The title “Campus Celebrity” does not do justice to Gillian Massel; this U2 student should be a “Campus Superwoman.” Gillian does it all: she’s in an Honours English Literature program, is involved in an astonishing variety and number of extra-curricular activities, and still manages to have an active social life. Really, she puts most of us to shame! What’s more, Gillian is one of the nicest and most approachable people on the McGill campus. After speaking to her for five minutes, one can’t help but feel the genuine enthusiasm she brings to all that she does. Luckily for Her Campus McGill, Gillian found time in her busy schedule this week to chat with us about the things she is passionate about at McGill.
Can you list all the things that you do at McGill?
It’s a long list! I’m a member of McGill’s Master’s Swim Team (MUMS); the coach and co-president of McGill Water Polo; an editor for The Department of English’s undergraduate journal, “The Channel;” the editor-in-chief of The VEG Literary Magazine—an undergraduate creative writing magazine with an interest in “edgy fiction;” a member of the McGill Creative Writing Society (CWS); and the Vice-president of Finance for The Department of English Students Association (DESA). And on top of all that, I somehow find the time for a part-time job as a lifeguard at Memorial Pool!
Why do you think it’s important to be so involved?
I’d get bored otherwise! I’ve always been a really high-energy person so sitting around on my couch at home doesn’t really interest me. Being involved with sports, with the arts, and with the student government keeps me on my toes and it is a great way to get out and meet really great people. One of my favourite aspects of being involved is that I get to work with so many talented people who share my passion and enthusiasm for whatever project we work on. For me, nothing is more rewarding than working as a collective group towards a common goal.
Do your activities let you see much of Montreal–or do you find that you spend most of your time on campus?
I definitely spend most of my time on campus—specifically, in Shulich library doing homework! I do, however, really try to get outside of the “McGill Bubble” when I can. Montreal, in my opinion, is the coolest city in Canada and is one of the best places to explore–but unfortunately my commitments restrict me, to a certain extent, to campus. If there were 48 hours in a day, I’d definitely use the extra time to be out in the city!
How are you able to take on so many different things at once?
Time-management skills are key—I would be a disaster without my iCalendar! I’ve been involved with competitive sports and extracurricular activities my whole life, so I had to learn early on how to balance academics and outside commitments. I also had this grade seven teacher who use to inspect our agendas each week to make sure we were using them, and she would give us a detention if we forgot to bring them to class. She terrified me! But she instilled in me the importance of personal organization and I am grateful to her for that to this day.
Knowing my limits is really important too. I’m the kind of person who loves saying “yes” to just about anything, but saying “no” is a really important skill that I am perfecting. In an ideal world, I would do everything and still go out dancing with my girlfriends on Saint Laurent every night of the week, but I have to be realistic—otherwise I’d go insane!
Which activity have you been doing the longest?
I’ve been playing water polo since I was ten years old and I’ve been playing with McGill’s team since the first week of my freshman year. Water polo is hugely important to me; it’s part of who I am. And it really helped me to adjust in my first year: it was one thing that was familiar to me. The team also gave me great mentors. These older students have become my closest friends and are people on whom I try to model myself. McGill’s Water polo team is full of good students and remarkable athletes that still know how to have a good time. And that’s exactly the kind of person I want to be!
How did you start working with The VEG?
This is a fun story. My high school in Ottawa specialized in the Fine Arts: students would audition and then were accepted into a four-year program in either music, drama, dance, visual arts, or creative writing. I was in the creative writing program, so I had a bunch of poems lying around when I started at McGill. I decided to submit to The VEG after I saw a poster hanging in Leacock. The editors at the time liked my work and invited me to read at the magazine’s launch party—which was at Blizzarts on Saint Laurent. I’d never been to an open mic before, so I was deadly nervous, but I remember getting up there in the spotlight, in this dingy little bar with rubber seats that smelt like bleach and floorwax, standing in front of a crowd of strangers holding pints of Keiths and St. Ambroise, and everyone was cold because it was November, but everyone still wanted to be there because there was poetry…and I just thought to myself: “now THIS is REALLY cool!” I then began editing for the magazine—and I’ve stuck with it ever since.
Do you ever want to take on more? If you could, what else would you do?
Of course! There are so many awesome student initiatives on campus that I’d love to be involved with. If I had the time, I would like to participate in a philanthropic organization like the McGill Cancer Society or OXFAM. I’d also like to be able to attend guest lectures and speakers series and audit classes as it pleases me. And I really want to learn how to dance, and speak Spanish, and play the acoustic guitar, and run a triathlon…so I really hope a bus doesn’t hit me tomorrow. I’m banking on the assumption that I still have a lot of my life left to live.
Photo credit: Eric Chad