Asking myself the big question: How Did I Get Here?

Growing up, I dreamed of being able to live many different lives because I couldn’t fathom the idea of not being able to experience everything the world has to offer. This fear of missing out on different experiences, and ultimately running out of time before doing everything that I wanted to do in my life, inadvertently became the root of my troubles in deciding on one career path. 

In my series How Did I Get Here? I sat down with eight magnificent individuals to discuss how their career paths resemble a roller coaster track more than the conventional straightforward pathway. I am writing this at the end of my five-year-long undergraduate journey that encompassed three faculty switches, five major switches, and landing a job that has nothing to do with my degree, and I can wholeheartedly say that this project has broadened my horizons in ways no past experience has ever done.

Connecting with so many different people from such diverse career, cultural, and personal backgrounds has pushed me to grow in ways I could not have imagined when I first started this project almost one year ago. In a way, this is also my farewell and thank you letter for my undergraduate degree and my time at YouAlberta. I have never been one to be super sappy — my dry and awkward sense of humour doesn’t allow me to do so, so I see it only fitting that my goodbye is packaged together with the main lessons I have learned from each individual interviewed for this series. 

Without further ado, here is what I learned by asking, “how did you get here?”

Kate Black ('16 BA), was the first person I interviewed for this series and this lesson has stuck with me all this time: Being multifaceted is a gift, not a curse (even though at most times it really feels like it).

Interviewing Adrien Cho ( BScMechE ‘98, MDes ‘04), an employee at Xbox Game Studio, brought out my inner child. As someone that spends much of their time preoccupied with video games, it blew my mind to be talking to someone that actually worked at a gaming studio. From Adrien, I learned that you don’t have to feel courageous to act courageously.

The wonderful Vikki Wiercinski (‘06 BDes) opened my eyes to the many possibilities that lie outside of the traditional office job. As a chronic overthinker and worrier, I will always go back to Vikki’s words: “Don’t take on too much, and don't worry about creative success — it’s going to steal your joy.”

Nisha Patel (‘15 BCom) is the person I wish I could have spoken to five years ago right out of high-school graduation. Her courage to pursue her true passions with both tact and fervour will be a continuous source of inspiration for me. She showed me that it’s alright if doing what you love is not always easy–and it’s not meant to be.

Engineer and poet Titilope Sonuga (BEng ‘06) reminded me that there is more to doing what you love than unbridled passion and determination: "Inspiration is fleeting! What has kept me is discipline and steadfastness to the work.”

From working in corporate for 10 years to painting Ruth Ginsberg, Shana Wilson (‘88 BCom), is my reminder that life does not end after you graduate university. She reminded me that there is no such thing as a useless experience.

Rebecca Keeler ( ‘22 BEd) was a classmate and fellow YouAlberta writer so I couldn’t be more thrilled to learn about her career path and decision process that led her to get a second undergraduate degree. Hearing her thought process showed me that students are always thinking about what their job will be like, which is important, but often forget to consider what they want all the other aspects of their life to look like. There’s more to life than work. 

Sabrina Tharani (‘18 BA (PolSci), ‘24 BA (Media Studies)) is the last person I interviewed for this project and coincidentally the person whose school and career path mine looks most similar to. We have both worked for the university during our undergraduate degrees and got our first job out of school with the U of A thanks to that initial job. She is now in the midst of her second degree with the U of A as a part-time student and full-time employee and I look to her journey as I consider getting my own second degree. My thoughts and goals are constantly fleeting but Sabrina showed me that sometimes staying in the same place can be a good thing.