This week’s Campus Celebrity is a force to be reckoned with. Fourth year Tyler Hennick already has impressive accomplishments to his name, making a huge impact within the Commerce Society as this year’s President. He sat down with HerCampus to discuss ComSoc, provide sage advice, talk about future plans, and choose between Luke and Vader. Details below.
Q: Let’s start with the basics. What got you interested in student government? Tell us a bit about your ComSoc career.
I was first introduced to student government by a mentor of mine in second year. I cannot stress the importance of informal mentors enough as four mentors specifically have completely shaped my experience and have helped me achieve goals at Queen’s and beyond. I was a member of two committees at the time, one of which supported entrepreneurs and the other high school students, and wanted to do something to help my fellow Queen’s students. A member of one of those committees supported me through my first application to be a part of the governing structure of the Commerce Society. I first got involved in the government side as ComSoc’s Human Resources Officer. The HRO position gave me a view into how a lot of ComSoc committees operate as well as the amount that the Society can impact students on an individual level. One of the most important experiences I’ve had in ComSoc was running in the Executive elections last January. This forced me to critically evaluate what students want and need from the Commerce Society and prove that we were the team that could deliver on that.
Q: Explain the team dynamic between you and the other ComSoc executives.
The dynamic between Ashton and Charlie, my Vice Presidents, and I is very positive. We’re fortunate to be friends first, which allows us to have meaningful disagreements as any team should without creating actual interpersonal conflict. While we always come to solutions through consensus, it is important that we can discuss many different sides of issues in a constructive way.
Q: Tell us a bit about your career plans for the future.
After graduating I will be going into the field of management consulting, starting at Monitor Deloitte in September of 2014. I was drawn to consulting because of the challenging and diverse work and was fortunate to land an internship at MD last summer. I worked on two different case teams in very different industries and both learned a ton and enjoyed my time at the firm. While the work initially drew me to the industry, the people at Monitor Deloitte are the reason why I am so excited to return to the firm in September.
Q: Do you have advice for readers looking to get involved in their school communities?
Start small and never get discouraged. A lot of students think that they should do everything they can to get more and more involved, but that’s not the approach I would recommend. By starting small with a position or two and attending a few events, students can better focus their time and energy. An important part of getting involved is the relationships that you build and by overextending yourself, you put yourself in a position to let people down. On the other hand, don’t get discouraged if you aren’t able to land positions. I had a lot of difficulty in first-year getting on committees or into conferences. The best thing to do is participate in events, especially ones that don’t even require applications, to build your network of people and knowledge. This helps in future committee hiring.
Q: Being ComSoc President can be quite time consuming. What are the steps you take to effectively manage your time? Or do you just have a time-turner?
A time turner would be nice! I am a complete slave to my calendar which helps me keep organized. Every night I look at the meetings and classes I have the next day to make sure I am amply prepared for them. It is also important to take breaks and do something relaxing! To distress and relax, I play guitar or watch TV. I also have a personal rule where I try to meet anyone for lunch or coffee if they ask, especially friends that I see less of due to my involvement. This allows me to take a step back and not think about work.
Q: Deep question: if you could change anything about your time at Queen’s, would you? And what?
If I could change one thing about my time at Queen’s I would have spent more time getting to know students from other faculties. In first year I was close with my floormates who were from a variety of faculties and this year I’ve met amazing people through my role as ComSoc President, however for most of my time I’ve been stuck in the “Commerce Bubble”. As much as I love the program and the students in it, I wish I took more time to be around more different types of people.
SPEED ROUND:
Q: Favourite place to hang out in Kingston?
The Queen’s Pub or the Pier when it’s warm
Q: Better food: Ban Righ or Leonard?
Ban Righ
Q: Favourite professor?
Don’t make me choose!
Q: Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader?
Luke Sykwalker