SuccessBeyond

My background was in Kinesiology and although I enjoyed it very much, I found a passion for human resources through my job at McDonald’s. While working there, I was a People Manager and was exposed to various aspects of HR such as hiring, onboarding, training and development and employee relations, among other functions.

Once I completed my undergraduate degree, I decided to make a career change and pursue HR. After doing research, I found Seneca had a very competitive postgraduate program and decided to apply for it. Luckily, I was one of 25 students that were accepted into the program that year.

Changing from a university environment to a college environment made a massive difference for me, especially in terms of my learning style. I really enjoyed the hands-on learning experience, coupled with interacting with professors, who were still very much involved in the industry. Overall, I had a very positive experience as I was able to directly apply my experience in the field into the classroom which made class quite enjoyable with discussions and group assignments.

My co-op experience most likely had the greatest impact for me, as I was able to secure a position in the Leadership & Employee Development department at Seneca, where I was hired full-time a couple of years later. I also had the opportunity to get exposed to other HR areas such as talent acquisition, compensation, labour relations, diversity and inclusion and organizational development.

I would have to say my most memorable experience at Seneca is when I had a full circle moment where I was able to plan and organize an HR networking session for current students in the Human Resources Management graduate certificate program.

This allowed me to give back to the very same program that I was able to gain so much from. It also had a positive impact on the lives of students who were going through what I had gone through a couple of years back.

I am a firm believer in being a lifelong learner and am always looking for ways to expand one’s knowledge and skill set. I have always wanted to pursue further studies but had to put it off for a couple of years due to financial constraints.

Seneca has a great tuition assistance program, which allowed me to think about pursuing a master’s degree once again. Once I found out about some of the pathways available to Seneca graduates, I decided to apply.

I have always been interested in how leadership and management can have such a significant influence on employees. A lot of the time, it can influence an organization's success, which can cascade down to individual departments. It can also encourage overall employee engagement and motivation.

The postgraduate program directly correlates with the master’s program as there is a lot of overlap in content and what is taught but it just expands further into detail. In this way, the Seneca program gave me a good baseline of knowledge as I go through the master's program.

The major difference between the certificate program and the master’s program is that the master’s program is a lot more theoretical in nature, which requires more critical thinking and distinct set of skills. Whereas, with the postgraduate program, I felt I could apply my experience directly with the course work and it was a lot more hands-on style of learning.

I think having all three credentials has given me a competitive advantage while also allowing me to specialize my focus within the realm of leadership and management. Each credential has prepared me for my career thus far and going into the future.

Without each specific credential, I don’t think I would be where I am today, and my career trajectory could be much different than where it is now.

When pursuing a program, look at all of your available options. There may be pathways available for your program that you did not know existed. This can make a massive difference in terms of financial support, flexibility or the time commitment required to complete the program.

I think an important lesson I learned while trying to juggle the different aspects of life is to make time for yourself. Whether it be reading a book, going for a run, pursuing a hobby, practicing self-care, or making time for family and friends, it’s crucial to take the time to take care of yourself and spend time with loved ones. The busier you get, the harder it becomes to make time for these things but having these support systems in place can do wonders for your well-being.

Presently, I work at Seneca as a Strategic Initiatives Specialist in Human Resources. I am also completing my final term for my master’s program before my final capstone project. Lastly, I am hoping to get back on the track and start training to complete a marathon.

In the short term, I am working towards a managerial position in the learning and development or organizational development areas. I am expanding my current knowledge and skill set through coaching from my managers, formal training and working on stretch assignments.

In the long term, I want to position myself towards a senior leadership position, where I can put into practice all my experiences and education, as well as mentor and coach the next generation.