by Christine Taziar
     
     Dave McDougall is anxious for some warmer weather so
he can start riding his bike to work again.
     "Right now I'm car-pooling, but I'll probably have my
bike out in about three weeks," he was saying as March
began.
     McDougall is the special events co-ordinator for the
Federation of Students. He has been working at UW full time
for three years, and for two summers before that was a
summer employee, busy planning orientation events for first-
year students.
     He did his undergraduate degree in recreation and
leisure studies here, and wrote his undergraduate thesis on
sponsorship, something McDougall feels is very important in
his line of work.
     He also spent three years at Conestoga College
studying business administration and marketing.
     McDougall is involved in several projects. He produces
the student handbook, is a Canada Day advisor, is in charge
of Summerfest and Winterfest, organizes the Cultural
Caravan and organizes Orientation. Part of his job is to
help Federation businesses and services market themselves.
He lectures in the community for corporate fund-raising for
the Federation, and he also does work with community groups
that are organizing activities.
     McDougall calls himself a one person department, which
has both advantages and disadvantages.
     "I'm lucky enough to be working in a job related to my
studies," he notes. "There are few special event managers
in the city, so in addition to my work on campus, people in
the community ask me to help them as well. I give them some
guidance and ideas for them to consider when planning
events.
     "There is no such thing as a typical day for me.
Sometimes students or student groups will approach me to
raise more awareness of them and their causes, which is
part of what I do. But most of the larger projects that I
am involved in, like Canada Day and Orientation, are being
planned and organized all year."
     McDougall works directly with more than 100 student
volunteers every year, but there are many more volunteers
involved at UW. For example, Canada Day alone recruits
about 300 people.
     Has he noticed any changes at UW in the time that he
has been here?
     "Orientation is completely different now. First of
all, the administration is becoming much more involved in
Orientation whereas before it was mainly a student-run
activity. Secondly, new students are more interested in the
academic aspect of orientation instead of the social
aspect. They want to know where to register and where to
buy their books instead of asking where the nearest party
is.
     "Something new that I helped implement is Spirit Day,
which happens during Frosh Week. Green Spirit is focused on
giving something back to the community. We have planted
over 13,000 shrubs and trees in parks, and we worked on
seven to eight kilometres of Strasburg Creek, building
natural beds that would keep the silt from coming down into
the creek. That keeps the creek from becoming shallower,
allowing the trout to swim upstream. It gave everyone a
good feeling to know that their work would have a lasting
effect, not to mention that it was good for the community."
     And McDougall says he enjoys what he is doing. "I
can't think of a better job that I would want to do."
     Outside the office, he does some volunteering of his
own. He is currently on the K-W Bike Plan Committee, which
is trying to have some bicycle paths installed in Waterloo
Region.
     He is married, with a daughter who is almost two years
old. He enjoys cross-country and downhill skiing, and in
the summer, fishing, camping, and canoeing.