By Tina Pittaway

Who: Kyle MacDonald (BComm’09)

Volunteer Roles:
House President, Risley Hall; VP, External, Dalhousie Commerce Society (’08-’09); Chair, Communications, Dalhousie Alumni Vancouver Chapter (present); Board Member, Dalhousie Alumni Association (present)

Current Position: Co-founder, Goliath Coffee Company, Inc.

How Dal helped me develop my leadership skills: It really pushed me to see what I could achieve. Whenever you do a role like [House President], it’s a big time commitment. I had the opportunity to really shape the initial experience of all of these new students coming to Dalhousie from all over Canada and the world. I also really wanted to help kickstart those students’ university experience.

Key ability acquired: The ability to work in a team effectively. It strengthened my ability to listen and collaborate; to step up when decisions need to be made and to have confidence in those decisions.

Most important leadership lesson I learned: It gave me confidence in my speaking and presentation abilities and has helped me take on big challenges that may seem overwhelming initially. It gives you the drive. You realize that you can do great things if you put your mind to it, surround yourself with the right kind of people and you’re focused.

How I’ve put those lessons to work since leaving university: Most students can be intimidated by taking on extra things when they’re at university because of the extra pressure that’s on you and it can affect your academics. But the benefits of taking on these roles in the long-run in your resume, personal growth and professional development vastly outweighs it.

Why I came back to volunteer with the DAA: When I moved to Vancouver I felt a disconnect. So when the DAA launched these new programs, I thought this is great, I want to help build the community here on the West Coast. I think it’s amazing that you can still have this tie back to your university network and your friends, even though you are now in a different career path.

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2014 issue of Dal Magazine.