Careers Day: Helping Us Make Big Decisions

7 April 2013Joel B, Ellis '13

On Saturday, March 9th, instead of heading to the usual classes at 10:15, all the students gathered at the Bunch Theater. This was for the annual Careers Day. In the theater all 14 speakers were introduced and allowed to speak briefly about their presentations. After this, everyone filed out of the theater for the first of the two sessions. Careers Day was comprised of ten speakers situated around the campus and each student has the opportunity to see two of the ten presentations before lunch and sport. The presenters, most of whom were Brentwood alumni, included engineers, a writer and a tour company owner. The full lineup included grads from ‘75 to ‘09 with stories and valuable lessons for today’s students: Sarah Bell-Etkin ’08 and Megan Toriglia ’09 talked about the transition between Brentwood and university as well as the transition into a career after university. Mark Collinson ’00, currently an Engineering Supervisor at the Kenworth Truck Company, discussed the opportunity of getting an engineering degree at university as well as his personal experience. Scott Matheson ’79 is a vice president of Project Development in the construction industry. His talk provided an insight into the management of large projects as well as relationships and how important they are in business. Rhiannon Foster ’98 works in the Lower Mainland in real estate. Rhiannon told the story of how she came to a career in real estate as well as the challenges and lessons she learned along the way. Ryan Gallagher ’02 is in his second year of family residence as a physician at the UBC Victoria site. His presentation included his story of his journey in medicine as well as the opportunities available within medicine. Andrew Higginson ’03 showed the fun side of engineering. In 2010 he incorporated his own consulting firm and is currently working on Canada’s longest zip line. Andrew discussed his experience in engineering as well as some very interesting opportunities. Chris Van Vilet ’81 was a member of Canada’s Snowbirds, and is now a commercial pilot at Westjet. Chris explained what it takes to be a military or civilian pilot. Don McBride ’77 is currently an industrial electrician specializing in material handling and crane operation. Caroline Kenning ’03 started out as a dietician, but Caroline’s talk was about how she switched from that to becoming an accountant at KPMG. Wes Hyde was a rowing coach of ten years, but Wes’ presentation delved into the topic of renewable energy, his current career path. Dr. Robert L. Crabtree, the Founder and Chief Scientist at the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center, told the story of his extensive education and its value. Bruce Foreman ’84 did not graduate university, but with his hard work he managed to become the success he is today in the sports sponsorship industry. Rhona McAdam ‘75 discussed the pros and cons as well as the lessons she has learned being a professional writer. With such a variety of presenters, students were able to go to the topics that matched with their current interests. Students were able to learn firsthand what it would be like to be working in the field of their choice, invaluable information when making the post secondary decisions that will affect the rest of our lives. Having such a large number of alumni from such a broad spectrum of careers and industries come to our school and share their story was incredible and for that we must thank the presenters and Mr. Backer who organized the event. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible to have such a successful day. Joel B, Ellis ‘13

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