Alex Hawkins is more than just the president of Her Campus Western. She’s a 22-year-old girl coming from both a big city and a small town. While she grew up in the GTA, she now calls Marshfield, Wisconsin her home. “I really like Marshfield—everyone there is so friendly and has been so welcoming to my family and I,” Hawkins says, commenting on the fact that her parents relocated the family there just three years ago. Hawkins is now a fifth-year student working on an honours specialization in psychology and a major in criminology—needless to say, she is a very busy woman. While undertaking a full course load and running one of the most successful Her Campus chapters, she also works as a stewardship and communications assistant for Western University’s Ivey Business School, a job she thoroughly enjoys as she watches the alumni magazine “Intouch [grow] from selecting themes to editing to distribution.”
I asked Hawkins about her goals and what she was planning to do with her degree. The short answer is she’d like to become a psychologist. This year Hawkins is working on her undergraduate thesis and steadily heading towards graduate school, a masters, and becoming a doctor of philosophy (PhD). She seems to be off to an excellent start getting her top choice as a supervisor for her thesis, and with such a strong head on her shoulders, it seems inevitable that Hawkins will achieve her goals. When I asked about her absolute dream job, it was no surprise that it combined both of her academic loves: “If I could be anything, I think I would be a forensic psychologist, working either with individuals in the prison system or those newly released into the community. I find criminology fascinating and I think that there are several issues that the Canadian criminal justice system needs to improve upon when it comes to rehabilitating offenders, both in prions and in the community.” It sounds like big changes are coming our way when Hawkins inevitably takes the lead.
Hawkins didn’t always see herself working in the psychology world. In fact, when coming into Western, Hawkins had every intention of being accepted into the Ivey Business School—thankfully she realized it wasn’t for her and switched programs in her second year. Before any of that, Hawkins was just a little girl with a bunch of different dreams heading in different directions: most notably she was interested in being both a writer and a newscaster. While these aren’t her focus anymore, Hawkins still works within those fields as a Her Campus Western writer and president. “I really enjoy creative writing and am a big reader,” Hawkins tells me, which is no surprise when looking at her 25 plus articles published through the Her Campus Western Chapter. Hawkins talked about the old dreams of being a newscaster, saying it was “interesting since I hate public speaking!” Yet she still plays the role of a newscaster often in that she is in control of the ongoings around her and her teams. As president and a chapter advisor, Hawkins is often leading meetings and making announcements to those around her.
With Hawkins being of such a young age and with so much responsibility I had to ask how she ever has time to herself to relax. Her answer was yet again, extremely impressive: “I… enjoy going to the gym and working out with a personal trainer three times a week—I find that working out helps me to clear my head and get out any pent-up stress and emotions!” After the gym, and everything else on her plate, you can find her relaxing at home. “I love to watch Netflix, so that’s what I usually turn to after a long day when I need to rest and recharge.” One of her favourite Netflix go-to’s is Gilmore Girls!
In typical Her Campus Western fashion I had to request that Hawkins participate in a speed round with me:
Red or Blue? “Blue!”
Favourite building on campus? “University College.”
One word for the UWO parking crisis 2018? “Bullshit.”
Dream vacation? “The U.K.!”
What is your motto? “‘What she tackles, she conquers.’”
With answers like that it’s safe to say that Alex Hawkins is a pretty cool girl who is definitely headed places. If you want to get to know her better you can follow her on Twitter or Instagram @alexhawkins65!
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