Mary Kate Hickey is a senior majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Marketing and Political Science. She aspires to one-day work for a Marketing/PR Agency or a corporation in the Marketing/Communications department, so it’s no surprise that she’s been a part of the startup of the student organization “MUsic”. She has always known she wanted to be a part of Marquette, and now even thinks of it as her home. She’s a woman with large aspirations, and has spent her time at Marquette working to make campus a place where everyone feels at home.
I know you were a big part in starting the club MUsic. What exactly is the club all about?
MUsic is a fairly new student organization that has the mission to bring together students passionate about music and revive the musical culture on campus. It’s a club for any student to join. For musicians, we provide an outlet for them to jam out and meet other musicians to play with. For those that don’t play an instrument, there are social events and activities. Any student can get involved in helping with developing others’ talents or working on the promotions team to build connections on campus and in the Milwaukee music scene.
What inspired you to help start MUsic at Marquette?
I’m one of the co-founders along with two of my best friends. Both of them are musicians and struggled finding an outlet on campus to play their instruments casually and meeting other musicians. Though I don’t have any musical talent myself, they reached out to me to help start the organization because they knew how passionate I am about music in general. With my background in PR and marketing, I incorporated the promotional aspect of the organization. All of us started the organization with the goal of bringing together anyone passionate about music. Marquette used to have quite a prevalent musical culture, and we want to bring that back and make it accessible to anyone.
What is your personal role in the club?
I’m the Officer of Promotion. I’m in charge of all publicity and event planning, as well as building connections with Marquette organizations, departments and venues in Milwaukee. I have a Promotions Committee that helps achieve all of these tasks. They are great with bringing fresh perspectives and ideas to help the organization as a whole.
What have you learned from being a part of the club and how do you think it will help you in your future endeavors?
The formation of this organization came into my life when I needed it most. During my freshman and sophomore years, I wanted to be a part of something and make an impact in some way. I didn’t know what to do or how to go about it. I lacked confidence in taking initiative. When my friends reached out to me to start MUsic, it made me realize I am capable and I can be a leader. I think starting up MUsic gave me a lot of courage and confidence that has changed who I am as a person now. I am no longer afraid to take initiative and put myself out there. This will help me in future endeavors because I am no longer afraid to try something new and take a risk. I think that will help me tremendously in my career and making my goals happen.
Reflecting back on your time at Marquette, if you could give any advice to underclassmen, what would it be?
Make great friends and build meaningful relationships. Surround yourself with people that motivate, inspire, and challenge you. Try to branch out to meet people in unlikely places. It’s always good to have a big group of friends you can have fun with, but also make sure to establish at least a few “forever friends.” I already know what girls are going to be in my wedding and who is going to be in my life even 20 or 30 years from now. The friends you make in college see you at your best and worst and experience your most transformative years. They are the ones that will stick with you through it all.