This fall, Wilson College of Leadership & Civic Engagement welcomed their inaugural cohort. Over the last year those students have shown their passion for community and leadership again and again, as they’ve actively gotten involved with events, clubs and outreach initiatives across campus and Hamilton.
Here, we spoke to several of these first-years to learn more about the ways they’ve gotten involved in first year: from creating leadership podcasts, to learning the skills to run in municipal elections, to taking a chance on stage.
Whether they’re diving further into an existing passion, or exploring a new one, the students share their key takeaways and advice from a very big year.
All photos by Georgia Kirkos.
Beckerman in the podcast studio at Lyons New Media Centre.
Sean Beckerman
Sean Beckerman currently serves as the student representative for the Wilson Advisory Board, he’s a part of the Wilson ambassador team, and he was recently elected to be co-president of events next year on the Wilson Student Society.
He’s been passionate about leadership since high school, where he coached rugby, ran a mock trial team, and attended national and global student leadership conferences. “After seeing what leadership does for other people, from the other side, that’s really pushed me to get involved in everything I can and help out where help is needed,” Beckerman said.
He created his own podcast where he invites leadership icons to share different perspectives on student leadership. Through Wilson College, he’s also gotten the opportunity to be a part of an upcoming student-run podcast focusing on student voice and how to encourage civic engagement. Beckerman, with his technical experience, is part of the editing team for the podcast; other students have roles across social media, outreach, and script writing
“A big focus going forward for the podcast is really working with students… and understanding what is that barrier, what’s holding people back, and what can we do as a program to create better outreach and a better environment for those students?”
Salih plans to pursue a career in law, specifically international law and human rights.
Ishcah Salih
Ishcah Salih is a changemaker with McMaster Islamic Relief, part of the McMaster Muslim Students Association, and one of the first-year Wilson College Living Learning Community representatives.
“I’m Wilson College’s only Muslim student, and on top of that, I wear a hjiab, which is very important to me,” Salih said. She plans to pursue a career in law, specifically international law and human rights, and hopes to someday encourage other young hijabis to enter the legal field as well.
Over March Break, she led several campus tours, meeting and engaging with prospective Wilson College students. “Wilson is a really great program and I’m excited to see the different communities that the students might come from next year, and the different perspectives that they’ll inevitably bring,” she said. She and another student have also been discussing a possible mentorship program at Wilson College, with second years offering support and mentorship to first years.
If there’s any advice she could give to future Wilson students, it’s that community is very subjective, Salih said. “Your identity, your experiences, your values all contribute to the way that you view civic engagement and community as a whole,” she said. “So stay true to that, stay respectful, highlight who you are in terms of your leadership, and you’ll be able to lead in a way that’s authentic to you.”
Wilson College students taking part in Campaign School include, from left-right, Abigail Campbell, Olivia Henderson, Dayle McKay, Claire McCracken, and Hanna Mavarani, as well as Julia Edwards (not pictured).
YWCA Campaign School
Six Wilson College students will be taking part in the YWCA Campaign School on March 28 – a hands-on day of learning for community members, advocates and emerging leaders to build skills and confidence ahead of the municipal election. The day will include sessions on campaign strategy, voter outreach and using public data effectively.
The students who are attending Campaign School bring a range of civic engagement experiences themselves: Dayle McKay contributes to the MSU’s advocacy committees, Hanna Mavarani started the Kurdish Student Association, and Olivia Henderson has helped run events across the Black Student Success Centre and Wilson College.
The Campaign School, with its focus on equipping future leaders, will be a meaningful event for all of them. “It’s taking what we’ve learned and this program title that we’ve carried for almost a full year, and putting it into practice,” said McKay. Given the current political state of the world, she noted, it’s particularly important to make sure that minority groups, including women, are being uplifted and supported to run in elections to ensure a strong democracy.
McCracken was drawn to this event because of its strong focus on getting women involved in municipal policy – something she hopes to do herself someday. “It’s really cool that we’re helping people get there, for the people who can get there now,” she said.
Shankar played the lead role of Brutus in the McMaster Thespian Company’s production of Julius Caesar.
Ilakia Uthaya Shankar
Wilson College students have two mandatory courses in their first year: Introduction to Leadership and Civic Studies, and Inquiry and Contemporary Issues. Beyond that, they can do a lot of exploring. Ilakia Uthaya Shankar’s first year has included elective courses in social psychology, acting, global peace and social justice, and theatre and film.
Outside of the classroom, she’s been immersed in Hamilton culture through a Hamilton-set play at Theatre Aquarius, and was involved with the McMaster Thespian Company’s production of Julius Caesar over the winter semester.
It’s a play that’s highly relevant to our current lives, Shankar said. “It’s a very political play about a man about to assume, or in the process of assuming, complete and total power over the people.”
Shankar played Brutus. “He’s someone who is very close to Caesar and views him as a brother, as someone he loves. But he’s also very aware of the fact that Caesar is gaining so much power and that’s starting to go unchecked.”
That moral dilemma drives much of the plot of the play. Though the play is named after Caesar, Brutus is the main protagonist.
Getting cast as the lead was a surprise for Shankar, who auditioned “on a whim,” and didn’t expect to get cast at all.
“I came from a smaller high school, so it just felt like, I probably don’t have the skills or the experience to do any of these things,” she said. “But writing yourself out like that prevents you from the chance of having really incredible opportunities that make McMaster go from just an institution to something that feels like a community.”
She encourages other students to take chances, too. “Don’t count yourself out of things.”
Edwards emceeing the inaugural Wilson Commentaries public event in December 2025.
Julia Edwards
After Julia Edwards heard about Wilson College, it was her top choice. She screamed when she found out she got in. It’s been a good year: Edwards is now an ambassador for Wilson College and was recently elected as vice-president of events for their student society. She was one of the MCs at the inaugural Wilson Commentaries public event, featuring Arkells frontman Max Kerman, and even got to sing with him during soundcheck. “It was so cool,” Edwards recalls. “Pinch me. This is so awesome.’”
Beyond campus, she’s connected with high school students at the 2025 HamOntYouth Summit, works as a recreation assistant with the City of Hamilton, and will be taking part in the YWCA Campaign School at the end of March.
While she’s always been more of a leader, at Wilson College, she’s really gotten to learn different ways to use those leadership skills. “You walk out of every class feeling like you’re becoming a better person,” Edwards said. “A lot of the things you learn…. it’s things you can actually apply to your everyday life.”
From the campaign school, to networking events put on by Wilson College, there’s an opportunity to get a taste of many career paths. “It’s really good to make connections in different workforces,” Edwards said. “I’m confident that I’ll come out of Wilson with a career that I love.”
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