Menu
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ COUNCIL AT WESTERN UNIVERSITY (Presentation) (12)

IWD: Meet Kathleena Henricus

,

This International Women’s Day, we’re highlighting USC alumni and long-serving staff whose experiences reflect the depth and evolution of our organization. From former student leaders who carried their USC experience into their careers and communities, to staff members who have supported students behind the scenes, their stories demonstrate the important role women have played, and continue to play, in shaping student leadership, advocacy, and campus life. Student-led spaces are often where confidence is built, voices are strengthened, and future leaders emerge. By spotlighting these experiences, we aim to celebrate contributions that have not always been equally visible and to acknowledge the impact women have had on the USC’s growth and direction over time.

 

Kathleena is the 2025-2026 USC President. She was involved in several facets of student leadership at Western during her undergrad including serving on Western’s Senate and Board of Governors, Sophing in Ontario Hall and Medsyd, and working at the USC as the Chair of the Board of Directors. As a first-generation university graduate, Kathleena is committed to ensuring that the community she is part of has a positive impact, locally and globally. We caught up with her to ask about her time with the USC:

Looking back, what are you most proud of from your time with the USC?

I got my start at the USC as a Director and Vice-Chair on our corporate board in the summer of 2022, just after I had finished my first year at Western. Fun fact: The 2022-2023 board was actually the USC’s first all-woman board (so far) and I will always be grateful that my first experience at the USC happened in a time and place where women in leadership was a given. Looking back, my experience on our board is what gave me the skills and confidence to pursue some of the work I am most proud of: overhauling our elections governance. As a Director, Vice-Chair, Board Chairperson and, later, a presidential candidate myself, I had witnessed and then experienced some of the most difficult parts of campaign season, especially the uniquely-gendered ways female candidates can be perceived and targeted on and offline. I promised myself that I would only accept the presidency if I could make it better for the next generation of women on campus and I will always remember the support I was given by the USC to do so. I am so proud of the work put in by our staff, board, and council to create the USC’s new electoral code and better resource our new elections governance board. These changes allow us to support a healthier democracy and hopefully shift campus elections culture for good. 
 
Were there other women through the USC, mentors, peers, student leaders, who had a lasting impact on you?
 
It would be simpler to make a list of the women of the USC who haven’t had a lasting impact on me, because that list would be blank. I would not be USC president without countless women who have served students as staff, presidents, VPs, AVPs, and coordinators who built this place and continue to build me up. Equally in the happiest and most challenging days of this role, I have a network of women who uplift me and never allow me to feel like I am on my own. I said this to them on election night and I mean it even more now: “I don’t know if I will ever get the chance to tell you in person that I am the product of your work, but I am forever grateful and I promise I will not be the last [of us]”.

On a related note, I recently had the opportunity to connect with the first woman of colour to serve as USC President, Sondra Gibbons. While there are 4 decades between our time leading the USC, we were surprised to discover so many shared experiences. Her advice has carried me through the last several weeks, and though we are a club of 2 for now, we are looking forward to welcoming more racialized female leaders to the USC presidency in the future. 
 
What advice would you offer to women / female-identifying students who aspire to lead an organization? 
 
Trust yourself. You will always exist in a world where someone believes in you if you bet on yourself and trust in your capabilities. When you do get there (and I know you will) remember to pay it forward to another woman seeking leadership because the most rewarding part of leadership is the progress you will make in leaving a space better than you found it. 
 
What gives you hope when you think about the next generation of women leaders?
 
The conversations I have with young women across this campus every day. I consider myself lucky to work side-by-side with so many incredible students and the level of compassion, intellect, and care they have for each other, campus, and the world is unparalleled. I am hopeful they will have the same support I had in other women (like I enjoy every day at the USC) and that I can be part of the network that empowers them. 
 

Author

  • The Communications Staff at the University Students' Council are the people behind the USC's communications, delivering messages that align with the USC's goals, engaging the student body, and enhancing the USC's presence across various media channels, like the USC Voice.

    View all posts

Related Posts