This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.
Meet Marie Le Cannellier, a U3 Management student who calls Chicago home. Marie recently became President of MTL Relations, an organization that aims to get you out of the McGill bubble by making it easier for you to connect with students from all universities in Montreal. Read on if you want to learn more about Marie and MTL Relations!
Diana Miruna for Her Campus McGill (HC McGill): To start off, tell us about yourself.
Marie Le Cannellier (MLC): My name is Marie Le Cannellier — I’m a foodie, a gym enthusiast, and almost trilingual.
HC McGill: Where are you from?
MLC: I was born in Strasbourg, France, but soon moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina for 5 years, where I learned to speak Spanish. Afterwards I moved to Florida for about 3 years and later to Chicago, where I spent most of my middle school and high school years. Chicago is the place I consider home.
HC McGill: What are you studying at McGill and what year are you in?
MLC: I am a U3 student at the Desautels Faculty of Management, pursuing concentrations in marketing and organizational behavior with a minor in Hispanic Literature and Culture.
HC McGill: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
MLC: I love love love anything related to food — whether that’s cooking at home, going out for dinner or brunch with friends, or looking at restaurant menus online.
I try to be as active as possible, so I frequently go to the gym or follow work-out videos at home, and I enjoy walking around the city and doing yoga when I have time!
I’m also a big fan of reading magazines or a good book before going to bed — it just gets me “ready” to go to sleep.
HC McGill: Are there any other extracurricular activities you’re involved in?
MLC: Apart from MTL Relations, I also have a part time job as a social media manager at a small firm in Chicago. It’s where I did my internship this summer, and I was lucky that they asked me to keep working with them this year!
HC McGill: If you could give any advice to your first year self, what would it be?
MLC: Don’t stress out — you’ll always find a way. Whether it’s figuring out your courses or figuring out who your friends are, finding a club or finding your way on campus, there’s always a solution! I think in first year, I often got overwhelmed by all there was to do at McGill. It’s impossible to do everything, so I would tell myself to slow down, and enjoy the moment because time at McGill really fiies by.
HC McGill: Now, tell us about MTL Relations. What is it and what does it aim to do?
MLC: MTL Relations is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote inter-university networking between all students in Montreal. We started off with a simple assessment: it’s easy for students to stay in their university bubble throughout their studies, without going out to explore other areas of Montreal. Montreal is a city rich with diversity, so it would be a shame to miss out on that!
Everyone has different interests, so our goal is to host a variety of events (party/night out, cultural events, music-related events, sports events, etc.) that make it easy and convenient for university students to meet and get to know each other.
HC McGill: How did you get involved with MTL Relations?
MLC: About two years ago, Agathe, my childhood best friend who now studies at HEC Montreal, talked to me about the MTL Relations project, an idea that originally stemmed from another HEC Montreal student, Ken Seidenstein, who had been working on it for a couple of months. They were looking for a VP Events and thought I would be a good fit. I was immediately intrigued by the project, so a few weeks later when they offered me the position, I said yes of course!
HC McGill: As President of MTL Relations, what are your goals and responsibilities?
MLC: The role of President is brand new to me — I had been VP Events for over a year and a half when I became President, so it’ll be an interesting switch. I think my main goal as President is to ensure team cohesion and motivation: I want my team to feel like they are contributing to the project and that their voices are being heard. I want them to be as excited as I am by the project. My role is also administrative: preparing the weekly meeting’s agenda, managing our team’s Facebook page, communicating with the members, etc. In the end, I hope to carry out the vision that was set forth by Ken, and the other original MTL Relations members!
HC McGill: What were some of your favorite activities organized so far?
MLC: We organized two “Meet & Beer” events so far (one this past Thursday, Sep 29th actually), which were very successful. “Meet & Beers” are hosted in a bar/lounge that have enough room for dancing, playing games, or just sitting down to have a drink. At the latest Meet & Beer, we organized a fun game that encouraged people to meet each other. Many strangers ended up spending the night talking, so I would say it was a success!
We also organized an outing to an Impact de Montreal soccer game. It was a nice chance to meet soccer fans while watching the game and enjoying an afternoon out.
HC McGill: Are there any upcoming events we should be on the lookout for?
MLC: We just recruited our new team for this year, so we’ll have to get back to you on that! We’ll definitely try to host a music-related event as soon as we can, as well as a cultural-themed event, which we haven’t done yet. We’re looking forward to expanding the type of events we host!
HC McGill: Where can our readers find more information about MTL Relations and events you’re organizing?
MLC: You can check out our Facebook page for all our latest updates or you can e-mail the team if you have any questions! We look forward to seeing you!
All images provided by the interviewee.