News Articles Get to Know a Council Member: Adam Chisholm - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Representatives
Get to Know a Council Member: Adam Chisholm - Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Representatives
Monday, 30 January 2012 22:40
Born in Thornhill, a suburb of Toronto, Chisholm was a late bloomer when it came to his passion for learning. This is an experience that many of us can relate to, where we just need to find what we are passionate about in order to enjoy the educational experience and get excited! For Adam that was philosophy and later the combination of philosophy and business.
Following high school, Chisholm completed a diploma at Seneca College, Ontario for General Arts and Science. This formed the basis for his critical and writing skills. His educational journey continued at York University, Ontario where he completed an undergraduate degree in Philosophy with a focus on ethical and political philosophy.
“I started to see the underpinnings of philosophy in many of the institutions around me, and I was captivated, finding quite often that I wanted to argue the point and champion a position of justice.” Chisholm’s favourite philosopher at that time (and possibly even now), John Rawls, inspired him through his ideas of promoting “a concept of fairness and justice in political affairs.”
Chisholm then returned to Seneca and completed a diploma in General Business, realizing that he “knew a good deal about why the world turns as it does, but in order to understand HOW it operates, [he] would also need to know something about business.”
Chisholm is also driven by the view that “in understanding business and philosophy, the languages of the working and thinking world, I could find ways to improve everyone's lot without the head-to-head fights between parties that tend to get everyone's back up.”
Currently, he is enrolled in the Master of Arts Integrated Studies (MAIS) and is employed at Seneca where he administers and supervises the tutoring services at their largest campus.
Why did Adam decide to join the AUGSA? “I decided that, although I have no experience as a council member, my learning and my opinions could provide a useful perspective for the council to hear. I also have always wanted to see the inside of an organization like this so that I could learn about the way these things work and keep myself open to opinions different from my own. It's encouraging to see something constructive come from disagreement, and to see a set of voices become unified.”
Adam’s favourite two quotes provide the extra bit of insight to what makes him tick. From Goethe, "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." The second quote, from Ghandi: "Be the change you want to see in the world" With these quotes considered together, in the words of Adam “I think the world could benefit tremendously.”
To conclude this article, we leave you with some encouraging words by Adam. Inspired by those around him, Chisholm believes that everyone has something to offer that can inspire those around them. These hopeful words are complimented with, “Perhaps the perfect day is the one that is just different enough from the one before to scare me, just difficult enough to challenge me, just bright enough to inspire me, just private enough to allow me time for my thoughts, and just communal enough to remind me why it's important that we all treat each other well.”