CANDIDATE INFO
CANDIDATE INFO
CEESS 2025-2026
Meet the candidates and read their portfolios!
PRESIDENT CANDIDATES
ALEXANDER PARADELA AND VIVIEN CEN
​​​​Hey everyone! I’m Alex, my pronouns are he/him, and I’m a fourth-year civil engineering student. I’m beyond excited to be running as co-president alongside Viven for the upcoming school year! I’ve had the privilege of being part of this amazing club for the past three years, starting as an Assistant Editor and now serving as one of the Vice Presidents of Communications. I also volunteer with Engineers in Action, helping fundraise for an incredible bridge project every year. Currently, I’m working as a Project Coordinator at Bird Construction. When I’m not buried in work or school, you can find me out on a trail—I absolutely love hiking and soaking in the beauty of the outdoors!​​​​​​​​
Hello! My Name is Vivien (she/her), and I'm currently in my fourth year of Civil Engineering Trad. From Vancouver, BC, but raised in Edmonton for most of my life. I have been with the CEESS for the last three years serving as a GEER Week Director then Vice President of Coordination and this past year as President. I have also volunteered with the ESS as an Art show director for two years and am currently part of the UFC with the ESS. At the moment, I am working as a Tailings Project Student at Suncor. Outside of engineering, I enjoy running (I dont run that fast), crocheting (only flowers) and hanging out with Zuko​​​
VP-COMMUNICATIONS CANDIDATE
Our Mission:
As co-presidents, our mission is to create a supportive and inclusive environment where Civil and Environmental Engineering students feel engaged and empowered. We are dedicated to fostering growth through workshops, networking, and professional development that connect students with faculty and industry leaders. Our goal is to strengthen these relationships, introduce new opportunities for student involvement, and ensure CEESS events meet students’ needs and expectations.
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Advocate
Be a strong voice for all students, ensuring those dealing with discrimination or exclusion have their concerns addressed and are supported.
Make sure events are accessible and inclusive for everyone, provide necessary accommodations, and maintain a safe, welcoming environment where all students feel respected.
Implement an anonymous reporting form for student concerns. Our goal is to offer a secure, anonymous platform for students to voice their concerns, ensuring they are heard without fear of retaliation.
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Student Life Initiatives
Attendance plays a big factor in the success of our social events. In order to keep our events engaging we plan on:
Ramping up marketing efforts online and in-person
Offer free food and snacks at every event
We want to expand our catalogue with fun and affordable merchandise. Our goal is to plan ahead and set clear timelines by working closely with the Internal Portfolio.
For GEER Week 83, we want to start the hype even earlier and get students engaged and knowledgeable about the event by setting up a CEESS general meeting about GEER Week.
Technical Initiatives
We want to introduce a mentorship program that connects alumni, upper-year and lower year students on a monthly basis.
One of our goals is to continue helping students expand their networks by hosting at least one technical initiative each month, fostering meaningful connections and professional growth.
One of our goals is to introduce projects and workshops to help students build their portfolio by potentially collaborating with the ESS, student project groups and the department.
Some workshop program ideas: AutoCAD, Revit, Minescape, SkyCiv, Civil 3D, HEC-RAS and much more.
Operations
We want to continue improving the lounge and revamp the space with new items.
Implement a training system equipped with videos and resources for all volunteer positions. Our goal is to lessen the learning curve and ease volunteers into their new role.
Expand the sponsorship package by attracting a wider variety of sponsors, including commercial and food partners, rather than focusing exclusively on industry leaders and engineering sponsors.
Engagement
We pledge to a commit to bi-weekly newsletters to keep students informed. As the student body continues to grow, social media and Discord can only do so much.
Revise the style guide to create a cohesive and unified brand identity for CEESS across social media and all marketing materials, ensuring consistency and ease of use.
Prioritize student feedback by offering end-of-month surveys, including academic and CEESS related operations, to ensure we’re meeting students’ needs and improving our initiatives.
