They say that when you give, it comes back to you tenfold in return. Well, in my case it certainly did - and more! I received an opportunity of a lifetime that I will always be grateful for as President of Fanshawe College for a Day.

Since 2003, I have been a Client Services Representative in Human Resources and have also been a canvasser for the United Way for the Human Resources and Financial Services areas for the past four years. The 2008 United Way Campaign was the most exciting one to date with new fundraising events including the re-gifting sale and draws for several "potentially valuable prizes" that included Administrative parking spots, President of the Student Union for a Day and President of Fanshawe College for a Day. Being a longtime personal supporter of the United Way, I bought a ticket on each item solely as a charitable contribution - not expecting to win.

"You won the United Way draw for President for a Day," said Maribel Ayala, standing at my desk after she had helped draw the winners for the United Way draws. At first I thought she was kidding. Me - who if she wins one free coffee during the Roll up the Rim contest considers herself lucky - won President for a Day. This was big. This was exciting. Oh wait, what will be expected of me? When will it be? What will I wear?

The big day came on February 18, 2009, and as I arrived at the President's Office, or rather, my office that morning, I was both nervous and excited about the day ahead of me. I was immediately set at ease as I was welcomed by Cheryl McMurray and by President Dr. Howard Rundle (who called himself my "assistant" for the rest of the day). Dr. Rundle gave me a tour of the President's office, I got the computer up and running and then we were off to start the day.

Joanne Archer, right, starts her presidential duties by meeting with Fanshawe President Howard Rundle, left, and Corporate Communications manager Leanne Perreault, centre.

The first item on my agenda was a College Council meeting at which I graciously handed the chairmanship of the meeting over to Dr. Rundle. I would like to note here that he chaired that meeting as though he'd been doing it for years! The College Council is comprised of a faculty representative from every School, the Library, Counselling, Administrators, Support Staff, and Student Union representatives, and deals with such topics as College policies, new technology and College Committees. The meeting was very interesting from start to finish and a rare insight into the College process at work.

The next item was definitely my biggest challenge of the day - a student radio interview discussing my being President for the Day. Accompanied by Dr. Rundle and Leanne Perreault, Manager, Corporate Communications (who graciously prepared me with invaluable information and tips on doing media interviews - thank you!), we arrived at the broadcast centre where I met my interviewer and XFM News Director, Catherine Wilson. Catherine first gave us a tour of the broadcast centre and what impressed me in addition to all of the state-of-the-art equipment, was how the students learn by actually running the station on a day-to-day basis. Radio looks so easy from the outside, but once those headphones go on and that microphone is in front of you, it is a whole different ballgame. I guess it could have been worse - it could have been TV! Thank you Catherine, for your professionalism and understanding in helping me through the interview. I'll be proud to say I was interviewed by you when you become a great success in your profession.

XFM News Director Catherine Wilson interviews Joanne in Fanshawe's broadcast centre.

It was now noon and time for the College Bus Tour for community guests, hosted by the Development Office. A box lunch prepared by Fanshawe culinary students was provided on the bus. My assistant, Dr. Rundle, headed the tour with his wealth of Fanshawe knowledge. We got on the bus at K building, toured M building's radio and TV stations; on to D Building where we toured several areas including the respiratory and x-ray departments, then over to T Building where we viewed some of the trade areas. The tour was extremely interesting and informative. I was able to get into and see areas of the College that had always intrigued me but I would never have had access to otherwise. As I listened to the various faculty members and coordinators discuss their programs and students, I felt their pride in their work and for the future of their programs. This was probably my favourite experience of the day.

I next spent some time with Catherine Finlayson, Executive Director, Development and Alumni, as she oversaw the set-up for the Nova Craft Canoe Design Challenge awards ceremony to be held that night in the Student Union Building. As I was viewing all 75 of the canoe design submissions and trying to guess which three would be chosen as the winners that night, I was reminded of the talent and calibre Fanshawe students possess - not only in the arts, but in every program we offer. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for the judges to pick only three from all of the amazing submissions.

From there I attended a very informative meeting regarding a Canadian Foundation for Innovation research proposal submission and the extremely detailed process required to secure such funding. That meeting left me with a new appreciation for the difficulties in getting worthwhile research projects off the ground and funded. Thank you to Leslie McIntosh, Catherine Finlayson and Greg Weiler for welcoming me to the meeting.

To round out my day, dinner was at the Out Back Shack and I then attended the Nova Craft Canoe Design Challenge awards ceremony that night in the SUB for the unveiling of the three winners and their designs. It was a very proud moment indeed for all the students involved and for Fanshawe College.

Dr. Rundle, my sincerest thank you for welcoming me into your world as President of Fanshawe College - a job you do so well with such caring, knowledge and humour. I would like to give a special thank you to Cheryl McMurray, for expertly putting together all of the pieces to make my day as President such a success. My thanks as well to everyone who was involved from Fanshawe's United Way team who came up with this brilliant fundraising idea. I hope to see it expand for the 2009 Campaign.

When you donate to the United Way, it will definitely come back to you too, by strengthening your community, improving the quality of life for those less fortunate and even possibly allowing you to experience the extraordinary opportunity to be President of Fanshawe College for a Day!

Joanne Archer
Human Resources
Fanshawe College