As a grade 11 student, I have no idea what I want to do in life. I have been looking at studying either engineering or business after university but never really considered what I would do following my undergraduate degree. The thought of attending our St. George’s Careers Day was quite exciting to me, and I was pleasantly surprised by the wide variety of choices in guest presentations.

Fast forwarding to the day of, I was amazed at the quality of the guest speaker presentations and the organization done behind the scenes. One thing I found interesting was how almost all the presentations had a different theme or motif. The first keynote speaker, a marine biologist, stressed that if you follow your dreams with passion, then you will find a job in the area you want. Moreover, you need to choose a career not for monetary gain but rather for pursuing your passions. I especially enjoyed Mike Mackay, a former rugby player from the “invincibles” team from St. George’s who went undefeated for many years and won the provincial title in 2004. While he stopped playing rugby after high school, he wanted a job that gave him the same sense of camaraderie and teamwork.

He chose commercial real estate as a result and has loved the occupation ever since. The idea of picking a profession that has the same elements as you enjoyed previously was foreign to me. One of the most significant learning point, for me, is that the paths you take to your career are not always linear. You will bounce around many times and be indecisive about your choices at times, and that is okay. This day opened my eyes to the fact that where you go to university doesn’t matter other than for getting an initial job. If you have the work ethic, passion, and knowledge, you will be able to secure a job wherever you want and succeed in that job in the long-term. In my opinion, the idea of choosing a career you love rather than a career for money is essential for your life. I was also very intrigued by the university counselling panel as the school did an excellent job of bringing in a variety of exciting people to share their post-secondary selection and experiences with us. I learnt a lot about the path people take through university. My biggest eye-opener is that university is only the beginning of a long life, and I realized that I’ve been too focused in the past on university as an end goal rather than the life that comes after university. I think this new lesson is a valuable distinction.