Meet a student senator: Dalton Beseau

It only took Dalton Beseau a year on University of Guelph-Humber campus to decide to dive into student government.

The Justice Studies student arrived at the decision after spotting a pamphlet in the Student Services office with information about joining the University of Guelph Senate as a student representative. Given that Beseau was in his first year at the time, he didn’t expect to win. He simply figured: what’s the harm in trying?

“It popped up out of the blue,” he recalled. “I didn’t know how it was going to go, but I just gave it a shot. I didn’t expect to win. I put my name forward, and I went out and talked to people.

“I guess they must have voted.”

Indeed, Beseau was one of four student senators elected to represent UofGH on the University of Guelph Senate for the 2017-18 school year, joining Ameerah McLean, Dilshan Jayasinghe and Priya Rajkumar.

It isn’t Beseau’s first foray into extracurricular activities. Growing up in Woodstock, Ont., he spent four years on the Woodstock Youth Advisory Committee and got involved in student government in high-school.

It was also in high-school that a visit from a University of Guelph-Humber representative set Beseau on his academic path. At the time, he was won over not only by the ability to attain a degree and a diploma in four years, but also by UofGH’s partnership with the City Law School’s program at City University London. That partnership allows UofGH graduates to benefit from secured admission into the City Law School’s postgraduate program, which allows graduates to gain an LLB in just two years, as opposed to three.

That was a persuasive draw for Beseau, who eventually wants to be a professor.

“I really love teaching,” he said. “My program is great because I can learn about all aspects of policing, justice and the law. It’s a bunch of different worlds coming together in one program.”

Meanwhile, Beseau would urge any UofGH student who is curious about student government to consider running. After all, he did so without expectations only to be pleasantly surprised.

“I was more shocked than anything because there were a lot of people who ran for it,” he said. “I just went out and talked to people, and I guess people liked that. It’s cool being a second-year because there will be more opportunities to run again in the future and keep it going.

“It’s a great opportunity for sure.”