Meet this week’s Campus Celeb, Dave! The past two orientation weeks, Dave has had the chance to share his story with incoming first years. We think he is pretty cool, and that those who didn’t get to hear his speech should be able to see why we think so!
Name: Dave Patterson
Program: Music Education
Year of Study: 5th
Hometown: Mississauga
Relationship status: In a relationship
What are you involved in on campus?
I am the don for Little House A1 East, as well as the Chair for the Waterloo Residence Council, which plans campus wide events for first years such as Hawk Weekend. I am also a coordinator for the Mental Health Education Group which I helped create in my 2nd year.
What does the Laurier Mental Health Education Group offer students?
Our goal is to reduce stigma at Laurier, as well as inform students about mental health, and the resources available to them. We run events such as speaker series, social media campaigns, and, our signature event, the Love My Life: Walk for Mental Health. As students, we do not try to offer direct support for students in need, as we are not qualified to do so. We try to make sure students have an understanding of their own well-being, know where to go for support when needed, and feel they can comfortably do so on campus without fear of stigma.
What has been the most rewarding part of your involvement at Laurier?
For me, this stems from speaking and sharing my story about mental illness. Over the last few years of speaking at campus and community events, it’s been a really incredible experience to be able to connect with a wide range of students. I don’t think anything in life is more rewarding for me than when someone approaches me days or weeks after they heard me speak, and tells me how much it impacted them, or how they now feel comfortable addressing their own mental health.
If you could tell your first year self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Never settle for less than the best. I used to get intimidated by situations and obstacles, and that would sometimes prevent me from doing the best I could on a particular task, or even just applying for a job or position I wanted on campus. After a few years, I’ve learned that you will never regret putting your heart into everything you do, even if sometimes you’ve spread yourself a little thin.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Sometimes you hit a homerun and don’t even know it. Yes, it’s from the movie Moneyball. This speaks to me a lot with my involvement in residence life and with MHEG. Sometimes you plan an event and put a lot of work into it, then only 2 students come out and you’re frustrated and disappointed. What you may find out later is that perhaps that event, or getting to talk with you, was really helpful for one student, and if that’s the case then it’s a home run, even if you thought you just hit a lazy fly ball.
When you are not busy on campus, what pastimes do you enjoy?
I’m passionate about music, whether it’s playing instruments, singing, or going to concerts. I also love playing a variety of sports, and I am a borderline obsessive Blue Jays fan going to as many games as possible. Other than that, I love fishing, anything outdoors, or just hanging with friends playing Madden, cards, or Settlers of Catan.
What is something interesting that most people wouldn’t know about you?
I am a massive animal lover. I’ve had a wide array of pets throughout my life, and while I’m at school I miss my dog endlessly. I suppose something most people wouldn’t know is that every year for Christmas and her birthday, I take my dog Abbey to the pet store, so she can pick out her present. She runs up and down the aisles till she finds a toy she likes then I buy it, hide it, and give it to her on the day of. I’m not fully sure why I’m admitting this, but I guess love makes people do crazy things.
If you had an unlimited amount of money to spend, what would you do?
Season tickets for the Blue Jays would be the first thing. Then I’d do some traveling, see different parts of the world I’ve never been to. Then I’d buy a nice secluded cottage up north somewhere and have friends up all the time. Oh and obviously get a dog!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
That’s a great question, and I’m open to any answers you may have. But ideally as a music teacher in a high school somewhere. However, I plan to take a couple years off before teachers college and try out different jobs, and speak to as many audiences as possible. So really I could end up doing any number of things in 10 years.
What has been your favourite memory at Laurier so far?
Without a doubt, when I got to share my story and speak to the entire first year class. I’ve done it each of the last two years, but the first time is probably most memorable just because of the milestone it was for me. It was by far the biggest audience I’d ever spoken to and I was proud of how it went. I realized how much first year Dave would have benefited from hearing that talk, and things kind of had come full circle for me in that moment.
Thanks for chatting with us, Dave. Your involvement on campus has helped so many students, and many more to come. Best of luck with everything!