An interview of Owen Minns by the Queen's Journal about being AMS Vice-president (Operations); 2000-01-12.
What is your mandated role as VP(Ops) of the AMS?
According to the AMS Constitution, "2.03.02 The Vice-president (Operations) shall be a member of the Council, and shall be responsible for all day-to-day operational and financial matters of the Society. He/She shall work with the other members of the Executive as their duties require, or in such duties as required by, or at the direction of, the Assembly. He/She shall act for the President in the event that the President is unable to do so."
This doesn't quite capture the whole job, of course. Other, more specific, elements of the role are: the AMS Student Health Plan, the AMS Student Dental Plan, the AMS Bus-It programme, investment and insurance issues, affinity and sponsorship programs, strategic planning and budgeting, reviews of operational performance, and representing students on a number of bodies, both on and off campus. Some of these bodies are AMS Assembly, the John Deutsch University Centre Council, the AMS Board of Directors, the Campus Planning and Development Committee of the Board of Trustees, and the Canadian Campus Business Consortium.
The Vice-President of Operations is also the direct supervisor of the Director (Media & Services) and the Director (Services), who oversee more than a dozen services (e.g., Alfie's Pub and the Publishing & Copy Centre), and the Business Development Officer, who co-ordinates the AMS's efforts to get support for outside individuals, groups and businesses.
This year, what were your biggest challenges and accomplishments?
The 1999-2000 year is far from over, but hopefully I won't face too many more big new challenges. So far, my biggest challenges have been finding a balance between what is urgent and what is most important; finding a balance between work time, school time and personal time; and finding a balance between doing things myself and helping other people do them. With so much going on, it is hard to effectively prioritize everything.
There are very few big things that I have accomplished without the involvement of other people, and I wouldn't want to claim as my own all the successes I have been involved with this year. I have been satisfied with some of my own work, most notably the Board of Directors of the Canadian Campus Business Consortium, the ongoing development of the AMS website, the expansion of the Publishing and Copy Centre, and the Annual Planning, Budgeting and Mid Year Reviews of all AMS services and commissions.
What are the positive and negative aspects of the position? What would you change about it?
One of the best things about this job and others in the AMS is the opportunity to work with a great variety of excellent people. The most frequent and simplest rewards of my job are the smiles of the people I work with and the people I serve.
The negative side of the position has a lot to do with my own personality. I like to start and finish a project, having a lot of personal ownership of the work; I like to see firsthand the impact of improvements I make; and I like to do hands-on work myself. For me, a negative aspect of this position is how indirectly I influence the output of the AMS; much of what I'm responsible for is done by other people, and this removes me from a lot of what I enjoy about working. The silver lining of this down side is an increase in my appreciation of other people's growth and achievements.
If I could, I would make the workload more manageable. This job would probably be more satisfying if the number of completed task were greater than the number of 'pending' tasks.
Why did you run for the position?
I got involved with the AMS in my first year in some clubs and at the Queen's Journal. I found my involvement in these groups more rewarding than most of my classes, so naturally, I have sought to increase my extra-curricular. Over time, I saw things about the AMS that I thought could be improved, so I became increasingly active in the AMS and its management, trying to make the AMS even better. Running for an Executive position, the highest office in this organization, seemed to be a way to have the greatest positive impact possible.
Why should someone run for it this year? What sort of qualities should they have?
Candidates should care about many of the same things that other students care about, and should seek to improve the lives of their fellow students. The AMS can do a lot of good in our community with good leadership. Candidates should be calm, reasonable, clever, and staunch in support of their ideals and those of the students they would represent. Candidates should be willing to put in a lot of work (starting with the campaign!) and should be willing to learn a lot about student issues, management, the AMS, and public administration. I'm not sure how relevant it is, but Winston Churchill said that, "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm."
How much are you paid?
$15 669 for the year... significantly less than minimum wage.
How many hours do you put in a week? How many weeks a year? (I.e., What happens during the summer?)
I work 60 to 70 hours in a regular week, throughout the year (including the summer). Like most jobs, some weeks are a bit more strenuous and some weeks a bit lighter (e.g., around exam time). There is also a small amount of out-of-town travel involved, to conferences and meetings. The term of office is from May 1 to April 30, but a lot of work (e.g., hiring) is necessary before taking office to get the year prepared.
What did you wish you had known before being elected VP(Ops)?
I wish I had known how few projects I would have time to complete on my own.
What advice would you give to someone running for your position next year?
"You should know what you're getting into." This position, and others within the AMS, can be very rewarding but are also quite demanding. In student politics, as with all politics, there are inevitably bitter arguments and conflicts, and things don't always go your way. Being VP(Ops) is a lot of work and takes a lot of time, this can easily eat into personal time and school time. You have to be prepared to work at balancing your life.
What advice would you give to the student community when it comes to choosing the new Exec?
I think that those with successful experience in management, peer leadership and public service who care about the AMS and its mission, 'to serve the diversity of students at Queen's' would make good leaders. Candidates don't need any experience within the AMS at all, but they should be knowledgeable about it and the University and demonstrate a willingness to learn more.
Owen Minns.
