Friday, May 15, 2020

Farewell Message from Graduating Career Assistants and Introduction to our Summer Career Assistants

The past 2019/2020 school year has been rewarding and a learning experience for many. As the fall and winter term comes to an end, this blog post is to just express our sincere thanks and appreciation to our fellow co-workers that made CareerZone so great. Below are self-reflections and closing remarks from some of our graduating career assistants.

Niraj
“Working with the Coop Career & Experiential Education department was a highlight of my time at Brock University. I joined the team as a Goodman Career Assistant in my second year of study in September 2017. I was able to learn and develop my skills under the guidance of the Goodman team lead by Ashley Chimenti. In my first year I learned a great deal about the job application process and how crucial it is to build your network. I would advise students attend the networking and Exploring Careers in series of events organized by the Career Education department. The events are a starting point to building a network and meeting helpful alumni if you make it happen.

Later, I was given the opportunity to work with the department as a Summer Career Assistant in 2019, and the summer was also when I transitioned to assist the department as a Plus Programs Assistant. I was able to help students from a whole new dynamic as I provided them with guidance on building their Experience Plus Transcripts which can be used to strengthen a portfolio or job application and kept as a record of a student’s involvement during their university career.

I returned to the department in my final year of study as a Senior Goodman Career Assistant in September 2019. I spent many hours talking to students and encouraging them to get involved and attend Goodman Career Events. Although, the year was cut short due to the Covid-19 virus, the Career team was still highly functional working from home for the remainder of the year.

Throughout my time with the department, the staff were always welcoming and very helpful. My advice to all incoming students would be to book an appointment with a Talent Development Specialist. The staff are very knowledgeable and can offer great advice on building your dream career. As I finish my Bachelor of Business Administration degree, I look forward to furthering my education as I prepare to write my Certified Financial Analyst exam. If you are already a student at Brock University or are thinking of attending the school, my most important takeaway would be to get involved with the Coop Career and Experiential Education Department.”

Niraj Dave, BBA
 Autumn
“As my time as a career assistant, I enjoyed getting to learn about the different job opportunities, passions, and career goals of students. It really opened my eyes to the wide variety of career paths that were available after graduation and the significance of conducting research related to career planning. One advice I would give to students is participate in informational interviews, volunteering, completing a co-op placement or even job shadowing as part of your next steps, to get exposed to areas you may be interested in. As part of my next steps as a nursing student, I plan on finishing my last year of nursing school and begin working as a nurse.”

Autumn Wild, BSc. Nursing

Hana
“My name is Hana and I am a former Senior Career Assistant! I graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Child and Youth Studies. My next steps are to attend Mohawk College in the Fall for the Community and Justice Services Program. I have learned many valuable lessons in my role as a Senior Career Assistant and will continue to use the skills and experiences I have gained in that role, throughout the rest of my professional and personal life. My advice to the students in the Brock community would be to take advantage of the resources and opportunities that are available that are available to you at Brock, to ensure that you get the most out of your University experience!”

Hana Markham, BA. Child and Youth Studies
Chloe
“As a career Assistant for 3 years of my studies, I learned so much about myself, Brock, and all the career opportunities out there! During my time, I enjoyed working on projects to enhance our student body’s knowledge of what services we offered (while giving out some great prizes!). I even learned enough to realize switching my program was essential to match my career aspirations post-grad, so I transferred to Business & Media Communications. My time with CareerZone gave me the skills to pave my way in my industry but also gave me the knowledge to help others. My advice to any student at Brock is to reach out to Career Services anytime, to find out what they can do for you!"

Chloe Hall, BA. Business & Media Communications
Holly MacRae
“My name is Holly and I recently graduated from Brock with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Speech and Language Sciences. As a Sr. Career Assistant, I was looking to get more involved with student life, and boy was I not disappointed! Working directly with students to ensure they were well equipped before entering the job force made my job so rewarding. Currently, I am taking a year off to work and volunteer in the field of Speech and Language Pathology, to build up my application for my Masters of Speech Language Pathology for the following year!! Some advice I would have for Brock students is to try to get a job or volunteer opportunity on campus. Not only does it look great on a resume, but you get to meet a ton of people and make great friends along the way!”

Holly MacRae, BA (Honours) Speech and Language Sciences


Summer Career Assistants
Now that we have gotten a chance to acknowledge some of the former career assistants at Brock University. We are convinced that our summer career assistants will add another layer of success to the quality efforts made by the Career Education team.


Samara Vandersloot, BA. Political Science

Samara

Samara is a fourth-year political science major. She has been working as an Experience Plus Program Assistant for the past semester and will be taking on the Career Assistant role for the Spring and Summer terms. She is excited to get more involved with Career Education and looks forward to working with students throughout the summer to support them in their career journey.





Yaa Asare, BPH (Honours)

Yaa

Yaa is a third-year public health major and has been working as career assistant during her second year at Brock University for the fall and winter terms. She will be continuing her role as a career assistant during the spring and summer sessions and will begin her new role as a Sr. Career Assistant for the upcoming fall/winter terms. She is thrilled for this opportunity to help students with career planning and navigating the resources Brock and Career Education has to offer. 



Email: career@brocku.ca 
Instagram: @brockcareerzone
Twitter: @BrockCareerZone

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