Eric Quon-Lee

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2004 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom	Major: Political Science Switched programs from: Computer Science
Further Education	Rotman, MBA, 2009
Career Accomplishments	Cross-border management consultant based in San Francisco, California with several years of management consulting experience primarily in finance, strategy and operations. Worked for several leading Canadian corporations in aerospace, telecommunications and financial services. In his spare time, Eric is highly involved in the startup ecosystem in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as globally as a “super-connector”.

Eric Daro

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2005 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom	Major: History Major: European Studies Minor: Political Science Switched programs from: International Relations
Outside the Classroom	Fraternity member Student caller, U of T alumni office
Further Education	Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE)
Career Accomplishments	Valet, retail salesperson, and door-to-door fundraiser (3 years) Office Coordinator, IT division, financial firm Manager, Student calling program, University of Saskatchewan Director, Annual Fund, University of Alberta (3 years) Director, Individual Giving, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

“Look beyond your immediate surroundings and leverage your strengths to get opportunities you otherwise would not. I was comfortable moving around and made strategic moves to other provinces and even countries to position my experience in a way that opened up opportunities I would not have had otherwise. Never get too comfortable, especially in today’s economy, and always have a plan for your next step. At least have a vision of where you want to end up in terms of position, industries, etc.

Try to (and I know it is hard when you start out) think of areas and types of work that makes you the most “happy” as you don’t want to spend years building a career in a field you don’t find rewarding. When you do find the job or field you want to work in try everything to get a foot in the door, even it it takes volunteering or interning for a while.“

Krisma Saini-Chahal

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2014 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom	Major: English Major: Geography Switched programs from: Criminology
Alongside the Classroom	Intern, Student-Teacher
Outside the Classroom	Tutor
Further Education	MA, Child Study and Education, OISE, University of Toronto, 2016—specialization in Special Education and Early Childhood Education
Career Accomplishments	Teacher, Upper Grand District School Board Research and development assistant, U of T (during MA)—gained a research background conducting and analyzing studies related to counterfactual reasoning in children

“Volunteer and gain experiences outside of the classroom! Do fieldwork, experiential learning or an internship – it will help you figure out what you like and what direction you should take your undergraduate degree.”

Arash Azizi

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	BA 2013 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom	Major: Diaspora and Transnational Studies Major: Political Science Minor: History Switched programs from: International Relations
Outside the Classroom	Associate editor and columnist, The Varsity Editorial board member, Undergraduate Journal of Political Science
Further Education	PhD candidate, History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, New York University MA, Global History, joint degree from Free University and Humboldt University, Berlin, 2017
Career Accomplishments	Documentary producer English-Farsi book translator Journalist, BBC and other journalistic agencies Media writer and editor
In the Media	LinkedIn profile Twitter Curriculum Vitae, Academic.edu Profile, Iranian Studies Institute, New York University

“Learn languages. Try to figure out what you truly want to do and focus on that.”

Cedric Ludlow

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2017 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom	Linguistics Polish Studies Spanish Switched programs from: Psychology, Statistics
Alongside the Classroom	Conducted fieldwork in Kapuskasing, Ontario on the Ontario Dialects Project conducting sociolinguistic interviews with the goal of documenting linguistic variation in English in the province Fieldwork was also carried out in Kirkland Lake, North Bay, South Porcupine, New Liskeard, and Toronto on a related project Research Assistant in VSLX Lab (Linguistics)
Outside the Classroom	Society of Linguistics Undergraduate Students Hart House Symphonic Band Woodsworth Inclusive U of T Sailing
Further Education	Master of Science, Applied Linguistics (focus on intonational success predictors in call centre customer-agent conversations), The University of Edinburgh
Career Accomplishments	Currently looking for positions in business analytics and speech analytics.

Pamela Uppal

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2012 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom	Major: Philosophy Major: Women and Gender Studies Switched programs from: History, Spanish
Outside the Classroom	Volunteered and eventually led Peace by PEACE
Further Education	MA, Women Studies & Feminist Research, Western University, 2014
Career Accomplishments	Over the past 10 years, Pamela has been connecting theory with practice, engaging on three fronts: research initiatives, front-line work, and policy dialogues. She led a nonprofit organization at UofT, was a frontline worker in family services, built diversity, equity and inclusion capacity in Peel region, and undertook multiple research projects exploring gender issues in the South Asian community. Currently, she is leading a project at The Ontario Nonprofit Network exploring women’s employment experiences in the nonprofit sector. Pamela is also a group facilitator and a board member of Laadliyan.

