(Kind of) Summer Vacation - The case for getting involved in University

I have resigned myself to the fact that I can no longer have the kind of summer vacations I used to have in between years of elementary and high school. I actually managed to hold onto my last true summer vacation until last year. While I did work part-time last summer, I didn’t have any other commitments and spent many of my days off laying in the sun with a good book or wandering my new neighbourhood I had just moved into. Summer vacations before that were similarly relaxing and commitment-less. Summer vacation was days and weeks on end of having a quiet family home to myself while everyone else was at work. Summer vacation was trips to Cultus Lake, visits to the outdoor pool, and evening walks in Fort Langley. Summer vacation was going to the Langley Canada Day celebration and watching the fireworks until midnight and then wandering home on the dark, quiet country roads.

This summer, I find myself scheduling in meetings and events into my days off, and working 5-6 days out of the week as well. After my first semester at SFU, I realized how much more I can do to build my resume and portfolio, and even having the summer ahead of me is not enough for me to be able to take a break. All throughout elementary and high school, I was not one of the students who got involved in extra-curriculars (unless you count 4th grade Track and Field, which you don’t). I tended to go to school, do well in my classes, and go home. Getting straight A’s seemed to get me enough opportunities and scholarships and I didn’t see the point of putting in any more effort than I needed to.

But after one year at SFU as a transfer student from a small community university (UFV), I can see where my resume is lacking when I’m up against all these other Communication, Business, and Publishing students who have been working on their resumes outside of classes for years. One of the biggest things I’ve taken away from this first year is that there are two ways you can go in University: you can focus on academics and pursue research fellowships and honours programs and other awards that will guarantee your entry into Grad school. Or, you can get as much paid and unpaid experience as possible while you’re in school so that you get a better job sooner after graduation.

 

Five years ago, I would have unquestionably chosen the first route. I do very well in classes and don’t freeze up on tests, so academics has always been my strong point. But now, I meet students my age every day who are interning at social media agencies (Or even running them!), working in Co-Op positions at some of the largest companies in Vancouver, and who have 1000 followers on twitter and a successful blog. I could see after only one year of being in this environment that I needed to step up my game.

When I transferred to SFU, I declared my Communication Major and Publishing Minor. Which means I’m graduating from a faculty where experience is everything. I realized that I can’t just get a good Communication or Publishing job with my good grades alone. I needed more experience. So I started branding myself online. I already had a Twitter account, so I started really using it in a professional way. I started following leaders in the publishing world, I started reading the things they posted and interacting with them when I could. I started this blog and I’ve tried to make it a place where I can update my progress through university and into a professional career while still being able to get booknerdy and share my passion for reading. I started connecting with classmates and employers on LinkedIn, and making my overall online impression a professional and personally representative one. 

While doing all this work on my personal social media, I realized how much I enjoy interacting with people online. I’ve become obsessed with Twitter and its ability to connect me with current events as they happen, and with other students in my faculty. I found countless events and opportunities through Twitter and other social media that have helped me figure out my direction in school and develop my skills for the future once I’ve graduated. The biggest thing I’ve learned from my first year at SFU, is that I’m now prepared and excited to start working on myself as a brand by developing my own skills through experiences inside and outside school so that I can enrich my life and improve my portfolio for my future. So although I may not have a summer vacation any longer, I’m investing in myself through every event I attend and every meeting I commit to. I’m networking with my fellow students so that we can learn from each other and make those connections that may come in handy one day.

So this summer, I started the process to be a part of SFU’s Co-Op program. I’m attending the workshops and interviews so that I can spend the Fall semester applying and interviewing for positions, and hopefully working in the Spring 2015 semester. I was also selected to participate in Epicentr’s EpiAcademy, a bi-weekly workshop series that is the newest (and only) training ground for future social media experts. In between all of this, I’m working nearly full-time and attending any and all events I find for students that involve communications, publishing, or social media. I also have plans to get Hootsuite certified as well as teach myself some Adobe InDesign and Coding basics before summer’s out. And I’m learning so much. I’m also meeting the coolest people and getting so inspired to work with my classmates in the industry once we’re all out of here. You really can do so much to invest in yourself if you put some effort into it, and I think the benefits are already showing themselves in my life. 

This post started because I was feeling resentful to be stuck inside in uncomfortably hot business causal attire on such a beautiful sunny day. But now I’m feeling such gratitude for the opportunities I have going to such an amazing school and living so close to Vancouver so that I can attend all of these awesome events while working alongside inspiring and motivated classmates who care just as much about all of this as I do. So if you're a Vancouver university student who's reading this, or even someone in the industry, I'd love to connect with you! Tweet me anytime @michelle_gaudet.

Leave your smaller university: From UFV to SFU

Simon Fraser University, BC

Those of you who know me will know that I moved out this past summer from Langley to Burnaby to go to Simon Fraser University. Before I was accepted to SFU, I had been working on my Bachelor's degree at the University of the Fraser Vally out in Abbotsford while living at home and working part time. It's so funny now when people ask me where I transferred from and when I tell them "UFV," they have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about. The University, while decent, just really isn't very well known outside the Fraser Valley. And this is part of the reason I applied to SFU.

