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Eric Quon-Lee

Eric Quon-Lee

FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2004 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom

Switched programs from: Computer Science

Further Education

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

Eric Daro

FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2005 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom

Switched programs from: International Relations

Outside the Classroom

  • Fraternity member
  • Student caller, U of T alumni office
Further Education

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.“

 

Shelby Challis

Shelby Challis

FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2014 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom

Outside the Classroom

Further Education

Career Accomplishments

In the Media

“Follow your passion – working in a field that you are passionate about will drive your success.”

 

Arash Azizi

Arash Azizi

FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • BA 2013 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom

Switched programs from: International Relations

Outside the Classroom

Further Education

Career Accomplishments

  • Documentary producer
  • English-Farsi book translator
  • Journalist, BBC and other journalistic agencies
  • Media writer and editor
In the Media

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

Aamir Hajeeyani

Aamir Hajeeyani

FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2016 Woodsworth College
Inside the Classroom

Further Education

  • Current student in the Master of Public Service (MPS) program at the University of Waterloo. Specialization in Public Policy and Economics.
Career Accomplishments

  • After undergraduate degree, worked as a search consultant for a recruiting firm based out of New York City and Toronto. Profiled candidates for various finance and accounting positions within Canada’s big 5 banks.
  • Currently works as a research analyst for the Treasury Board Secretariat of Ontario in the Economic Infrastructure Policy unit in the Office of the Treasury Board. Analyzes, researches, and assesses the Province’s capital infrastructure investments across various sectors.

“If I could rewind back to my U of T years, I would try to get more involved! I regret focusing solely on my academics and not getting involved with clubs, activities and other extra circular activities.

One piece of advice for those students in political science and/or history, take as many upper year seminar courses as you can. The small class sizes and the discussion-based learning style is extremely engaging and rewarding. Seminar courses really helped me hone in on my communication skills and also allowed me the opportunity to connect one-on-one with my professors.“

 

Jim Shedden

Jim Shedden

FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 1986 Innis College
Inside the Classroom

Switched programs from: Specialist, Cinema Studies

Outside the Classroom

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

“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 .“

 

Vanessa Bart-Plange

Vanessa Bart-Plange

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FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2017 New College
Inside the Classroom

Alongside the Classroom

Outside the Classroom

Further Education

Career Accomplishments

New College Impact

The minor in African Studies offered at New College complemented my International Relations and Political Science majors perfectly, thus allowing me to have the African focus that was absent in both of my majors. In retrospect, this has contributed to my interest in public policy and education in Africa during my master’s program.

The New College Writing Centre was also key in my academic development, as it helped me learn how to write academic essays, which led to A-grade averages throughout the four years.

Being a part of this multicultural college also allowed me to fit in and make friends from both home and other countries, thus allowing me to settle in better and faster in Toronto within my first year, and to create long-lasting relationships till today.

“Strive to be among the best, if not the best, in everything that you do. Do not compete with any other person but yourself. And while you are at it, make sure to enjoy yourself and your relationships, because time flies by.“

 

Navi Dhanota

Navi Dhanota

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FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2003 Innis College
Inside the Classroom

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

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

“My advice, for current students, would be to stop trying to find your calling/passion. I realize this may sound counter-intuitive— I used my lived experience to identify small projects I wanted to work on and things I wanted to change. I used these small initiatives as a platform to springboard my career.

Follow what interest you (this could be a class you are good at, subject matter that is easy to read, or even the the issues that you find most difficult). With that, will come passion. Showing genuine motivation in your field is what will distinguish you from the pack.“

 

Arman Ricardo Poushin

Arman Ricardo Poushin

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FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2017 University College
Inside the Classroom

Alongside the Classroom

  • Completed Supervised Senior thesis in upper years with Political Science department
  • Law School Access Program participant with Faculty of Law
Outside the Classroom

  • Academic Bridging Mentor for 2 years
Further Education

  • J.D., University of Windsor, current student as of 2018
Career Description

  • Spent the summer after graduation working for a medium size construction firm working on paving and lumber projects.
“Try different libraries out. Don’t stress, talk to TAs and professors because they are there to help you and want to see you succeed. Also, take advantage of the fact that you are living in Toronto and go explore the city whenever you can.”

 

David Silva

David Silva

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FacetDescription
Graduation Year

  • HBA 2008 University College
Inside the Classroom

Switched programs from:

Alongside the Classroom

Further Education

Career Description

  • Experience as a policy professional spanning nearly seven years with the
    Ontario Public Service.
  • Has served in progressively more responsible and senior roles including as a team leader directing multiple teams of policy staff, providing executive support to two Deputy Ministers and most recently as the executive assistant to the Assistant Deputy Minister for Road User Safety.
“- Participate in extra-curriculars: As a commuting student, only attending campus for class did not allow me to truly connect with the campus or classmates. Re-engaging with U of T through alumni events has been both interesting and fun.
– Take advantage of U of T’s Career Centre (early): Looking at my next step into the workforce was a passing thought at the best of times. Pay more attention to what field you want to get into and speak to the career counsellors who can tell you what skills and relationships you need to build while still a student.
– Every minute matters: This applies to everything from procrastinating on assignments to dismissively thinking that decisions made on 1st and 2nd year courses would have no bearing. Plan, schedule and act carefully. This is an approach that will help as you enter the workforce but it will also ensure that you don’t waste a good chunk of your year with sub-par grades or a course that will serve no value to you as you move through your program of study.”