Peer Career Educators @ Queen’s

Matthew Florczynski
2^nd Year Arts&Sciences - Psychology Major, Biology General

Phebe Lee
2^nd Year Concurrent Education, English and History Medial

Hey everyone! I’m originally from the heart of Toronto, but during my elementary school years, I moved to Whitby, a smaller city just east of Toronto. During my time in University, I’ve had the privilege of volunteering as an ESL language support partner, working with kids at the Salvation Army Church, and serving as an after-school Kaleidoscope buddy. Looking back on what I’ve done as a Peer Educator, I never anticipated that I would benefit so much from this experience. I’ve met such wonderful people and acquired so many valuable skills, which range all the way from resume-building to how to go about landing that perfect job. More importantly, however, this experience made me realize that finding your career path isn’t going to be one straight line. Being in Con-Ed, I always thought with 100% certainty that I wanted to be a teacher and nothing else. Since then, I’ve been reminded of the different things that I wanted to do with my life, such as opening up my own business or becoming a writer. As well, seeing students leave with a sense of self-confidence and renewed direction puts a smile on my face every time. I’m honoured to be a part of something so special, and I’m doing what I always wanted to be doing — helping others find a direction for their life.

 

Stephanie Leung
4^th Year Arts&Science – English Major, History Minor

Hi everyone! I was born in Hong Kong; however I moved to Canada at a young age and grew up in Toronto, Ontario. Whenever I’m not at Stauffer wrecking my brains trying to complete essays and assignments, I enjoy participating in extracurricular activities, ranging from the Queen’s Dance Club to volunteering as an English Conversational Buddy with the Queen’s School of English. I also have a huge passion for traveling and I love learning about different cultures and languages in the process. When I heard about the Peer Educator Program this fall, I was very excited about this opportunity. This is because not only does this program allow you to give back to the Queen’s Community, through advising other fellow students in their career develphopment, but it also allows you to learn from the experience and develop important transferable skills in the process. I look forward to meeting everyone and I would strongly recommend that everyone check out Career Services and what they have to offer! I know that, through my own experience, Career Services has helped me in giving me guidance on what degree to pursue and my future career path.

 

Erin O’Neill
4^th Year Arts&Science – Global Development Studies Major

Hi everyone! When I’m not in Kingston, I live in the Toronto area. Here at Queen’s, I am part of the International Affairs Association and I am a peer advisor for first year students. My goal is to help facilitate an easy transition for students to and from Queen’s. Career Services has lots to offer students from all backgrounds, and I am enthusiastic about the potential of the Peer Career Educators program for enhancing this. I hope to help students recognize all that we can do for them and to communicate through my own example how this program has helped me realize the breadth of my skills and the boundless opportunities outside Queen’s! Just remember: we’ve all “Got Skillz!”

 

Nyssa Papertzian
3^rd Year Arts&Science – Psychology Major

Hometown: Brockville, ON
Career services has helped me out a lot during my undergraduate program, whether it was dealing with changing courses, changing my program, or just general stress about the future. I was thrilled to join the Peer Career Educator team because I wanted to aid Career Services in the continuing support and guidance of stressed out Queen’s students such as myself. People go to university to get an education so that they can move on to exciting careers, the problem is successfully transitioning from university to the world of work and that’s where Career Services comes in. So, I think it’s important that Career Services continues to offer the assistance that they have so competently been doing and continue to speak to the varying demands of the student population.

Liz Parsons
4th Year Arts&Science – English and Psychology Medial

Originally from Thunder Bay, Queen’s has become a second home to me over the past four years. In addition to my position as a Peer Career Educator, I volunteer as a Peer Learning Assistant with Health, Counselling, Disability Services and I work as a Campus Tour Guide. The knowledge and experience I’ve gained from various resources at Career Services has been invaluable to me in my own career path. I believe strongly in finding and pursuing a career that I truly enjoy and that suits my strengths and personality, and I think Career Services shares that philosophy. I look forward to helping you out with any questions you may have about your own career path!

 

Originally from Williams Lake, British Columbia, I came to Queen’s for Biology because I am interested in working towards a career in medical research. Geology became part of my degree program after first year because I really liked my geology electives. Since then it has been full steam ahead, almost three years down and one to go. As for extracurricular activities, I’m currently a member of the Queen’s Varsity Curling Club. I also play recreational soccer and volleyball when I can find the time outside of class. I stumbled upon the Peer Educators program this fall while I was looking to expand my volunteer horizons on campus. It seemed like an amazing opportunity to learn very employable skills and meet like-minded people from different programs. After almost a semester of experience I can easily say that I’ve learned the secrets of the resume, cover letter and job application, while also gaining public speaking experience. Having peer advisors on campus who can help students is a great idea, especially considering how busy the career counsellors are. Yes, the inaugural year of the Peer Educators program has thus far been a success in my opinion. More things are on the way for next year, so keep posted.

 

Elsbeth Schokking
3rd Year Arts&Science – Psychology and Sociology Medial

For the last two years, the only activity I was involved in other than academics was a part time job at Ale House. This year, on top of being a 3rd year rep and merchandise coordinator for the psychology department student council, I am thrilled to be part of the Peer Career Educators as a way of giving back to the Queen’s community. I believe this program really emphasizes the idea of students working for students, and even after only a few weeks I feel prepared to assist students with questions about Career Services and helping them to achieve their career goals. In particular, I have become very accustomed to building a great resume, and even my own resume looks ten times better than before I began as a peer career educator. I look forward to meeting many students over the course of the semester and learning about the thousands of career opportunities there are available to Queen’s students.

 

Alex Todd
2^nd Year Arts&Science – Geography Major, History Minor

I am from a small town in the Greater Ottawa Area called North Gower. Other than as a Peer Career Educator, I am involved with the Geography DSC, Queen’s Model Parliament, AKWE:GO Youth Support Program, and I was a Gael during the 2007 Orientation Week. I was excited about the opportunity to become a Peer Career Educator because I love helping people and allowing them to feel more confident in their endeavors, whether it be a summer job or a career choice, or anything in between. Students can benefit a great deal from the services offered at Career Services, including the vast library of career- and education-oriented literature and the valuable help provided by the counselors and peers. Personally, the experience with Career Services has broadened my horizons and opened me up to countless new possibilities with regard to what I will pursue after graduation. You can open up these doors for yourself by stopping by the third floor of Gordon Hall or making an appointment online and letting the staff at Career Services lend a hand.

 

Yayoi Yoshioka
4th Year Arts&Science – Psychology and Sociology Medial

My hometown is Tokyo, but I have moved back and forth between Canada and Japan. I wanted to join the Peer Career Educator team because I am interested in the idea of students helping students. Through this program I have learned how to write a good resume to how to utilize the resources in the information area to find out about the careers I am interested in. What I found helpful is letting your friends and staff members at career services know what your interests and the career direction you want to take are. This is one way to build a network and researching about the potential career that you want to get involved with. Everyone at Career Services is friendly and excited to help students!