Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our executive elections have transitioned online. This year, we have several candidates for the 2020-2021 executive team. Their bios are listed below:


President: Helena Almeida

I am an English Honours (and Psychology Major) student going into my fifth and final year at UBC. Over the past four years, I have been a member of the ESA and have enjoyed the various events the club has organized. I believe the ESA plays a meaningful role on campus by fostering a community amongst English students and I would love to give back to the club as an exec in my last year at UBC. I am the founder and president of the Writing Memories Society, which is a registered non-profit organization in BC. Our work is centered on interviewing elderly people and writing memoirs. Over the past three years, we have interviewed many seniors in Vancouver, and I am currently editing our first book, which is a collection of twenty memoirs and will be published within the next few months.

I have been responsible for planning the project, recruiting volunteers (many UBC English students have participated as interviewers, writers, and editors!), solving any problems that arise, directing meetings, and organizing fundraising events. In total, over forty people have been directly involved with the project. Through my work with the Writing Memories Society, I have gained a lot of experience in leadership, teamwork, and event planning, which I believe have prepared me well for the tasks I would have as an ESA exec. I have also presented on a couple of academic conferences, which I think would help me in organizing events like the Colloquium, and I was a Programme Representative for Celtic Literature at the University of Edinburgh while on exchange. I would love to collaborate with other students to plan events like the ones the club held in the past as well as to work on new ideas, and I would value the chance of becoming more involved with the English community at UBC!


Treasurer: Lidia Cooey-Hurtado

I am a 5th year English Language & Literature Honours student. I am looking to contribute to the UBC English community if there is a need. I did a little editing with the most recent English Colloquium. Got some written work in Discorder Magazine, The Garden Statuary, other places. Outside of school, I serve on a co-op committee for education and housing policy. I am UBC TESL-certified, if anyone wants to talk about that process or lesson planning come find me.  


VP Operations: Katie Gaston

Hi, my name is Katie Gaston. I am a third-year English major with a minor in music. I’m also a self-proclaimed workaholic and matcha-holic who loves writing stories and composing bad love songs on my piano :)

As a student passionate about English, I would also like to take the opportunity to become your VP Operations! I like to be involved and help out as much as I can in the UBC community by working for the Centre of Access and Diversity as a class notetaker, and I also do a bit of blog writing for the English Student's Association. I’d love to make your year as an English student more enjoyable. Hope you’re all keeping safe in quarantine!

VP Marketing: Mimi Wang

Through my experiences in working with the AUS and SEC, I have seen how much positive impact student involvement can have on the community. I hope that in bringing my experiences to the ESA, I can help in creating strong connections within the English major, and larger UBC community. The ESA would be an amazing opportunity to connect with my peers and I would love to have a part in shaping the experiences of English literature and language students across campus.


VP Events Programming: Colby Payne

I am currently a second year student planning to apply for third-year entry into the English Literature Honours program; I am particularly interested in the intersections between literature and modern pop culture. When I’m not reading or studying, you can find me baking, spending time with my three-legged cat, and debating celebrity conspiracy theories. I am interested in this role because I believe in the importance of building a strong and inclusive community around English literature and language at UBC. I have experience in planning events through a number of past volunteer positions, including as a representative on the Prince George Public Library Youth Advisory Board from 2015 to 2018, planning youth programs and library and community events, and more recently as the Symposium Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Undergraduate Film Students’ Association, in which I  assisted in organizing monthly events centred on academic discussion of film at UBC and planning the yearly UFSA symposium.

 Last summer, I was also employed as the Summer Reading Club Program Assistant for the North Kamloops Library. In this position, I planned, marketed, and hosted 3 weekly events, focused on encouraging literacy and a love of reading, for each of the 8 weeks of the summer. I also managed a $1000 budget for supplies throughout the summer to facilitate programming. This year, I was also an editor for The Garden Statuary and a presenter at the English Students’ Association Colloquium; thus, I am strongly committed to the importance of maintaining these opportunities for students, and working to expand such opportunities in the years to come. I have a lifelong love of literature, from the book review blog I wrote as a child, to my volunteering and work in libraries, to my current studies, and I would love the opportunity to help foster connection and community focused on English at UBC.


English Honours Representative: Alice Deng

Hi! My name is Alice Deng and I will be a third-year English Honours student minoring in French this upcoming school year. I love point-and-shoot film photography, my favourite coffee shop is Aperture on Main and I'm obsessed with "I'm baby" Kirby memes. I really enjoyed being a member of the ESA this year and would love to be a part of the Executive team by running for the role of VP Marketing. I have experience in student leadership, communications, and event organization both from my role as a Collegia Advisor here on campus and from the various Model UN weekend conferences I helped organize as part of Secretariat teams. Thanks in advance for your consideration!