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CHARLES DE OCAMPO
Hey y’all, my name is Charles De Ocampo (He/Him) and I’m currently a third-year civil engineering student and your current VP Internal Affairs. I am excited to announce my candidacy for VP-Communication of the CEESS. Currently a VP-Internal Affairs for the club, I act as an executive member that communicates with students and ensures services are provided for them such as an open lounge, merch, office snacks and much much more. Alongside those, I think the experience that I gained from being a VP Internal such as communicating with students and peers will be valuable in my time as Co-VP Communications. Knowing the ins and outs of the club, I think you will find my skillset and experience to be invaluable in fostering the club next year.
Fun facts about me are I love my MMORPG games, I love my jordans and I love my dog Neptune.
Enough about me, let’s talk about what I can bring to the table.
This upcoming year, It's all about consistency. I want everything to almost stay the same as I believe that Eon and Alex have done an awesome job in their portfolio and I would love to work diligently to mimic what they have done. This ranges from newsletters (Live Laugh Love, CEESS), awesome infographics for upcoming events / sales and many many more.
With that being said, I would like to introduce more social media engagement activities such as MORE stories, MORE advertising the snacks and potentially reinventing some designs...
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VP-FINANCE CANDIDATES
UDAY VEKARIYA AND EON PIQUERO
Hello everyone! We’re Uday and Eon and we are running for the position of Co-VP Finance for the CEESS. We are both in our 4th year of Civil Engineering. We both have had volunteer experience, mainly with the communications portfolio, and have worked very closely with the CEESS this current year. In our free time, we love to hang around the office and talk about random things during study breaks. Feel free to catch us there whenever you want advice about engineering, have a debate about which office snack is better or just to yap, in general. 😊
Other Fun Facts about Uday:
- Enjoys hiking
- Soccer enthusiast
- Favorite cuisine is Mexican
Other Fun Facts about Eon:
- Has (too many) hobbies including crocheting, baking and skiing.
- Can solve a rubik’s cube under a minute
- Go to coffee order is Mocha
We’ve had an incredible time collaborating with our peers to improve student life, and we’re thrilled to step into a different and more hands-on role where we can make an immediate difference for students, this upcoming year! Our main goal is to enhance the overall student experience by investing in the club's amenities and infrastructure, ensuring that all resources are well-maintained and accessible. We plan to work closely with the other execs and work closely with members and students, gathering their feedback and recommendations to continually improve student life within the club. While doing so, we aim to maintain financial responsibility and practice smart financial management to ensure sustainability. By prioritizing the needs of our community and making informed decisions, we strive to foster growth, satisfaction, and a positive environment for all.
Our priorities for this upcoming year include:
- Advocating for the student body’s voice with regards to club budget management
- Allocating more funds towards technical events in order to secure better relationships with sponsors
- Putting funds into more inclusive projects, I.e. free feminine hygiene products in washrooms at the NRE building
- Ensuring that the club has an emergency fund for the next upcoming year and future years.
- Coordinating with VP Internal and Student Life to lower prices for students regarding merch, office store items, event tickets and more, I.e. due to popular demand, we aim to lower ice cream sandwich prices
- Coordinating with VP Communications to promote financial literacy and scholarship/bursary opportunities
- Coordinating with VP Tech to get more sponsors, I.e. Branch out to sponsors outside of engineering and get a food sponsor for events
VP-STUDENT LIFE CANDIDATE
ELIJAH AGENA
Hello hello hello beautiful people! My name is Elijah Agena and I am running for VP Student Life once again. Last year I was VP Social Events and I had a great time planning fun social events for the student body to attend. This coming year I look forward to creating more inticing events each month and ensuring that the student body has social events that allow them to destress. As well, I am ready to smash GEER Week again and I have many many many ideas to help us crush our opponents next year!!
VP-INTERNAL AFFAIRS CANDIDATES
SARA SABIR AND TRACY NDAHIRO
Hi everyone! We’re Sara Sabir and Tracy Ndahiro, and we’re both second-year Civil Engineering students at the University of Alberta. We’re excited to be running together for Co-Vice Presidents of Internal Affairs for CEESS! Our goal is to create a more connected and supportive environment for all members by ensuring that CEESS spaces are welcoming, well-organized, and fully stocked throughout the year. We’re passionate about making CEESS a place where every member feels valued and engaged.
Fun Facts:
1. We both have a strong interest in Project management and can't wait to explore it during our co-op terms after our degree.
