If his time at TRU is an indication of where he may be headed, Vernie Clement Jris on the road to becoming a great leader.
And that is a good thing for Clement, who is leaving TRU with a Bachelor of Business and a Major in Human Resources.
During his time of five years on the executive of the TRU First Nations Association (TRUFNS) “three as president and two as vice-president”. Clement was an instrumental player in helping the group move several key initiatives forward from the idea phase to implementation. Among the initiatives: First Nations Awareness Week and regular socials. Clement and the TRUFNS was also in on various high-level meetings with TRU leaders and other matters dealing with First Nations inclusion.
“To be a leader, you have to know how to follow,” says Clement, who illustrates his point by seamlessly switching to one of his favourite pastimes – native drumming. “When you drum in a circle, there are 12 people and they all have to be in rhythm. It’s hard to do, but when it comes together, the sound is like one voice.”
Further indication of his leadership abilities is Clement’s role with TRUFNS. Rather than take the credit for helping transform the group from one with ideas to one of action, he says he simply acted as coach and matched members’ interests with their strengths.
“I had a good council and we had good teamwork,” Clement says. “It (getting things done) didn’t require a lot of effort because of the volunteers and others involved “they got things done.”
Clement hails from a community about 200 kilometres west of Quesnel and is a member of the Lhoosk’uz People, also known as Dakelh. In English, he is a member of the Carrier Nation.
Clement says his leadership talents spring largely from two wells. One is his grandmother, who always encouraged him to finish high school, to go to university, and to always push to be his best. The other is native drumming and singing. In his continuous journey to push himself beyond what’s comfortable, Clement reveals he had thoughts during high school of becoming a paramedicBut further reflection persuaded him to chart a different course.
“I wanted to help people and I thought a medical career might have been a way to do that. When I looked into that, I thought back to a teaching I had from my grandparents and other teachers I had back home. They told me to always work at things you’re not good at. A lot of people work on things they’re good at, but you have to be an all-rounded person, that’s what I was told.”
Aunts introduced him to drumming and singing a number of years ago and he has been hooked ever since.
“For me it’s good medicine. I just get a good feeling from drumming. I would rather hang out with people who are clean and sober than hang out with people who are drinking and doing drugs.”
