After graduating, I joined the Kinectrics Graduate Trainee (GT) Program as an Assistant Analyst. The GT program is a rotation-based opportunity for new and recent graduates to gain valuable experience across several departments in the first few years of their careers. This unique program incorporates training, mentorship and hands-on work experience to attract innovative candidates who value excellence.

My first rotation is with the Organizational Development department. This role is very people focused and an incredible opportunity to put my communication and planning skills to the test. I interface with nearly all the groups within the company and have learned a great deal about how a high performing organization like Kinectrics operates. Some of my biggest challenges so far have been learning to how provide dynamic support to teams through changing conditions and coordinating input from all stakeholders into project implementation.

At Ontario Tech, I participated in a program called University Works. This program allows students demonstrating financial need to have a part time job throughout the school year and in doing so affording them the opportunity to gain valuable skills. I held two different positions through the University Works program, the first as the Women in Engineering Peer Mentorship Coordinator and the second as a Student Assistant in the Engineering Co-op and Internship office.

As the Peer Mentorship Coordinator for Women in Engineering I was responsible for ensuring that all first year mentees and upper year mentors involved in the program could maintain frequent correspondence to freely share information, experiences and advice. Part of the way I ensured this was through the planning, promotion and execution of monthly events that gave the participants occasion to connect.

As the Student Assistant in the engineering Co-op and Internship office, I was mainly responsible for supporting the coordinator and Internship Officer. My portfolio largely consisted of planning and promotions of events and campaigns to further encourage experiential learning opportunities, both internally and externally. In fact, I designed and developed a Student Profile campaign that featured current and previous student co-ops or interns and their experiences, which contributed to a 7% increase in placements. I also served as contact point for students in the office to help answer common questions and explain the details of the program. In addition to this, I assisted the team in job development, to aid in securing a greater number of postings for students.

As an Instructor, I led a small team that piloted a new workshop series for engineering Outreach called InSTEM (Indigenous STEM). As an indigenous woman I am proud to have developed curriculum which centers indigenous knowledge, role models and ways of knowing in STEM contexts. Over 3 workshop cycles, I created and delivered over 20 unique workshops for students in Kindergarten to grade 10.

I was a member of the Engineering Business Services team in the Design Engineering Group. The group serves primarily to assist the Design Engineering Division to collaborate and coordinate with vendors to ensure the highest possible standard of safety, quality and innovation.

In my role, I was exposed to a variety of tasks such as vendor contract management, vendor compensation and billing, scheduling and planning. In addition, I contributed to several inter-departmental projects associated with component and system management and replacement.

I was assisting Project Managers with Distributed Generation (FIT) projects. Distributed Generation projects connect to the electricity grid to generate power. Every aspect of planning, documentation, and scheduling of projects is the responsibility of the Project Manager. I maintained accurate records for all projects, scheduled meetings, and resources, lead meetings, provided support to customers and ensured coordination between all lines of business.

As an Outreach Instructor, I travelled to remote and underserved communities in Nunavut and Northwest Territories to deliver fun and hands on STEM programming. This took the forms of both in school workshops and week-long summer camps. This was very rewarding experience as I was able to give today's youth an opportunity to engage in STEM activities as I once did. Not only did I have the opportunity to help educate the youth I engaged with, but I had the opportunity to learn from them, about their culture, language and beliefs.