Meet KPU: Lesli Sangha

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Lesli Sangha is a Kwantlen Polytechnic University student who has made a significant impact on the community since 2019. Sangha graduated from the Legal Administrative Studies program in 2021 and is continuing her education with a bachelor of business from the Melville School of Business. During her time at KPU, she was the Kwantlen Student Association Mature Students Representative in 2021, the Students with Disabilities Rep in 2022 to this year, and held an executive position as the Vice President of Finance and Operations until April. 

Outside of her time at the KSA, she has been awarded the KPU Student Leadership Award, the KPU Future Alumni Award, and the KPU PDEC JEDI Award. 

Sangha is part of the President’s Diversity and Equity Committee (PDEC) and the Disability Inclusion Group (DIG), initiatives that help further diversity and equity within the KPU community. 

When did you join the KPU community and why?  

I had a dream to go to law school in my younger years, but I was focused on my career in the financial sector at the time and was starting a family, so I didn’t finish my post-secondary studies. In 2019, after my son graduated from KPU, I decided it was the perfect time for me to become a student again. 

I enrolled in KPU’s Legal Administrative Studies program. My passion for studying different aspects of law helped me graduate with distinction in 2021, so I was really excited about that. I absolutely love being a student, so I’m continuing to pursue a higher credential at KPU. 

As a student with complex health challenges, KPU Surrey campus is accessible to me, it is a 10 minute drive from my home, and I was also impressed with the smaller class sizes. I took a leap of challenge when I became a student, and now I’m living my best life. 

What is your favourite story of your time at KPU? 

I have lots of different memories. My friends at KPU strongly encouraged me to run as the Kwantlen Student Association Mature Students Representative in the 2021 KSA election. I was honoured to be voted into the role by my peers. As a KSA executive, a student leader, and chairperson of all the candidate committees, I quickly realized it was very important and meaningful for me to advocate for improved resources and awards for KPU students, especially for students with disabilities. I continued as a student leader in 2022 as the KSA Students with Disabilities Rep and VP Finance and Operations. 

I was fortunate to be sent to the Gallivan Conference in Toronto, where I advocated for a new benefit to help cover the cost of learning assessments in the student health plan. I identified the issue of students with disabilities not being recognized as full time students while taking a reduced course load which creates barriers for students with disabilities to access grants, awards, and other student opportunities that require full time status. 

I also took a photography class this past summer, and it’s my first photography class. I ended up with a DSLR camera for the semester, and I didn’t realize how much I loved photography. As I progressed through the course, I really loved all of the shots I was able to take. 

For one of our projects I had to come up with a theme, and I decided to do shoes of KPU, and named it “Kicks of KPU.” At first I had approached a few students and asked if I could take some photos of them, and what I realized is that the students were a bit hesitant on being showcased, especially if I didn’t know who they were, or they didn’t know who I was. Then I thought kicks was floating around in my head as a new term for shoes, and I thought Kicks of KPU just sounds so good. I photographed different students, faculty, and different people wearing various footwear. I got an excellent mark on the project, so that has inspired me to think about starting a photography hobby. 

I want to take that knowledge and perhaps start taking photos of people with disabilities to try and capture them in their very best moments. So that’s where I want to take that and that’s probably why I was so excited with it because it helped me develop an idea. 

What is something you’d like to say to people new to KPU? 

KPU offers many services and supports to help students thrive, so it’s really important to set up early access to meet with an academic advisor, accessibility advisor, financial aid advisor, counselor, learning strategist, or a peer tutor. Also be sure to check out all your discounts and perks as a member of the Kwantlen Student Association. 

I would love for more students to have an awareness of the free auto repairs at the Tech campus. The repairs are done at no cost, you just pay for the parts. That has saved me a lot in maintenance costs. The other one is being able to buy a $25 SPUD gift card for groceries for only $5. You can purchase one every month, and you can collect them so that you can combine them to save and get free delivery. There are also discounted movie passes for Cineplex, so I’d utilize that as well. 

What are you working on right now? 

I’ve been a member of the KPU Disability Inclusion Group (DIG), where we help individuals with disabilities to feel included and valued by helping to foster a positive culture at KPU. Earlier this year, I became a member of the new KPU Accessibility Committee. I share my lived experience as a student with disabilities to help KPU develop their Accessibility Plan. 

I also recently helped start the new KPU students with disabilities community, and I’m the club’s treasurer. We’re a student-run collective, and our purpose is to provide a safe and supportive community for students with disabilities. You can find us on Discord and Instagram. As an individual with invisible disabilities and unable to be a part of the workforce, I feel that advocating for students with disabilities is my way of giving back to my community. 

What is something you’d like people to know about you? 

I’m always excited to mentor students with disabilities and guide them to campus resources. I enjoy representing the voices of students with disabilities and mature students on university committees and groups where student voices are scarcely present to ensure that any university decisions keep the interests of students in mind. 

I also generally take online courses because it’s easier for me. But on the occasions where I do come to campus, I get really excited, it’s an opportunity for me to dress up and feel confident. 

For some reason, all my hobbies and interests have evolved around advocacy. I think that by becoming a student this late in life, I realized my purpose is to mentor and advocate for those who don’t feel that they have the courage to stand up for what they need, and I feel that I really want to be the voice for those that deserve to have their needs met. 

During the pandemic, I started watching Instagram and Facebook cooking reels, and everything looks so doable and easy. I started following some recipes of these cooking reels and probably six months into it, I have now developed a love for cooking. Everybody is loving my soups, and I love making any style of banana bread.