have been faced with the unprecedented consequences of COVID-19; lack of relationship-building due to the online transition, unknown job security, and lack of community. Many younger students have been forced to navigate the university without in-person human connections and guidance, and upper-year students have needed to develop professional skills in a virtual environment. AFSA has a crucial role in the re-integration of our SAF community back to in-person activities. AFSA is able to do what we did best before the pandemic to represent students best and aid them in these capabilities. I hope to re-integrate our student body as closely as it was prior to the pandemic. We can do this by re-introducing our students with various programs and services to best serve our SAF students as we continue through these unpredictable times.

Why are you running for this position? (experience, background & motivation)

I am running for AFSA President because I have a passion for student engagement and inspiring change in our SAF community. Through my experience as Chair of AFSA Board of Directors, Director on AFEF Board of Directors, prior vice-president of AFSA Internal Events and previous executive within several SAF clubs, I would be a very strong candidate for AFSA president. These experiences have given me a fundamental understanding of events and programs, allowed me to lead a number of executive teams, maintain the budget and develop experience running online and in-person student activities. As an active member of the SAF community, I know firsthand student concerns and how to develop better connections and create opportunities for our students. As AFSA President, I will able to help build connections within the student body for collective success, and I want to help set students up for success by making a positive change in their education.

Place your platform for your position here:

Hi, Everyone!

My name is Katie Ma, and as a current Director on AFEF Board of Directors, the previous Chair of the AFSA Board of Directors and previous AFSA executive, I am excited to announce my candidacy for the AFSA President for 2022/2023!

Should I be elected, my main aims would be:

*Transparency to our Students*: Ensuring AFSA is working in the students' best interest and striving for greater communication from our executive team.

During this current unprecedented situation, the need for transparency is more significant than ever. Students often question how their funding is used and how AFSA is working in the best interest of the School of Accounting and Finance students.

If elected as AFSA President, I will hold the AFSA team accountable for how our resources are spent, enabling more information to be shared with our student body. I would also strive to develop greater communication and transparency in our clubs and societies to ensure equality across pitching clubs, committees, and organizations.

In addition, I hope to bridge the gap between faculty, the executive body, and the student body to ensure a strong relationship is maintained and an open line of communication for any concerns or improvements. This would enable us to voice student issues and make changes possible for our community.


*Student Engagement*: Ensuring proper allocation of funding and resources across all pitching individuals.

I hope to maintain AFSA's strong mission to enable students from all streams, programs, societies, and clubs to have funding abilities to enact their goals and student enrichment activities to be a part of an ever-growing student community.

The five SAF programs (AFM, SFM, Math/CPA, CFM, and Biotech/CPA) are the pillars of our community. All students, regardless of their year, from first-years to MAcc's, should have the ability to be engaged in our events, whether it be career development, educational sessions, or social events. Through proper allocation, it will allow for these events and engagement sessions to be possible.

As we integrate back to in-person events, through my in-person and online executive experience, I hope to be able to guide the AFSA team in creating the best experience possible for students. I will prioritize building connections in our community; during this current unprecedented situation, students have felt the first have experience of isolation, zoom-fatigue, and the loss of friendships. I hope to provide clubs and societies funding to help develop (and redevelop) connections through networking events, case competitions, or mental health events. This would help redevelop the necessary experiences and connections needed for the workforce and the rest of their undergraduate experience.


Through my four years of experience on AFSA as both a member, vice-president of Internal Events, Chair of the Accounting and Finance Board of Directors, and Director on AFEF Board of Directors, I have developed an understanding of what students expect and how to work towards solving those issues within our School of Accounting and Finance community. In my prior elections, all my campaign promises were fulfilled (such as a change in the constitution, greater transparency on AFSA, greater events when I was vice-president Internal Events and many more) and if elected as AFSA President, I will ensure that no empty promises are made. I guarantee you a high quality of work, level of standard, and a positive student environment. As AFSA President, I would utilize my position to ensure all opinions are heard and work towards making SAF an even better community for our students through constant development to MA-ximize your Experience. Lets make this last run the greatest for our student body and serve our community!