This week I got to sit down with TJ and get to know him a little better. He was recently elected the President and Publisher of Wilfrid Laurier Students Publications for the 2018-2019 school year.
Name: TJ Mroz
Age: 23
Year/Program: 5th Year Communications Studies
Relationship Status: “Very” Single
Where can we follow you?
Insta: tjmroz
Twitter: TeeJmroz
LinkedIn: Terrence Mroz
Facebook: Terrence J Mroz
Campus Crush: Kieran McCaughey- the man is polished. For real, I love his style, but there is a lady on campus who has caught my attention.
Favourite Bar: Pub- I like the idea of sitting down and like hanging with people – I like the group setting and the excuse of not having to go up and talk to people. You go with your friends, get a table, have some drinks and chill.
Fun Fact: I have a creative side. I make music, but I never show anyone. And I paint and write poetry.
Tell us a little about your years at Laurier?
In high school, I wasn’t really uni-bound and took a fifth year and changed things around. Laurier made sense for me because some friends from high school we here, I had family here, and my Dad went to Laurier. After being social in high school, I really buckled down in first-year, and didn’t branch out as much. I spent the middle of my university years diving into being involved, and now I’m excited to graduate and work in the Laurier community.
What clubs and extracurriculars are you involved in on-campus?
I joined The Cord and Radio Laurier, hosting a hip-hop show in my second year. I also partook in Ultimate Frisbee. I joined Sigma Chi Fraternity in my third year as well. I’m also currently part of the Laurier Creative Collective, which is a new club of painters, artists, photographers, and other artists. We’ve connected the artistic community on campus. We submit different pieces, show stuff that students are doing around campus. I’m also in the Fashion Club and part of the annual fashion show.
Where can we find you most of the time at school?
Well, I live at the WLUSP publications office, and I suppose that won’t be changing anytime soon. I also spend a lot of time people watching in the concourse (don’t we all).
What’s your typical Friday or Saturday night look like?
I’m usually at an event, whether it’s for a club I’m in or the fraternity is hosting something, my weekends are always planned. I’m pretty good at keeping myself busy. When I’m feeling more introverted, I stay home and cuddle with my dog, take in some anime and get Lazeez
Me: What is this?
Him: I’m leaving this interview right now, you’ve never heard of it? It’s amazing.
Who is the infamous Maverick?
He’s my son – well he’s my pet dog. But seriously, if you put all of my family members together, I care more about Mav (sorry not sorry, eh?).
Photo: Property of The Cord
What are you listening to right now?
It’s always changing, I listen to everything- except country (and this is why TJ and I have not become better friends). I’m really into hip-hop, like Travis Scott and Dave East.
Me: Who?
TJ: Dave East is from NY, he’s newer but super interesting. I also listen to Blues, or Prohibition Music, which is anything before the 60’s. It’s “really old sh*t,” something you can drink whiskey to, sad. I also listen to Metal; I love the drums, and the energy, and the hair-throwing. It looks dumb, but when you get into it, “headbanging music” is pretty dope.
So, what should we be listening to right now then?
GO LISTEN TO: Huncho Jack- Quevo and Travis Scott and The World is Yours by Ty Taylor
As a senior, what advice would you give your first-year self?
Oh, that’s a big one. I guess, there’s no right, there’s no wrong, it’s all how you spin the narrative. There’s no “normal”; there are rules, policies, ideologies that make something normal. First-year me though, this is how things are and how they’re supposed to be and now, I think critically and don’t accept things at face value.
So, you’re the incoming WLUSP Pres- what does that mean for you?
I’ve been saying it’s my first trial run at being an adult (Haha….adulting, no thanks).
What are you looking forward to?
Basically, I get to oversee 8 publications, and I’m really excited to help a bunch of publications reach their potential. I’m also excited to work with a lot of different people I haven’t had the chance to yet.
Is there anything you’re afraid of?
I’m definitely afraid of not being able to help as much as I want to you know? I don’t want to be sitting in a chair, I don’t want to be a nameless face in a chair. I want to be hands-on, otherwise, this will be boring.
What made you decide to run for the position?
I ran for the position because it was something I wanted to prove to myself I could do. It was definitely me finding a way to stick around at Laurier for one more year. It gives me the chance to interact with the publications I haven’t had the chance to over the last four years. I think the content Laurier’s student publications put out is important.
“The ingredients you put into that newspaper or whatever it has the power to affect thousands of people, and if only one person considers the way they think about everything, student media has done its job.”
Obviously, I like that it’s a paid position- but you can go anywhere to get paid. I think it’s meaningful work that we do, and I look forward to proving myself as your president and publisher.
Words you live by?
“Nothing really matters, but sometimes nice things are nice”