Madison Inman, class of 2011, is well known among her Mulgrave friends as a leader with an amazing passion for making a difference in the world. Her authentic kindness and determination is something to be marvelled, and we are so excited to have the opportunity to reconnect with Madison and learn about her latest initiatives. Mulgrave’s Deputy Head Girl in 2011, Madison reconnects with the Mulgrave community to share her experiences in this week’s Alumni Spotlight.
Q&A
MADISON Inman Mulgrave School Class of 2011| Interviewed by Chloe Scott | December 2014
Hi Madison, it’s great to connect with you! Let’s start our interview by chatting about what you are currently studying at the University of Western Ontario? I was lucky to be pre- accepted to Ivey Business School at Western, but Ivey doesn’t start until 3rd year and there is a ‘trick clause’ in that one must maintain a minimum 80% GPA in the first 2 years to maintain the pre-acceptance. None of my advance credits through IB applied either,
as the GPA is based on a full course load. So I first had to roll up my sleeves in the DAN Management program in Consumer Behaviour for two years before Ivey Business School. Ivey has been an incredible experience and also completely different than my first two years at Western. At Ivey everyone takes the same set of courses in our first year, which covers all your business fundamentals. In second year, we need to cover two mandatory courses, and then the rest is up to you, which is really interesting because
RIGHT Madison (centre row, third from right) with Western’s Charity Orientation team.
LEFT Canadian TV personality Jessi Cruickshank wearing a Wester Charity campaign shirt while leading a student rally that brought 7,000 students together.
you are essentially designing your specialization. I chose to take courses in marketing, advertising and entrepreneurial finance.
first year at Western and was proud to be the only incoming second year student accepted, historically being led exclusively by upper-year students. Our team leads all of the charity I will actually be completing my final term in programming during Orientation week for Singapore, at Singapore Management University the incoming group of first year students to on exchange. During this term, I will be taking a support the Terry Fox Foundation and Cystic few subjects that I wouldn’t have the opportunity Fibrosis Canada. While this is an intense week to study if I was to of focus on campus, we “I am incredibly passionate about complete my studies work all throughout the in Ontario. For the work we have done, which year and show up for example, I am enrolled many sleepless nights a in turn has become a part of in E-Commerce couple of weeks before who I am and has defined my Marketing, which is not the general student body even offered at Ivey in each fall. During my three Western experience.” Ontario. years on the team, we raised over $400,000, As a student at UWO, you are heavily involved in for these foundations. In my graduating year, I a variety of charitable initiatives. Can you describe was fortunate enough to lead our team through your involvement with these organisations? all the fall campaigns, which was incredibly rewarding and possibly the most valuable My involvement with Western’s Charity learning experience of my life. A definite highlight Orientation team has, without a doubt, been was MTV host Jessi Cruickshank wearing our the most incredible experience of my life so Western Charity campaign shirt in front of a far. I joined the ‘Soph’ charity team during my 7,000 student rally.
I am incredibly passionate about the work we have done, which in turn has become a part of who I am and has defined my Western experience. I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished and urge students reading this to try and find some personal niche at university because it is a big place with a lot going on. The way to personalize the experience is to get involved in some smaller group of people who are giving something back with passion. Western Charity was mine, and absolutely made my university experience, and introduced me to the most amazing group of students, with similar values and passions, many of whom will remain my friends for life. You can find our campaign videos from this past fall online at bit.ly/westerncharityp1run if you are curious about what we were up to! Many within the Mulgrave community will recall that you were an avid student leader and volunteer during your school years. What skills did you acquire through your various leadership and service positions held at Mulgrave that you have been able to apply to your post-secondary pursuits? Looking back at my involvement at Mulgrave, I think the most important thing I learnt was how to get people excited. Many will recall my overly enthusiastic morning announcements on the PA system about the Backpack Drive, or whichever event was happening that month. Though this seemed really simple, it was the type of action that allowed me to light a fire among others and garner support behind causes. Passion is contagious and I learned that by embodying this spirit, I could propel ideas forward and infect other students with my enthusiasm. Did you have any mentors who helped you in navigating your post-secondary ambitions while at Mulgrave?
I remember a very specific conversation I had with Mr. DeBeer in his office at Mulgrave. I was talking about my ambitions and plans to take business at Western and I recall his concern of whether when I began to pursue business training, I might lose sight of my passion for philanthropy (and turn into an insensitive capitalist!) This raised a really profound question for me at the time, but happily it simply did not happen! Inevitably, I realised that regardless of what degree programme I chose to pursue, charitable pursuits were an integral part of who I am and would continue to be throughout my undergrad. Nurturing this passion through my charitable involvement on campus, taught me so much more about leadership than any course at school could. I have to say that an elective in public speaking in 2nd year also gave me valuable skills to project my campaigns and ideas and reinforced the earlier Mulgrave experience, where students are encouraged to get involved and get comfortable speaking and presenting. What kind of work did your role as a Human Resources intern with the Canucks entail? This past summer was an amazing time to be a part of the Canucks family because a new Hospitality division was being launched just as I began my internship. Since Roger’s Arena opened its doors about 15 years ago, Aramark has been the food and beverage provider for the arena. After a strategic decision to improve the service quality within the arena, Canucks Sports & Entertainment decided to launch a new Hospitality division in house, which meant hiring over 1,000 staff in just over four months. Thus, I was heavily involved in the recruitment and selection process for over 700 part time staff, and the logistics associated with hiring, onboarding, paperwork etc. It was an extremely fast-paced environment with a lot of learning and
ABOVE Madison and her fellow Duke of Edinburgh team at Bowron Lakes, led by Ty Gee. communication, which taught me much. The team was incredible and it was a great environment where I was able to take ownership of many new ideas as they were being rolled out. What is next on the horizon for you? In January, I will be heading to Singapore on exchange. Afterwards, I will be travelling Europe a bit before heading back to Toronto to start working at Hudson’s Bay Company as an Executive Trainee on their Merchandising team. I am really excited about this opportunity, as I have always had a keen interest in retail, which was sparked while working at Lululemon as a summer job (during the sheer pant crisis in fact!). Do you have a favourite Mulgrave memory you would like to share with our readers? One of my favourite memories would have to be my Bowron Lake Duke of Ed trip with
Mr.Gee and the Duke of Ed team. I have honestly never been so cold in my entire life as we were paddling our canoes in the middle of a lake during torrential downpour. I have also never laughed so hard as I watched Conrad pick up his spilt trail mix off the ground during that same rainstorm because of his extreme fear of bears. Some of my best memories from Mulgrave were all the outdoor trips, which I will definitely not forget! My outreach to South Africa and Swaziland was also life changing and I encourage anyone who might have one of these incredible opportunities to get out and get an appreciation for how others in the world live. Madison Inman, December 2014