Three of my cousins have gotten engaged in the past month, so it’s a very exciting time in my family. But engagements mean weddings, and weddings mean small talk, and small talk means answering the inevitable question — what will you do once you graduate?
Some days, that question makes me want to bash my face into a wall and sends me into an existential crisis, but lately the question has been making me more optimistic than ever.
It’s a hard question for anyone to answer, but I think it’s the hardest for the Arts students. Every degree can lead to a million and one different outcomes, so the idea of answering that question can be quite overwhelming. An Arts degree can take you anywhere - whether that's to television writing, working for not-for-profits or being a politician, your degree can take you where ever you want to go. This idea an Arts degree taking you anywhere can be frightening, but it can also be very exciting!
It’s been six months since I started my term here in the AWE office, and I have to say, it’s flown by so incredibly fast. I can’t believe I’ve already finished half of my work term. I’ve had so many opportunities to talk to students who have no idea what they want, or even what options are open to them after they graduate. Having conversations with faculty staff, and alumni has not only opened my eyes to the great successes of Arts alumni, but also to the depth and diversity of the career options available to Arts students. I think the greatest lesson that I have learned is that there is nothing wrong with not knowing exactly where you want to end up.
When I attended Careers Day last month, I had the opportunity to speak with many employers I would have normally never considered before. I spoke with many different employers from various levels of government, private sector industries such as Epcor, and non-profit organizations like AdaptAbilities. All of these organizations had career opportunities for Arts students. One company in particular that stood out to me was TransCanada. The Human Resources representative really took the time to talk to me to find out what I was interested in after I graduate. She told me about some of the different positions posted at TransCanada, and that they were looking for “driven, intelligent and hardworking students.” Not to toot my own horn, but I’m pretty sure I could fit that bill, and so could any other Arts student for that matter. Arts students often overlook positions in places like the energy sector, because they don’t feel qualified, but they are! Over and over we hear the same things about Arts students -we can synthesize information quickly and relay it concisely, our critical thinking skills are unparalleled and we possess soft skills that cannot (currently) be taught to a computer. Something that has become very apparent to me in these past few months is that these skills are needed in every industry.
The first time I had been exposed to the accomplishments and accolades of the Alumni of the University of Alberta was when I interned at New Trail, the university’s Alumni magazine. I started there before I began my degree and now, being half way through my BA, and half way through my work term, I am able to look back and compare my experiences in both work places. The ability to juxtapose these positions has allowed me to actually see the skills I gained in the classroom, at work, and how I can effectively track my skill progression thus far.
From my time at New Trail, a story I specifically remember was about Arts student, Chris Perron, ’14 BDes, who had (at the time) recently started working for LEGO as a Junior Designer. The thing that stuck out most to me was that, although I had grown up playing with LEGO, it had never occured to me that someone had to create it. In fact, I’m sure several teams of people had to create, then manufacture and market it. The amount of planning and technicalities of the tiny colourful cubes never occured to me, until I was able to put a face, and a story to the life behind it. It was exciting for me to realize the designers at Lego didn’t come from an obscure ivory tower, but rather the University of Alberta.
Every year the list for Alumni awards comes out, and every year Arts alumni have a major presence. This year 9 Arts alumni were honored, including author, and artist Alexis Marie Chute, ’07 BFA, business woman and advocate for gender equality in the workplace, Stella Thompson, ’68 MA, and writer, teacher, and journalist Malcolm Azania, ’91 BA, ’94 BEd, to name a few.
So that inevitable questions about my future that I will get at all those upcoming family weddings, don’t scare me; I find comfort in knowing that there are in fact so many options just waiting to be discovered by Arts students with the tenacity and willingness to try.
