Careers Morning

We welcomed 25 Greenwood alumni and parents who work in a variety of fields to talk to Grade 9-12 students about their professions during our annual Careers Morning on February 2. 

Students chose two fields in which they were most interested and had the opportunity to listen to our guests and ask them questions about how they got to where they are today. Some of the different fields included medicine, law, social media marketing, fashion, real estate, sales, computer science, advertising, engineering and more.

It was a great opportunity for students to learn about various career options and understand what it takes to get into their field of interest. Every speaker gave valuable insight into what life could be like after Greenwood. 

Below are some notable quotes and words of advice from our speakers.

“There is no real blueprint to a career. Especially with entrepreneurship. You might lean one way and then something will click and you go another way.”

“What I enjoy most about my job is interacting with real people who have real problems and then using the tools law gives us to help solve them. I knew by the end of law school I wanted to litigate and advocate for my client.”

“A huge part of building a following is being authentic. When I am working with an influencer I want their audience to be able to connect with them. It’s also important to accept partnerships that fit within your own personal brand so you stay true to yourself.”

“The best way to get into tv production is to start as an intern and then move to a production assistant. In these roles you really get to see how things are done and then, once you’re ready, ask for more work.”

“Coding and developing software is fun. If you like problem solving and logic, or if you like sudoku, you'll probably find this field fun and rewarding. Everything runs on computers, so almost every company today needs developers and you can work in any field you want.”

“I encourage you to think broadly. Medicine is a field that’s open to a lot of different directions. Test these directions before choosing one.”

“If you like telling stories and uncovering things, journalism is the job for you. I love it, even after 25 years. There are so many things going on in the world and it’s really fascinating to report on everything that is happening.”

“When working for a charity, you need to do what you’re most passionate about. You shouldn’t go for the most high-paying job. If you believe in the cause you’re working for, you’re going to do the best job at the end of the day.”

 

We would like to highlight every speaker who joined us yesterday:

 

D’Arcy Bak ‘11, Sales Representative, Corporate Real Estate Services, Cushman & Wakefield
Max Bertram ‘10, Enterprise Inside Sales Representative, PagerDuty
David Collins ‘14, Bioinformatics Software Developer, AbCellera Biologics Inc.
Roz Cooper, Partner, Fasken Martineau LLP
Terry Drummond, Founder and Creative, Good&Ready
Duncan Fitzhenry ‘13, NSE Mine Scheduler, EIT, Suncor
Jennifer Fraser, Freelance Television Producer & Director
Emma Hicks ‘14, Communications Advisor, RBC
Gillian Hnatiw, Principal, Gillian Hnatiw & Co.
Gabrielle Johnson ‘14, Founder, The Make Station
Adam Lewis ‘11, CEO and Founder, Drink MIURA
Tori Ludwig ‘06, Beauty & Fragrances Department Sales Manager, Nordstrom
Ally MacLellan ‘11, Manager, Engagement & Platforms, Proof

Brendan Mahoney ‘14, Mechanical EIT (Nuclear), Hatch
Eric McKinnon ‘06, Founder, Broken Cage Gallery
Craig Offman, Arts Editor, The Globe and Mail
Mark Palmert, Staff Physician, SickKids
Kit Pilosof ‘13, Freelance Fashion Filmmaker
Elly Rosenbaum ‘14, Private Equity Associate, Apax Partners LLP
Matt Russell ‘11, Manager, Retail Leasing, Oxford Property Group
Claire Sargeant ‘09, Event Manager, Wellspring Cancer Support Canada
Raleigh Seldon ‘09, Artist Management & Director of Operations, Ciara & Beauty Marks Entertainment
Hannah Smerek ‘11, Director, Commodities, National Bank Financial
Michael Stock ‘14, Consultant, Navigator Ltd.

Brittany Wong ‘08, Senior Manager, Youth Hockey Development, NHL

 

Thank you to all of the alumni and parents for inspiring our students to pursue their passions and work hard at achieving their goals. Some of the positive feedback from our students about this event can be found below.

 

“The speakers all seemed incredibly passionate about their careers.”

“It is beneficial to understand what daily life would be like working in certain professions, and how you can achieve your goals and work to accomplish them. Having the opportunity to hear first-hand about jobs you may or may not be interested in is exciting as it opens your eyes to what you can encounter in postsecondary, and how jobs can be related to each other.”

“I always look forward to Careers Morning. It's an opportunity to gain a current perspective on specific career opportunities from an industry professional. As someone who is aspiring to go into the financial services industry, it is always interesting to hear what life is like for people in the field." 

"This year I had the opportunity to listen in on two informative presentations centered around financial services. Elly Rosenbaum and Hannah Smerek provided insight on their academic journey from Greenwood to post-secondary and the path to their career in finance. Overall, these presentations exposed me to a more-in depth understanding of the private equity, sales and trading fields.”