Chris Borchert/The Ubyssey

“If it wasn’t UBC, it would have been Western—or Hogwarts,” said AMS VP Academic Matt Parson.

But jokes aside, in a big university like UBC, Parson recognizes that you have to find community in “smaller pockets.”

For Parson, the community pocket that led him to student politics and his current executive role was the fraternities.

“I got uber-involved within the Greek system. I joined my second year and from there just took up every opportunity that I could from being social coordinator to PR, and eventually president within my own fraternity Phi Delta Theta.”

When he became president of the Inter-Fraternity Council, he got a taste of what it meant to liaise with a bunch of different groups on campus, such as the university and the University Neighbourhood Association (UNA).

His current position as VP Academic does just that, but instead represents the AMS’s views.

“I talked to former VP Academic Ben Cappellacci and I saw a lot of commonalities with this position, and those previous experiences. I thought I’d throw my hat in the race for this position. And there you go.”

But when Parson isn’t liaising with the fraternities and the university, he isn’t any less busy.

“I’ve always been really active, playing soccer, hockey and football. As far as hobbies go, I play the guitar, and I’m trying to make a dining room table right now.”

Just as Parson is experimenting with carpentry, he encourages first-year UBC students to try new things as well.

“Don’t be scared to try anything, really there’s no better way to find who you are, and that’s one of the main reasons that you’re actually out at UBC.”

But don’t let everything go to the wind. “Stay grounded. Realize that at the end of the day, you are a student and you’re just trying to do the best you can. Don’t let your personality and your ego get in the way.”

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