Although she hasn’t even completed her first year at Carleton, Baden Russell-Petigrow is setting her sights high for next year. This journalism and human rights major is the only first-year student running for the position of undergraduate student representative for Carleton’s Board of Governors. While this feat may seem intimidating to some, Baden believes her past leadership experience has prepared her for the job.
“I’m running against three third-years, which can be kind of intimidating. But at the same time, I have a fresh slate. I demand the best for my school, and that’s what I push for. I want to make sure everything is up to snuff. It’s really about if you’re qualified [and] if you think you can handle the job. I think I can, ” Russell-Petigrow said.
Russell-Petigrow grew up in Toronto, Ont., where she developed an interest in human rights because of her friends who came from many different religious and ethnic backgrounds. Her later education at Bishop Ridley College, an international boarding school in St. Catharine’s, Ont., cemented her curiosity for human rights.
“That was a huge influence on me because I had teachers and friends who’d gone through so many different experiences. I want to know more about what’s going on in the world,” she said.
During her time at Bishop Ridley, Russell-Petigrow was a House Captain for her residence building, and also got the opportunity to start her own magazine, which she said, was “one of the best experiences. We just built it from the ground up.”
Russell-Petigrow is now making use of the leadership skills she’s acquired at Bishop Ridley by trying to make Carleton a better place.
“I’ve always been that kind of person who’s really driven to push myself, and I love leadership positions. I hope that I’m very approachable, and I like to be able to talk to people and try to see what it is that interests everybody,” she explained.
Increased campus safety, a mental health awareness week, and stronger public relations at Carleton are amongst the changes Russell-Petigrow is advocating for in her platform.
“All the sexual assaults that have happened, have happened on the weekends. I think there should be more of a security system. There’s always going to be double the number of people that are walking at those odd hours [on the weekends],” she said.
Russell-Petigrow also feels strongly about the need for a mental health awareness week at Carleton.
“We have facilities, we have people in place, I just don’t really think people know how to access them. Especially the ones who aren’t in residence in first year. Queens has a mental health awareness week where they try to teach students how to recognize signs of depression, where the proper facilities are, and not to be ashamed of the fact that you are in a position where you’re depressed,” she said.
If she gets elected, Russell-Petigrow said she would be proud that Carleton has chosen to support what she stands for. She realizes that the position of undergraduate student representative is a one-year term, and she believes her goals for Carleton are attainable and realistic.
“If the right person is put in place, a lot can be done in this one year. We’ve got a really great connection with the administration and with CUSA, and those are the two bodies that need to get along for real change to happen at Carleton. I think this is the year that it’s going to happen,” she said.
With her go-getter attitude and prominent leadership skills, it seems we haven’t heard the last of this ambitious campus celebrity.