A proud computer science alum, Andrew Martel's (BCS'15) engagement with UNB and the Associated Alumni began during his days as a student leader. Andrew was involved in many corners of campus life during his time as a UNB student, including serving as the Student Union president. His connection to UNB has remained strong, following him to Toronto and now back home to New Brunswick, where he's given back his time to the alumni community as a longtime volunteer. He brings great enthusiasm and commitment to his new role as president.

Can you talk about the value of your computer science degree in relation to your career today?

I’d love to! Often, I think computer science, like many other degrees, gets the bad rap surrounding its practical use, rather than the skills developed throughout the degree at UNB. Early in my CS days, I had the incorrect notion that computer science was coding. You graduate, you code. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Computer science is problem solving. It is seeing a problem and asking yourself “What is the simplest, easiest and best way to solve it?” Code is the medium that many may use – but in my case, problem solving is what I do daily.

Over the last 10 years, I’ve worked in management consulting – so problem solving is what gets me up in the morning.

How did your time as a UNB student leader impact your life?

Leadership is in my blood. My father was a community leader in more ways than one, and having been on many sports teams as a kid where your dad is the coach, you quickly have a fork in the road that says, “Am I also a leader, or am I just here for the ride?” From high school into university, student leadership was where I wanted to be.

It allowed me to build bonds and friendships that I still hold near to my heart to this day – and has allowed me to create memories and moments outside of the classroom that, frankly, was my UNB experience.

Tell us a little bit about your passion and involvement in the theatre community.

If my father was the leader, my mother was the public speaker. Combined, you are begging for a spotlight – and theatre has a ton of spotlights. But in reality, I’m a social butterfly who has fallen in love with film, TV and the arts in every way possible. The end result? The desire to throw on a costume, maybe an accent, and learn the words of a totally different person.

This passion took fruition at UNB through the drama program, where I graduated with a minor after having performed in plays like Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and finally performing as Odysseus in The Odyssey.

Over the last seven years, I’ve been part of Branch Out Productions – the top community theatre group in Fredericton. I’ve had the benefit of playing iconic roles like Hercules Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express and Professor Plum in Clue. Recently, I’ve dipped my toes into musical theatre, which has seen me take on the roles of Reverend Shaw in Footloose and “Sexy UPS Delivery Guy” in Legally Blonde.

Like many fellow alumni, you met your wife during your time as a student and just completed a year of travel abroad. What did you learn or love most about this experience together? 

Kayla and I met like all good Hollywood love stories. I was the UNB Student Union president, she was a transfer student at UNB – we both attended the transfer student social. The rest is history. Well, l I don’t remember meeting her, as she likes to remind me. But we did have Drama 2107 that year, that’s where our mutual remembering history starts.

Our travel abroad last year saw us visit 19 countries (+ The Holy See) over the course of 370 days. Aside from the obvious loves of trying new food and beer and seeing world wonders, the time together (sleep deprived and at times completely lost) was immaculate. We were in our own starry-eyed bubble of living in an experience that we would share and re-visit for the rest of our lives.

Honestly, we are still forming memories months later as we return to “normal life”. There are things we forgot about that we will randomly remember, sharing a laugh over the reality of it happening. And that’s the best part – experiencing it all together.

(Side mission: We wanted to hit up as many of the top 50 bars in the world – and I think we saw over 20 of them. In our books, Buenos Aires and Singapore topped the list!)

Read more about what Andrew and Kayla learned while travelling and working abroad.

What influenced you to stay connected to UNB upon graduation and what do you feel is most rewarding about volunteering?

I think it was a jigsaw of different elements. I loved my time with computer science and the Computer Science Association. The people of that faculty were instrumental in who I’ve become as a professional now.

On the flipside, being involved in things like Town House, Student Union and The Brunswickan during my over five years at UNB only cemented my love for my university, my campus and those around me.

Since leaving UNB, moving to Toronto and then moving back, the community at UNB has been unmatched. And the beauty is that it only keeps growing – meeting new alumni and hearing their story only drives that desire to stay involved along the way.

As a young alum and association president, I’ve been drawn to keeping new graduates engaged in any way possible. The alumni network is just that – a network of like-minded inter-connected people all over the world who can help new graduates and new members of the UNB family.

What are you most looking forward to during your term as the Alumni Association president?

Meeting new alumni at alumni events all over! I love a good alumni story, but even more so a “where are they now?” story is a great cherry on top. I’m hopeful we can continue to reach out to more and more alumni – in every corner of the world.

Working with the Alumni Office team and Alumni Association. These great people work diligently and volunteer a lot of time and effort to make the best for all involved. I thoroughly enjoy working with these people as our passions align so well!

Celebrating UNB with others who love UNB as much as me!

What do you hope to accomplish or prioritize with Alumni Council and the association over the next two years?

Building a stronger sense of networks outside of New Brunswick. With the progression of networks I’m looking forward to helping form these pocket communities.

In addition to the above item, I’d also like to see more and more for our Fredericton and Saint John campuses. We have a lot of localized alumni networks who would love to be more involved, engaged and heard. I’d love to bring them together, on and off campus, more and more.

Developing better (and more) events and activities. People love to get together. But now imagine doing that at a sporting event or amongst a seafood boil – now you got yourself a good time.

We have great opportunities to modernize our relationship with alumni. What do you want? You got it. Oh, you’re a Tibbits alum who was in forestry and helped out with the Student Union? We know. And we will make sure you get all relevant updates for YOU!

Can you share three words that best describe your time at UNB?

Engaged – Hills – Cellar