Rockets, Marketing and Musicals: Find a student group for you at TMU

I love that Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) offers so many student groups that represent the diverse interests and passions of students on campus. I was so happy to chat with the presidents of some of these groups to learn why they love being part of a community and to receive any advice they have for those hoping to join.

Take a look at the conversations I had with three presidents from three different groups at TMU!

First up, the president of the Toronto Metropolitan Theatre Company (TMTC) (external link, opens in new window)  and fourth-year Business Management student, Hunter Moore.

Hadiqah K: What’s the Toronto Metropolitan Theatre Company and why did you choose to join?

Hunter M: The TMTC is a fully student-run musical theatre company. Every year, we put on a full-scale musical. This is our 10th anniversary, and we've done nine shows! Some of the shows we've done include Freaky Friday, Catch Me If You Can, Newsies and Thoroughly Modern Millie. 

We love having students from all programs and majors participate. Students can get involved in many ways, whether it's being in the cast, working on the crew, making sets or doing lighting design. 

As for why I joined, I've been singing for about 15 years and doing musical theatre for 10 years, or more. I started singing when I was five and went to an arts school in Etobicoke. Initially, I wasn’t planning to join TMTC, but my mom convinced me, and it turned out to be the best decision I could have made. 

HK: What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had here?

HM: A big moment that comes to mind is in second year when I played the lead role in Something Rotten. It was the first time I was in a lead role, and I was on stage almost the entire time. Another memorable moment has to be this past year, being the president, and the feeling of seeing your show [Freaky Friday] come together after so many months, so much stress and uncertainty. 

HK: What advice do you have for students hoping to get involved and make the most of their time at TMU?

HM: Personally, I didn’t live in residence. I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life and stayed at home. So, I’d say to anyone starting their time at TMU, join student groups since that’s where you’ll meet the best people and make lifelong friends. 

For TMTC specifically, just come out and join, no matter what aspect you want to be a part of. Whether you want to sing in the cast, work backstage or do something else, we have options for everyone. Every time I see a new, passionate person, I think of them as the future of the company. This past year, most of our cast was made up of first- and second-year students, with very few of us who’ve been here since 2021. It’s kind of weird being the senior members now, but it’s awesome because they are the future of TMTC.

We now have Bao Tran, the president of Met Rocketry (external link, opens in new window)  and a fourth-year Aerospace Engineering student.

Hadiqah: What’s Met Rocketry and why did you choose to join?

Bao: [Met Rocketry] is an award-winning design team that primarily focuses on building rockets. We do a lot of things, like focusing on designing and manufacturing the aero structures such as fins, nose cones, body tubes and the avionics. Recently, we’ve also been looking into developing our own rocket engine!

I originally joined Met Rocketry on a whim. I had no intention of joining, but my friend convinced me to one day. I thought, “Why not? It wouldn’t hurt to try.” Now three years later, I’m co-captain of the team.

H: What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had here?

B: A memorable moment was when we went to a competition in New Mexico. There was a lot of crunch time we had to go through because some parts of the rocket weren’t finished. I was helping with the payload at the time and we had cooling issues, so we stayed up all night working on it. I remember we all fell asleep outside while sitting on lawn chairs, and then we got woken up by one of the members, wondering what happened to us.

H: What advice do you have for students hoping to get involved and make the most of their time at TMU?

B: My advice is to join anything you think is interesting. Join and keep showing up, even if you don’t know anything. I knew nothing about rockets, but I kept showing up because I thought it was interesting, and over time I learned a lot. There are a lot of people willing to help you if you just [put in the effort], and they’ll eventually offer you advice.

Lastly, Shannon Yu is the president of the Ted Rogers Marketing Association (TRMA) (external link, opens in new window)  and a fourth-year Business Management student who is specializing in Marketing Management.

Hadiqah: What’s the Ted Rogers Marketing Association and why did you choose to join?

Shannon: The TRMA is essentially a course union for the [Business Management] marketing major. Essentially, what TRMA does is bridge the gap between students and the industry. There are so many things you can learn in the classroom, but there are even more things you can learn in the industry by connecting with professionals. We obviously want to bring real-world experiences [to students] whether that’s through panels, conferences or networking events.

I really wanted to join TRMA because of how cool the social media presence looked at the time. I also really wanted to work with individuals who were passionate about marketing and really wanted to pursue a career in it as well. The idea of working with like-minded and passionate individuals really stood out to me. I also knew people who were already a part of it, and they told me such great things. They also mentioned how it could get challenging because it’s a small team—[despite that] I really wanted to be part of a tight-knit and close group.

H: What’s the most memorable moment you’ve had here?

S: I’ve been on the team since my first year. In my third year, I actually ran the 11th annual Met Marketing Conference. It’s a case competition with a lot of different opportunities to speak with professionals. That entire weekend in January was the most memorable because I ran three full days of working with hotels and various offices around downtown, and I put together a full itinerary.

I was able to get to know everyone because the team was even smaller that year. It was just the perfect mix—getting to see everyone work together as a team professionally, but also chilling at the end of the night and getting to know each other even more. 

H: What advice do you have for students hoping to get involved and make the most of their time at TMU?

S: I would tell them what every upper-year student has told me since the moment I got to TMU: get involved. I’m a commuter, so campus is just a place I go for class, and then I head straight back home. But, I feel like being part of groups forces you to stay on campus sometimes, and at least you can connect with people—even through virtual meetings and virtual socials. I remember joining five different student groups in my first year, which was a lot. I feel like that’s the best way to make friends with people you’ll probably stick with for years.

I think regardless of what program you're in, if you're interested in marketing and want to see more of it, feel free to attend [TRMA’s] events. I’d highly recommend applying as well, because we have two hiring periods: one at the end of the year around April and another one in October.

Thank you Hunter, Bao and Shannon for speaking with me. After talking with these presidents, it’s safe to say that you don’t need to be an expert in your field or interests to join these clubs—you just have to have passion! No matter what program you're in or what hobbies you have, there are so many clubs and student groups at TMU that will welcome you to join their team.

If you’d like to learn about more student groups on campus, be sure to check out the list of organizations through ExploreTMU (opens in new window) ! 

Bye for now,

Hadiqah