Trinity Western University

The LLC was not only an incredible experience because of the relationships I formed and the incredible, fun experiences I had but because it was a launching pad for me both professionally and personally.

The benefits of the LLC for my future success were immediate. Both the academic teaching and non-academic leadership training taught at the LLC are incredibly effective. I had a greatly expanded sense of self-confidence -- it is amazing what a few short months living and interacting with other highly motivated and intellectually curious people can do for you. Not to mention that the events on Parliament Hill, at the Mansion, and with various business leaders in Ottawa taught me that there is no room in the world that I should feel uncomfortable walking in to. You just have to do it a few times to find that out.

The LLC has also been huge for furthering my career ambitions. After finishing up my undergrad the semester following the LLC I was hired by the world's largest business lobbying group, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), as their full-time Legislative Affairs Intern. I was told during my interview that there were two things that got me the interview: 1) The creative way I got my resume to them (another story), and, 2) My LLC experience.

I had interned at the LLC with Pierre Poilievre, an M.P. and then-Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister. My interviewers at the CFIB were very interested in the program, my Certificate in Leadership and Applied Public Affairs, and my work experience on the Hill. My discussion of the LLC -- the Mansion, the people I lived with, the history of the program, the events I attended, and my internship experience -- took up about 45 minutes of my first interview. My LLC experience was also a major reason I got my first Communications Consulting gig shortly after my four-month CFIB contract ended.

On a more personal level, the LLC community in Ottawa and beyond is something awesome to be a part of. Visiting Ottawa, where I work two weeks a month with my current job (RBC Dominion Securities), is always a pleasure -- I usually have lunch 2-3 times a week with various LLC Alums (none of whom attended the LLC at the same time as I did). The conversations are great, their work stories are always interesting, and the shared bond is almost tangible.

Without a doubt, the LLC was one of the most profoundly positive experiences in my life and I am deeply thankful that I had the privilege of attending the program.

Written by: Matt Enns

It is not an understatement to say that my time at the Laurentian Leadership Centre had a huge impact on my life and set up the success of my future careers. In the spring semester of 2004 I interned in politics for MP, Jason Kenney. I experienced firsthand how politics worked from the inside and gained a valuable experience for my resume. 2 years following my graduation from TWU, I moved to Ottawa and was looking for my first post university job, it was my LLC internship experience that stood out and landed me my first job as a communications assistant for a Member of Parliament. They were looking for someone who had experience in politics and even by then the great reputation of Trinity and the LLC was beginning and as an alumnus I stood out amongst the dozens of resumes they received. I went on to work in the House of Commons for 5 more years and now work as a Public Relations Consultant and Lobbyist in which I help clients navigate the federal government.

None of these careers would have been possible without my LLC internship. I fondly remember my time at the LLC and am grateful for what I learned there. The quality of the LLC professors and integrity of my peers was outstanding. Not only did I learn academic knowledge about the Canadian Government but I also gained real life experiences through my internship and learned from professors who had practiced in those fields. The community of students was also outstanding and living in an historic building in Ottawa’s downtown core was simply a bonus! You will not regret your decision to attend the Laurentian Leadership Center or the decision to make a financial difference in the life on one student. You truly will be pouring into the next generation of Canadian leadership.

Written by: Matt Triemstra

With just recently attaining my Trinity Western University alumni colours (what do you mean I only get 10% off at the bookstore?), there is a lot, when looking back, that mashes together the final mosaic piece of my four year experience.

I got to express all of my pent up late teen excitement for independence in dorms for three years alongside one of my best friends and soon to be groomsmen. Through the TWU Titans Hockey team (now recently evolved into the TWU Spartans Hockey program), I was given the opportunity to use two of my great passions, playing hockey and communicating the gospel, while traveling to Slovakia. In my studies, I was stretched personally and intellectually, so much so I got addicted to the stimuli of nightly conversations about how our generation can take on the mantle from those before us and continue to transform and change it for the years to come. But the proverbial cherry on top was missing, as I stared at the abyss before me after four years, I decided to pack my bags and head to Ottawa for one last adventure.

It is fair to say that the experience was more than just a cherry on top, it established, as the recent Liberal party leader Michael Ignatieff was prone to state in his many campaign speeches, "the granite under my feet." It revealed to me more than just the Trinity bubble experience, it enlightened me to a network, and a world where one can visibly see and witness Christians in the, "various marketplaces of life," influencing public policy, business, politics, etc., from a Christian perspective.

After orientation week, where we learned how to suavely enter a room, and how not to eat our peas like barbarians, we began to shuttle off to our internships. Like your first day of school when you were younger, the staff at the LLC made sure that before we were out the door our shirts were tucked in, that our ties were tight, and that there was a hand to hold (not literally) in Dr. Buckingham as we met our supervisors one on one for the very first time.

As the four months began to pass by, we got to share intimately in our experiences in our food groups at the dinner table, sometimes with abash humility that a stressful day offers, but more often than not, with yet another once in a lifetime experience that the internship provided. Above all, as a political and cultural junkie, I got to absorb the ancestral breath of tradition that lives with in the architecture, buildings, sites, and museums, that Ottawa provides. It is safe to say that I will always look back at my memories at the mansion and sincerely say those were some of the best four months of my life.

Oh, and the classes are great too.

Written by, Evan Menzies 

If you have a story to tell about the LLC, send it to kelly.lamb@mytwu.ca