Joshua Reyes ’09, Honours Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, Minor Psychology, Pickering, ON

Mr. Joshua Reyes will be continuing to assist students at Trent as he retains his post as the Oshawa Peer Mentor Coordinator for the coming year. He is contemplating his future post-graduate studies and would like to conduct research or to work as an academic advisor.

Joshua was awarded the Trent’s National Renewable Scholarship between 2009 and 2011. He feels that the knowledge he learned in the classroom has real world applications. His areas of study include media and sociology with a particular interest in social policy.

While at Trent he completed his thesis project on Canadian privacy and surveillance policy and also presented work on the representation of race in video games.

Joshua was also greatly involved with Black History Month activities at Trent and the Trent in Oshawa Student Association (TOSA).

What are you future goals?
I would like to continue on to post-graduate studies to obtain my Master’s degree. After, I would like to conduct research or work as an academic advisor.

What will you do with your Trent degree?
I will be continuing in my role as Trent Oshawa’s Peer Mentor Coordinator for the 2013/2014 academic year.  I will be using this year to regroup and figure out where I would like to go for post-graduate studies.

How did your interest develop during your time at Trent?
In class, we had the opportunity to explore what we were interested in, and apply our interests to our assignments and coursework. This helped me find what I wanted to work in as it showed me that you could apply what you learned in class to anything outside of it.

I’ve developed an interest in both social policy and video games. I eventually completed a thesis project on Canadian privacy and surveillance policy, and a presentation on race and video games for Black History Month.

What is the best thing about studying at Trent?
It’s a very close knit community where everyone knows each other and is ready to support one another. It doesn’t matter if you’re a student, staff member, or faculty.  We are all able to build relationships with each other.

The small size of the campus also presented me, as well as many other students, with opportunities to assist professors with their research, or to conduct our own. I recently completed an undergraduate thesis project examining Canadian surveillance and privacy policy, and I have presented work on the portrayal of race in video games for Trent Oshawa’s Black History Month event.

Have you changed since you came to Trent? How?
Over the four years I’ve been here I’ve been able to develop as an individual. I have become more confident in myself and outgoing.

Can you give an example of how Trent professors had a special impact?
Over the four years that I’ve been here, my professors have been amazing and supportive. I’ve had a lot of one-on-one contact with the staff and faculty here in Oshawa.

My thesis supervisor, Professor Jason Doherty, has given me constant support over the course of the year and has provided a lot of guidance. Without him I would not have been able to complete my project, nor would I have had the opportunity to do so.

Professor Jim Cosgrave and Professor Alex Ferentzy have both provided invaluable knowledge during my time here, and Professor Scott Uzelman has inspired me to take a more active role in society. I wouldn't be the person I am today without their guidance.

Research Interests / Area of Study:
Sociology – Social Policy, Media

Extracurricular activities:

• Peer Mentoring
• TOSA
• Black History Month

Awards and Scholarships received at Trent University:

• Trent’s National Renewable Scholarship (2009- 2011)
• Trent Oshawa Peer Mentoring Award (2013)