Breakfast with Ryerson President Mohamed Lachemi

Written by Nicole Hausman, Jeremy Paquette and Naomi Shore, Hillel Ryerson Board Members

On Monday April 18, Ryerson President Mohamed Lachemi hosted the Hillel student Executive Board for a breakfast with himself and his Events Manager, Patrick Dingle. We were invited into the executive boardroom up on the 14th floor of Jorgensen Hall overlooking the north side of campus with a great view of the city. The Kosher breakfast was catered specifically to accommodate the students on the board and we all felt very welcomed knowing that they prepared the breakfast for us. The breakfast included your typical Jewish style breakfast with bagels, cream cheese, lox, and rugelach. This was definitely a nice way to start the day during exam week! During the breakfast, President Lachemi asked each of us which faculty we are studying in and also spoke about his educational and career path and we offered our congratulations on his new official appointment as President just recently in April. We also discussed some of the work we’ve been doing at Hillel Ryerson, and told him about how having a dedicated space near campus has really enhanced our ability to deliver great programs for our fellow students. Building bridges and helping students learn from their peers are two things President Lachemi seemed passionate about, as indicated when he expressed his happiness with the turnout at the Multi-faith Shabbat dinner that we hosted with the Ryerson president’s office this semester. He was also very impressed by the collaborative spirit that Hillel Ryerson has taken this past year as he complimented us on the outreach and programming that we have done with other student groups on campus recently. He agrees that it is very important to have these types of events where we have students from different backgrounds gathering to learn from each other and enjoy a meal together. President Lachemi was very sincere in assuring us that he is working hard to make the student experience as best as possible with the resources that are available. We all enjoyed the breakfast very much and the view from the Presidents boardroom! We hope to continue this positive relationship with the Ryerson president and look forward to continuing our collaborative events next semester!