When he’s not binge watching Game of Thrones or spending time at the Ceeps, you can find Dustin Smith playing on one of his many intramural teams at Western, or fulfilling his role as a faculty soph at King’s. Raised in the small town of Orangeville, Ontario from a family of seven kids (yep – seven!), Dustin is now in his fourth and final year at King’s, where he is majoring in Criminology with a minor in Psychology.
Sophs are upper-year students who guide frosh through their first year of university. In his second round of sophing, Dustin helps first year students at King’s College, an affiliated college at Western, to make the transition from high school to university as smooth and as fun as possible. Dustin, along with the rest of his soph team, is involved in many aspects of first year life, from connecting students to different campus services, encouraging and leading campus events, or even just being a person to talk to.
As a soph, Dustin is a key part to making O-Week a success. O-Week (or Orientation Week) eases the transition for first year students when they arrive at Western, consisting of social interacts and academic programs entirely run by soph teams. O-Week activities are designed to help the new students get to know other frosh, their campus, and what life at Western is all about. All the fun during O-Week doesn’t come without a price, though. Sophs like Dustin have to maintain a high energy level at all times, usually running on very little sleep. “We’d often have to meet with the soph team as early as 7 a.m. and nights can go as late as 2 or 3 in the morning.” Dustin’s outgoing personality is a perfect match for events like the opening ceremonies and Shinerama, two of his favourite events during O-Week.
Along with sophing, Dustin describes the best times he’s had at Western is being a part of intramural teams at school, including volleyball, hockey, and even inner tube water polo. “I figured university will be whatever you decide to make it, so I decided to join teams that fit my interests and it’s been a blast every time.”
His favourite part of being a soph is helping young students during the often tough transition to university life. Dustin hopes to eventually be working in the criminal justice system, trying to make a difference in the lives of troubled youth. Dustin’s passion for helping out young people inevitably stemmed from his father, who works in the mental health field, starting out as a crisis worker who now runs his own practice. Undeniably his biggest inspiration, his father’s career has sparked Dustin’s passion for helping those who need it most. “I want to do something where I think I can make the largest impact.”
HC Quiz:
Plans after graduation this year: Take a year to live in London, find a job and figure out how to best start my career.
Three words to describe yourself: Relaxed, Dedicated, Happy
Favourite Activities: Ice hockey and volleyball have always been things I enjoyed, but anything that keeps me active
Dream Job: If I had the coordination or the skill to play a professional sport that would definitely be what I would like to do.
Guilty Pleasure: Bingeing Netflix seasons
Pet Peeves: When my headphones get tangled up, someone needs to invent something to fix that.
One thing you want to do before graduating: Win a purple shirt for an intramural team!
Favourite Off Campus Location: It’s hard to pick one in such a big city, but if I had to pick one it would be Prince Al’s.
Favourite On Campus Location: At Western: The Spoke. At King’s: Student Life Centre