After high school I took a year off of education in order to work (I did), travel (I didn't), and save money (I definitely didn't). I finally quit my first job at an overpriced grocery store and conveniently started working for my absolute favourite company in Canada. After a year of work and a slight obsession with World of Warcraft, I decided I needed to get back into school again and applied to UFV.

In Langley and Abbotsford, UFV is the school everyone goes to; I literally saw high school classmates a couple times a day when I was on campus. And while the familiarity aspect was a good thing, it also meant that a lot of students were there for the cheap tuition, small class sizes, and ability to commute to school. Therefore, school spirit, extra-curricular activities, and scholarly opportunities were next to non-existent. For me, this was a huge issue. I have always been an excellent student, I blame it on my over-organization of every aspect of my life, but I'm very proud of how well I do when I push myself. So after a year and a half at UFV with students who didn't really want to be there, professors who were underpaid and unhappy with their jobs, and basically just a total lack of support from the University administration, I sent in my application to SFU.

Funnily enough, SFU was never on my list of schools I was interested in. All throughout high school I was wooed by UBCO and UVIC with their sprawling campuses, city life, and beautiful surroundings. But after two years at the best bookstore job ever and 5 semester at UFV, I finally had a sense of the direction I wanted my education to take: Publishing. In British Columbia, there is only one school that has a credible publishing program with industry professionals for instructors, and that program is at SFU. So I applied to go to school on a dreary mountain.

My long-time boyfriend and I both applied to SFU at the same time, so the waiting game for the acceptance letters was a long one. We applied in October and didn't hear back until April, and when we finally did hear back, we opened our letters together and were both terrified and excited at the idea that we would have to look for apartments and buy furniture. I had to leave my favourite job with the best co-workers to move out to Burnaby where I now work at a larger store in my same favourite company. Now, I take the bus instead of drive, and I have to spend my money on rent and food first, and Starbucks and books second, but it's completely worth it because of the opportunities I've had just from where I work and where I go to school.

What started off as a decision to go to school on a mountain in the rainiest city in Canada actually turned into the best decision for my academic and professional careers. I have received more opportunities just from being at SFU in one semester than I did in my entire two years at UFV. I ended my first semester at SFU with an awesome GPA, and since then, multiple academic opportunities have been extended to me, and there are clubs at my University that teach you how to use social media professionally and network with industry professionals. The difference between a small university and a large one is exponential and is seen especially in the options for getting involved on campus. At UFV there was one student union; at SFU there is a student union for every faculty, with volunteer opportunities in each one. Here, every professor is like the best professors at UFV, and I can honestly say that I have taken at least one important thing away from every course so far.

I guess the point of this post is to reach out to those who I know are settling for the university or college they current attend. I knew I was a better student than to settle for UFV, and I know so many other people who are too. I just want to make sure others know that the hassle with transferring between universities is absolutely worth it. It was worth every dollar I spent and still spend on furniture, rent, and groceries. It is worth having to visit my family and give up driving my car as often. It's worth the stress and the larger class sizes; it's all worth it. I wish I had left my old university sooner, and I wish others would too. I realized that for students of SFU and UBC, the education isn't all about the name printed on the graduation certificate at the end, it's completely about the experience of the school, faculty, administration, campus, and community. I meet so many interesting people in my classes, and I love listening to (almost) every prof's two-hour lecture.

Leave your old university, trust me, it's so worth it.

Self-branding, commence!

Hello! Since I’m trying to make my way into the social media/communications/publishing industry, self-branding is SUPER important, so this is my newest challenge! I’m not new to social media, but I am brand-new to Blogger. 

I also had significant changes in my life in the past six months, so this is the perfect time to start documenting everything as the busiest time of my life begins.

In June, I transferred from my small home-town University to Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. I left a great job and my family, but brought my boyfriend along to pursue Communications and Publishing in the big city. Honestly, my home town is only 40 mins away.. but it was still a huge lifestyle change!

Now, I take transit to and from school and my new job at a large bookstore, I pay rent, I volunteer, and I get to attend super awesome events through a big university that SPOILS me compared to my old one. Now, I finally feel like I am starting on the path of a professional.

So one of the steps is getting my personal “brand” out there. I’ve heard a lot more about this since I started at SFU, and I am starting to work on this. It’s important for future jobs and career options, especially when it helps with networking. 

However, I also want my blog to be fun. So my interests and hobbies will be popping up on here as well. I read (a lot), I love alternative health, I ski, I love politics, and I have a new cat (J.T., the sci-fi author, not the singer). Expect all these and more, plus my experience at SFU with my courses, volunteer experience, and everything else that goes along with being a student in Vancouver.

I’d love to connect with you guys if we have similar experiences and stories! One of my goals with this is to make friends in the blogosphere. Comment or message me and I’ll definitely reply! :)