A Golden Achievement

By Rachelle Cooper

John Aimers of the Monarchist League of Canada, far right, presented a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal to political science student Keith Roy last week at a surprise ceremony organized by Roy's girlfriend, Jodie Sales, left, and attended by his mother, Claudette, who flew in from Vancouver for the event.
Photo by Grant Martin

Minutes before fourth-year political science student Keith Roy walked into the University Club, his friends and family were in full swing blowing up balloons, hanging streamers, deciding where to place a sign reading "Congratulations, Keith" and reviewing the plan to yell "Surprise."

When Roy arrived at the gathering, it wasn't a graduation or birthday celebration he was walking into it. No, the surprise was that he was being honoured with a Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal.

On hand to present the medal was John Aimers, dominion chair of the Monarchist League of Canada. "The purpose of the medal is to celebrate people who make day-to-day contributions in their communities," he says, "and I can't think of anyone more appropriate to give it to than Keith."

Even though the honour took Roy completely by surprise, he was well aware of the significance of the medal. He spent last summer co-ordinating the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal ceremonies during an internship in the office of James Bartleman, lieutenant-governor of Ontario. Roy was selected for the internship by the Monarchist League, of which he is a member.

"I didn't feel as though I was deserving of the medal because of the company I knew I was in," he says. "I knew some of the people who were getting it, and what they had accomplished had really blown my mind. They were just astounding people, and to be recognized in their company is in itself the biggest part of the honour."

His mom, Claudette, who hadn't seen her son since Christmas, flew in from Vancouver to participate in the surprise. When she first got news of the honour three weeks before, "I just cried," she says. "I was awed, and it actually took me three days to tell people without crying."

When people close to Roy learned of his medal, they knew he was a worthy recipient. In addition to his work with the Monarchist League, he sat on the University Hearing Board, chaired the University Centre board of directors and served as president of Mountain Hall in his second year.

But Roy's most important role on campus is his work as ombudsperson for Hospitality Services.

"I'm responsible for dealing with all on-campus food service concerns and hospitality retail concerns. I liaise with hospitality administration, whom I meet with on almost a daily basis, and with students."

And students have shown they're happy with the job Roy's been doing. He's the first person to be elected to this position twice since it was created more than 30 years ago.

"I like the position because it allows me to actually get things done as a student," he says.

Roy has toured hospitality services at 20 universities across Canada and believes food services at Guelph are the best in the country.

"We are continually changing, renovating, adding new products, seeking student feedback. I do between 50 and 100 surveys in various locations every second week on campus to get the feedback that's presented to the managers in a hospitality committee meeting. I give them notice about four days before, and they respond on how they're going to make changes as per students' requests."

Roy says requests are implemented quite quickly. "Last year, students wanted a scale at the salad bar, and they got a scale at the salad bar. They wanted the microwave in Mountain cafeteria moved for easier access and they wanted a sign to let them know they could use it, so we did that. That kind of stuff doesn't come out unless students are consulted."

Roy grew up in Vancouver working in hospitality services. At 21, he has already held jobs in a bowling centre, a golf course, a brew pub and McDonald's. This fall, he plans to enter the MBA program in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Although passionate about his work in the hospitality field, Roy has another goal for the long term: running for political office. He first realized he wanted to major in political science when he returned home for Christmas after his first semester.

"Most people were talking about politics. Everybody has an opinion about politics, but I didn't really understand a lot of it. I found that if I understood a little bit more, I could really have an impact on a conversation and get more out of it."

Now, he never finds himself without an opinion. At the medal presentation, one of his friends cried out: "It's the first time I've seen him speechless."

Says Roy: "I'm the guy who says what people think." He recently wrote an opinion piece in the Ontarion supporting the war in Iraq. He says he's received mostly positive feedback from his peers on campus.

For someone who knew little about politics in his first year, Roy has come a long way. He now serves as president of the Canadian Alliance Club on campus. He learned first-hand about the political party working for an Alliance MP in Ottawa during the summer of 2001.

It was while working in Ottawa that Roy met Aimers and joined the Monarchist League of Canada. Although many people his age don't see the relevance of keeping ties to the monarchy, he believes it plays a crucial role in Canada.

"It needs to be there to protect us from a government just overtaking Parliament and holding on to power indefinitely. The monarchy's true role is to create and foster what is good in society, and they do that by attending events, giving out awards."

Roy points out that it was an award from the governor general that brought his friends and family together. "It creates community through the representatives by bringing people together to have events in the town square," he says. "The tradition behind it is just so exciting. People write it off as just ceremony, but that ceremony is so important to our social fabric that it should never be extinguished."