2. Outside of engineering we love travelling and trying out new coffee spots around the city.
3. We also love hiking and exploring the beautiful outdoors.
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Our goal as Co-VPs of Internal Affairs is to create a CEESS community where you feel supported, connected, and inspired. We’ll ensure every space—from the office to the lounge—is not only organized and well-maintained but also stocked with SNACKS all year round, so you always have fuel to power through your day.
We’re streamlining the recruitment process to make it fair and accessible for everyone, while also revitalizing the CEESS Discord server into a vibrant hub for updates and engagement. Plus, we’re excited to collaborate on fresh, on-brand merchandise that you’ll be proud to sport.
With your support, we’re committed to building an inclusive, dynamic environment where every member can thrive. Let’s make this year the best yet!
VP-TECHNICAL AFFAIRS CANDIDATE
KATE WAT
Hi everyone! I’m Kate, a second year civil engineering student, and I’m excited to be running as VP Technical Affairs for the CEESS for the upcoming year. You might have seen me hosting the Annual Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition and the Civil Engineering Specialization Panel in the past year as a Technical Events Director, or at competitions and networking/industry events. I've had an incredible experience volunteering for the CEESS the past year, and I hope to further contribute to this amazing community. My goal is to bring more learning and networking opportunities to our students, build on the success of past events, and continue acting as a liaison between the CEESS and CSCE. Next year, I plan to put a focus on competitions and panels, while strengthening the Experiential Learning division within the technical portfolio. Here are a few fun facts about myself: I have a math journal, I'm a huge classical music nerd, and so uncultured that I haven’t watched any of Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, or any Marvel/DC movies.
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Experiential Learning
In the past years, we have yet to put a focus on developing more Experiential Learning opportunities for practical application of knowledge for our students. I’m hoping to change that next year, by implementing the following:
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Case Competition: Facilitate a case competition in collaboration with an industry partner. It offers students hands-on experiences that foster innovation and skill development. Students will have the opportunity to win prize money, gain project experience, connect with industry professionals, and showcase their skills. (Would look great on your resume, just saying)
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Industry Site/Facility Tours: Organize tours in the spring that provide students with firsthand exposure to industry practices and operations.
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I'll also work with ESS Academics and Services to utilize faculty resources to grow our Experiential Learning program by potentially facilitating technical workshops.
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Competitions & Panels
I aim to make high engagement events like Competitions and Panels a priority next year to strengthen CEESS’s relationship with the civil engineering industry.
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Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition: Expand the PSBC to accommodate more teams due to popular demand, and continue encouraging first-year students to participate with promotions and the "Best First-Year Bridge" cash prize.
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Civil/Environmental Engineering Case Competition: Partner with an industry sponsor to facilitate a case competition.
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Civil & Environmental Specialization Panels: Continue hosting separate days for civil and environmental engineering panels (amazing turnout this year). I’ll also put an emphasis on diversifying the panelists we invite, and work closely with the Communications portfolio to promote the event further to first-year students.
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Research Panel: Some of us might want to take the research path upon graduation, so I’ll be bringing back the research panel for students interested in academia, inviting professors to speak about their research and provide insights into academic career paths.
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Making Sure YOUR Voice is Heard
I believe in the importance of actively seeking feedback from students. Those initiatives mentioned above are based on input from students who participated in our events (in short, from me chatting people up after events). One thing we are not yet doing, but plan to implement next year, is rolling out surveys at every event for students to provide feedback. This will ensure we’re continuously improving.
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What’s in It for You?
You’ll be supporting a candidate that aims to:
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Increase the frequency and variety of technical events.
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Foster stronger connections between students, industry, and academia.
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Provide more hands-on and experiential learning opportunities.
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Ensure student voices are heard and considered in event planning.
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Strengthen relationships with first and second year students and encourage their active participation in CEESS events.
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Technical events I’m striving to implement next year, if elected, include:
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Hard Hat Ceremony
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Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition
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Research Panel
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Civil and Environmental Specialization Panels
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Case Competition
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Site Tours
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Alumni Student Night
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Consulting and Construction Industry mixer (in collaboration with ESS and other discipline clubs)
