Michael Caryk, who pushed for provincial supports for students, reflects on his term, plans to keep helping people as a teacher
Photo by Point2 Media.
Michael Caryk, interim director of campaigns and community relations, will not be returning to the UVSS’ board of directors next year. With the end of his term fast approaching, Caryk sat down with the Martlet to reflect on his experiences as a lead director and impart advice for the incoming board.
During the UVSS’ 2025 election, Caryk ran to be a Director-at-Large (DAL) and was acclaimed to the position, as there were more open DAL positions than there were candidates. Eva Thompson, who was initially elected as director of campaigns and community relations, resigned, and following her resignation, Caryk nominated himself to serve as interim director, and was approved by the board.
Caryk told the Martlet he was most proud of his work on the Transit Commission, where he fought against fee increases for youths and seniors. Throughout his term, Caryk worked alongside the BC3 Coalition, advocating for the creation of a student food bank grant — which would provide $1.50 per student from the province to student union run food banks — and $10 ferry fares for post-secondary students.
These initiatives will be voted on at the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) conference at the end of the month, which may result in B.C. municipalities advocating for them to the province.
According to Caryk’s report at the Semi-Annual General Meeting (SAGM), he carried on the work of Bunni Williams and Isabelle Easton — the previous directors of outreach and university relations and campaigns and community relations, respectively — pushing for on-campus drug testing (fentanyl test strips can be obtained from the harm reduction centre) and the amendment to the non-academic misconduct policy, which UVic passed in June 2025, meaning students would not face consequences for calling for help after using substances.
A frustrating aspect of the job, according to Caryk, is how long it takes for initiatives like the student food bank grant and reduced fares for post-secondary students to come to fruition. “Sometimes it’s about planting the seed. I think the harsh reality of doing this role is you don’t necessarily see the benefits from what you’re doing right away,” he said.
Caryk told the Martlet the biggest challenge he faced during his term was letting “other people’s lack of actions get to [him].”
“When you have some things that are difficult happening around you, it’s really easy to get down on yourself and what you’re doing but at the end of the day I’m doing my best. I believe every director here is doing their best and within their capacity to just to serve students. And sometimes it honestly doesn’t feel like enough,” he said. “I don’t know if it’ll ever feel like enough.”
During the SAGM in February, Caryk gave an emotional speech where he said he would be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve as a director, calling it a “really special opportunity to do something good.” He said he would “take what [he] learnt from this job to make sure that [he] helps people in the future.”
During the interview with the Martlet, Caryk said he loves helping people and that it’s what he wants to do “at the end of the day.” Caryk is pursuing admission to the education program, striving to become a teacher.
“[Teaching] is gonna be a little bit easier than any sort of politics, because I’m gonna see that impact a lot quicker,” he said. “I would love to do whatever I can to help students.”
The Martlet asked Caryk what advice he’d give to the incoming director of campaigns and community relations. Caryk said his advice to the incoming board is to remember that “honesty is the best policy.” Caryk then read from a prepared statement.
“Integrity is upholding honesty when no one is looking, when you are alone, when co-workers aren’t there to look after you, because continuous improvement is expected of us. No one is perfect, and I don’t expect any of you to be. I want you to take a moment and think about what you want to get from this job. Although it might not impact you today, tomorrow or the [next] day, it will have impacts. And I hope that you do what you can to be the best leader you can be for students,” it said.
Caryk thanked General Manager Dale Robertson, Human Resources and Administrative Services Manager Laila Casado, and Policy, Research, and Communications Manager Errin Johnston-Watson for all the behind the scenes work they do, and for helping him “learn so much.”
The Martlet requested brief interviews with the other lead directors to reflect on their time on the board as well. Lindsey Andrew, director of events, declined to comment, while Katie King, director of student affairs, was unable to interview. Jonah Arnold resigned from his position as interim director of finance and operations and thus could not be reached, and the director of outreach and university relations position has been vacant since February.
