Vice President External

Michelle Dennis

Phone: 403-440-6404
Email: vpexternal
Program: Bach. of Communications – Public Relations
Hometown: Calgary

Bio

Current Vice-President External, Michelle Dennis has been a student at Mount Royal since 2007. She was accepted into the Public Relations program after spending a year in Open Studies. Her involvement on campus ranges from volunteering with Mount Royal’s Aboriginal academic support centre – the Iniskim Centre, to serving on Students’ Council as the Communications Representative.

“Education is one of the things I cherish the most in life; no one can take it away from you,” says Michelle. “All of the hurdles I faced getting into and continuing my education were almost unbearable. If I can help at least one student jump over any of those, it was worth it.”

Michelle credits education and culture to her personal development thus far. She says that being a student opened doors that were once closed: “All my life I had dreamed of going to post-secondary. I used to pull the petals off a dandylion to see if I was going to go to university or not. But I had a lot of odds against me at the time so it wasn’t easy to get in or pay for it. I know first-hand the sacrifice many students make throughout their academic careers. That’s why I’m spending this year fighting for them with all I have.”

Before attending MRU, Michelle studied at Alberta Bible College and finished a certificate program in religious studies. She plans to finish the Bachelor of Theology upon graduating at Mount Royal. Her work experience includes positions at Canadian Natural Resources Limited and Nexen. Michelle plans to use her knowledge from the Public Relations program in her new role at the Students’ Association. She is also the Communications and Marketing Director for the Alberta Student’s Executive Council, a provincial lobby group serving students through government relations. Michelle sits on multiple boards within the University and is helping with communications strategies at the federal level through the Canadian Alliance of Students’ Associations.

Michelle loves pancakes and Obama.

Newsworthy

Our VP External Michelle Dennis comments on the housing search for incoming students in the August 5th edition of the Calgary Herald.
Mount Royal’s Newsroom interviews your four elected Student Executives before the beginning of the Fall 2011 Semester.
Your elected VP External Michelle Dennis comments on this article about express busses coming to MRU.
By now most students have probably already read about our former elected SAMRU President’s resignation and charges that have been laid. If you haven’t, The Calgary Herald has good coverage of the issue.
They also covered more on the story as days followed including interviews with Michelle Dennis, our VP External.
MRU President David Docherty had comments and kudos about four students who exhibited remarkable composure and professionalism as they handled the media and criticism that surrounded this issue.
Student Association Vice President External Michelle Dennis told 660News that the SAMRU believes that sustainable and predictable government support for post-secondary education would be a solution to the provinces unsustainable health spending with the growing population and fewer health-care professionals.
Your VP External Michelle Dennis responds to campaign promises that would affect MRU