“Network more with professors and be involved in a variety of extra-curriculars.“

Jim Shedden

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 1986 Innis College
Inside the Classroom	Specialist: Philosophy Specialist: Political Science Minor: Cinema Studies Switched programs from: Specialist, Cinema Studies
Outside the Classroom	Editor, The Innis Herald Innis College Council Innis College Student Society Part-time jobs for the Harold Innis Foundation, Innis College, Victoria College, etc. Ran the Innis Film Society Secretary, SAC (overall student society for U of T at the time) Writer and layout, The Varsity Writer, SCAT! (Innis College publication)
Further Education	M.A., Political Science, University of Toronto, 1990. Specialized in Political Theory.
Career Accomplishments	Coordinator, International Experimental Film Congress (1988/89) Film progammer/film curator, Art Gallery of Ontario, plus performing arts programmer and many other roles, 1989-1998. Vice-President/Senior Creative Producer, Bruce Mau Design, 1998-2000 (ran the studio, developed business, produced the big “investment” projects for the studio, was managing editor of our own publications). Curator and Publisher, Art Gallery of Ontario (2010-present): produce all exhibition catalogues, artists’ books, collection books. Curate film and visual culture-related exhibitions including Guillermo del Toro: At Home with Monsters; Outsiders: American Film and Photography, 1950s-1980s; working on new exhibition centred around home movies.
In the Media	LinkedIn profile Twitter IMDb Personal website Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre profile Q&A: AGO curator Jim Shedden on Guillermo del Toro’s literary side, Quill & Quire

“I’m really glad I studied Hegel, Rousseau, Dostoevsky, Shakespeare, Camus, Marx, et al. However, I’m equally glad that I’ve done all the extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, and self-initiated projects that I have. I started making fanzines when I was 14, and I’m still in publishing today. I got very involved in my own film and music projects back in high school as well and they have led me to where I am today. Do the best you can on your course work, but keep in mind that for most of us life outside the classrooms is just as important .“

Mike Dror

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2011 St. Michael’s College
Inside the Classroom	Major: Human Geography Minor: Urban Studies Minor: Geographic Information Systems Switched programs from Life Sciences
Further Education	Master of Urban & Regional Planning (MPL), School of Urban & Regional Planning, Queen’s University, 2013
Career Accomplishments	Senior Planner, Bousfields Inc., Toronto Intermediate Planner, Bousfields Inc. Junior Planner, FOTENN Planning & Urban Design, Ottawa Internships in planning (before and during graduate school)
In the Media	LinkedIn profile Twitter Blog Hitting the Roads with Alternative Modes: An Evaluation of York Region’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Policies

“Seek internships and job shadowing opportunities. The more exposure you get to professional life, the better. Start networking, and start networking early. It’s most effective to network when you don’t need anything from them – when the pressure is off. If you start networking once you’re finished your degree and looking for a job, you’ll be too focused on that to make the most of it.

All that being said, cherish the theoretical courses that U of T has to offer. Once you do get out into the “real world”, it’s hard to find the time to reflect critically about your chosen field.“

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Search hundreds of alumni by a range of facets to find out what they did as students and what they are doing now.

Archives

Eric Quon-Lee

Eric Daro

Krisma Saini-Chahal

Arash Azizi

Cedric Ludlow

Pamela Uppal

Jim Shedden

Mike Dror

Michelle Poon

Navi Dhanota

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBSc 2005 New College
Inside the Classroom	Major: Environmental and Resource Management Major: Psychology Switched programs from Biology and Geography
Further Education	Credits completed in Human Resource Management
Career Accomplishments	Associate Director, Asia-Pacific Advancement Office, University of Toronto: Focus on alumni relations and development for the University, including engaging with our alumni in the Asia-Pacific region, fundraising, managing volunteers and boards and running a Foundation Admissions Assessor, Enrolment Services, University of Toronto
New College Impact	My residence experience allowed me to develop friendships and networks. I was new to Toronto (having lived most of my life in Hong Kong) and New College Residence gave me a sense of community. I got a chance to volunteer for various positions/roles. I’m indebted by the services and resources provided by New College, including the writing lab, the registrar’s office, residence dons, etc.

Facet	Description
Graduation Year	HBA 2003 Innis College
Inside the Classroom	Major, Socio-Cultural Anthropology Minor, Philosophy Minor, Political Science Switched programs from: Psychology
Outside the Classroom	Registered with Accessibility Services and developed the lived experience of being a student receiving accommodations while struggling with mental health. These became useful credentials.
Further Education	PhD, Critical Disability Studies, York University (in progress) MA, Critical Disability Studies, York University, 2015
Career Description	Accessibility consultant, George Brown College Accessibility consultant (varying roles, incl. institutional policy review) Successful in personal activism, which involved changing the requirements to disclose a diagnosis when registering with post-secondary accommodation offices.
In the Media	LinkedIn profile York University student wins mental-health fight, The Toronto Star New Academic Accomodations Adopted by York’s CDS (Full interview with Navi Dhanota), YouTube