There is a life-size cutout of him in the University Book Store. His photo is on textbook rebate cards. And he didn’t have to wait in line to see Zombieland.

ASUW President Tim Mensing’s face is everywhere, and he’s definitely taking advantage of the presidential perks — like his office in the HUB, even if it does have a view of the dumpsters — but we don’t really get to see what Mensing does on a daily basis.

“It’s a year, but to me, it feels much shorter than that,” Mensing said. “It’s an excellent opportunity, and I don’t want to waste it at all.”

Mensing spends at least eight hours every weekday working to fulfill his presidential duties.

On the day that I visited him, Mensing attended six meetings in six hours, responded to at least 20 e-mails, walked around the HUB lawn introducing himself to every student organization that was out tabling, and checked in with any student organization representative with an office in the HUB just to see what was going on.

“I feel that it’s my responsibility to know everyone,” Mensing said, “so that they can come to me, and I can physically direct them to who can help them.”

Mensing appears to be doing very well as he settles into his office in the HUB, where he hopes he and his fellow ASUW officers can create a family atmosphere.

The ASUW office really does feel like a home for these people. The walls are covered in photos of friends; a poster of Dwight Schrute from The Office; and a board that lists everyone’s name, position, goals – and even a spot for their current mood. People are constantly walking in and out, knocking on Mensing’s door to say hello or drop something off, yet the president still manages to attend many meetings to stay up to date on things like the HUB renovation and planning for the HUB Crawl.

“Tim is very active; he always wants to make sure everyone knows he is really there for us,” said Dalia Amin, the ASUW director of diversity efforts. “He made sure he was at my very first meeting. He didn’t have to be, but he was. It’s not about the big stuff.”

While he walked through a club fair on the HUB lawn, many organizations wanted Mensing to sign their petition, wear their T-shirt or button or mention their cause – but Mensing has to make sure each organization is something he really wants to support before he signs anything or wears their “swag,” as he calls it.

Mensing’s support for student community involvement didn’t begin with his assumption of the presidential office this year. Mensing actually ran for the position in a write-in campaign in 2008, when he came in second.

But, instead of making a bunch of campaign promises and then forgetting about them once he lost, he decided to continue with his plans to create ASUW Ambassadors, a program that connects the student government with other on-campus communities.

“It doesn’t matter what title you have. If you want to do something, just do it,” Mensing said. “If you want to change something, find the relevant resources and start now.”

The ASUW president’s busy schedule helps him stay tuned in to what is happening on campus so that he can fulfill his responsibilities. Mensing describes his position as twofold: the internal part of running the ASUW and meeting with faculty and staff, and the external part of knowing what students want and being able to advocate for them.

With such a busy schedule and all of this responsibility, the ASUW president still manages to find time to relax. Like many other students, Mensing enjoys playing the guitar and visiting Seattle parks. Unlike most others, he also enjoys scaling a tree every now and then. He even has a particular tree he’s been planning to climb for some time. The tree sits outside of the music building, but he’s only made it up the first few limbs so far.

Luckily for Mensing, he gets a kick out of his job, so coming to work, though it may not be relaxing, is fun for him.

“I really enjoy meeting new people and developing new friendships,” he said.

Mensing’s love of people shows on both a small and a large scale. No matter who the individual is – an average student or the assistant vice provost for campus life – Mensing shakes his or her hand and asks, “How is your day going?” He also attends as many student meetings as possible, from the Residence Hall Student Association to the Graduate and Professional Student Senate meetings, though he says his heart still races every time he has to speak in front of a large group of people.

Meeting people helps Mensing work with other groups to accomplish as much as possible, which is key to his theme of collaboration this year.

One such collaboration has culminated in the creation of the Puget Sound Summit, where Mensing hopes all student-body presidents from universities in Washington will come together to share their experiences, ideas and goals.

With so many people to meet and meetings to attend, Mensing has to maintain an organized life to keep everything straight.

“Daily to-do lists have been very, very helpful,” Mensing said. “It really comes down to scheduling.”

Mensing also depends on his daily presidential drink: a combination of light lemonade, Powerade and Vault, which energizes him through a long day.

Interestingly, Mensing isn’t planning on a life of politics. Instead, he intends to apply to medical school. He said the idea of being able to help someone in such an immediate way amazes him.

“Having the title of ASUW president opens up doors,” Mensing said, “and if you want to be able to do something, you can do it.”

Reach reporter Lael Telles at lifestyles@dailyuw.com.