MVFC Student Spotlight Series: TJ

In February 2021, the University of Alberta introduced the Military and Veteran-Friendly Campus (MVFC) pilot program to provide military and veterans pursuing post-secondary education with the option to access support specific to their unique needs. 

These specialized supports focus on the transition for active duty soldiers and veterans to campus life, including learning assessments that take into account their existing military training and attributes, peer support, veterans’ study groups and specialized advising. To get to know some of our campus community connected to the military, meet alumnus TJ Landry. A sergeant, chef, and dog lover, TJ completed his Bachelor of Commerce in 2022, just before deploying for service in Kuwait.

What’s your connection to the military and veteran community? What did you do before you began your journey at the U of A?

Back in 2007, I joined the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, which I'm still a part of, down in Red Deer. I figured I’d kind of dip my toes in, because I was only 17 at the time, before I decided what I wanted to do  with my life. After signing up I spent a few summers going through training. 

I then did my trades training over two or three summers, followed by a few military exercises.

Early on in my reserves career I decided that I also really wanted to try cooking, but I didn't want to be in the Army as a cook, I wanted to do other things. I attended Red Deer College, and went through the Red Seal cooking program there. I took a hiatus from the army and lived abroad in the UK for two years, followed by Norway for seven months. When I came back I decided I get back into the army, and I wanted to take a degree that was going to be like quite relevant to the rest of my life, no matter what. That lead me to a business degree with a major in Human Resources at the U of A, which I'm just wrapping up.

What was it like transitioning to studying here at the U of A?

Coming back to university as a mature student definitely has ups and downs. You're not quite as worried about money as when you're just out of high school, but also you don't necessarily have your social network, your social safety net to fall back on. 

It was definitely hard as a mature student, and as somebody coming from the army I was thinking to myself: “okay, I'm gonna put my life on hold for four years to go do a degree.” Even then, doing a degree in four years is pretty difficult for a lot of people, especially balancing it with everything else. I ended up taking on a couple of part-time jobs stayed in the reserves, this helped me maintain full-time work and an income.

Why did you reach out to the MVFC?

I reached out to the MVFC because my tour to Kuwait starts at the beginning of May, and you have to do pre-deployment training beforehand. The start date of my pre-deployment training was at the very beginning of March. Now, how do I navigate potentially losing a third of the semester? I was just trying to figure out a way to bridge those two things together. That was definitely the most challenging portion of transitioning:  my unit could say “you have to be here every single day” and my professors said “no, like you you need to be here a certain amount of time otherwise I can't pass you.” How was I going to navigate that? The advisors at the MVFC were more than happy to help me just kind of get through the last few months of my degree, which I'm super thankful for. It meant that I could complete my program and get ready for my service in the forces at the same time.

How has your experience in the reserves shaped your approach to post-secondary?

I find that there's a massive difference in the mindset of education. In the military, a lot of the education gets geared toward a baseline skill set. So the way they teach is more reserved and paced compared to the way that we learn at university, this was a massive adjustment for me. I was fortunate that I already gone through cooking school and education on the civilian side at Red Deer College and then placements in nice Michelin star restaurants. 

But for some students, I think there's a bit of a struggle there because if they get if they leave high school and go directly to the military because like there's a lot of full-time training you can do, but the way it's structured is a lot more slow-paced. When these students go back to university, I think it might be a bit of a culture shock for them. The most onerous thing is just learning how to reprioritize - you're good at time management in the army. They drill you into that, like day one, but it's the change in pace that you have to keep up with.

What are you hoping to do next, after your deployment to Kuwait?

One of the things that Alberta School of Business offers is the fast-track MBA program, which I'm going to try and get into. There are potentially some other types of government employment that I was that I've been looking at, maybe CSIS or something related to defense or intelligence.

I feel like it'd be unwise for me to box myself into thinking, “okay, well, now I definitely need to just do this.” Let's just build a larger toolbox.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.