College Advice To My Younger Self
At mere 15 years of age, the institution that was the BC Curriculum strongly recommended that I start planning for my career. I was asked to think about questions like, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?”.
I was 15, still waiting to apply for my learner’s driver’s license, barely close to being an adult. I didn’t even know what homework I was going to work on first, let alone know what my future career would hold. And through my four years of university and my early career, the one thing I have learned is that I really didn’t have to know — it was all going to be okay.
In 2017, I received my Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Psychology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Through my undergraduate experience, I had the opportunity to live on residence and meet a wonderful, diverse group of like-minded (and not-so-like-minded) people. I built a community through frosh events, school courses, and common interests and hobbies. I gained a lifetime of experience and friendships, independence, and self-sufficiency. I hold fond memories of my professors and TA mentors, who were instrumental to my pursuit and learning of political theory knowledge. I was able to learn and practice the art of responsibility, from preparing for exams to bouncing back from a bad grade, to making sure I balanced a social life with my study life. I developed good habits — taking care of myself and establishing routine with the people around me. All in all, attending university was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had to date.
At the same time, I reflect on what else I learned in my younger years, and the skills and talents that I use on a daily basis at my job today. While in university, I worked at a local restaurant as a hostess, food-runner, and eventually a server. For me, being able to balance a part-time job with my studies taught me a lot about time management, organization, and how to prioritize my work. I established my smartest work ethic switching from finishing my last class of the day to getting ready for my evening work shift at the restaurant. Working in a fast-paced, people-centric environment, I also learned a lot about the importance of patience, customer service, empathy, and communication. Being able to meet the stressful demands of the back-of-house chefs while maintaining a positive front for our dining patrons has taught me resilience: the ability to manage my stress effectively and persevere despite it all.
To be honest, I somewhat stumbled into my current career. At 22, I moved from Vancouver to Toronto to explore my professional opportunities and get a taste of a new and bigger city. At first, I worked as an independent contractor in event marketing, where I would represent different brands and promote various products at events across the city. During one of these events, I met a very savvy and well-connected brand ambassador, who happened to know a lot of people who worked in “tech.” At the time, I had no idea what working in tech looked like — just that it was an up-and-coming world where they promise lots of potential. After connecting with some of his friends and doing extensive research and job hunting on https://angel.co /, I grew more and more excited about the different roles and opportunities in tech.
A week later, I went out on a whim to apply to a tech company as a Customer Experience Representative and landed it, and have remained at this company ever since. Naborly is a small 17-person real estate tech startup where we use AI software to help landlords and property managers with tenant screening; our goal is to reduce their risk of bringing in a bad tenant to their rental property. We also use innovative technology to help tenants build credit with their rent payments and apply to multiple rental homes with a single, universal application form. I spent two years educating and onboarding customers, providing quality customer and sales support, tracking feedback and proposing product changes to the team. At my two year mark, an opening came up and I was promoted to Customer Experience Manager. I now manage a small team of seven, where we are working on building and refining our tenant screening product using customer data and business tools. Our aim is to elevate the product experience for every tenant and landlord that connects with our platform.
Looking back now, I can confidently say that all my experiences from studying at UBC to working part-time have fostered much of the skills I use in my career today. I’ve been able to be agile and adapt and be open to change in my job because these are all things I had to do at the restaurant. Thanks to a very writing-intense and analytical undergraduate degree, I’ve also been able to hone in on my communication and critical thinking skills, which I use daily when I consult with my team and speak with our customers. Everyday, I’m able to make a real impact on my community in the work that I do, and I’m incredibly grateful for the experiences that I’ve had to foster my own personal growth and progress.
If I could go back in time and tell my 15-year-old self some word of advice, I would tell her this:
- It’s okay to not know right now what you want to be “when you grow up”. Let’s normalize not knowing — you will figure it out as you go along. Trust that the decisions you make are the right ones, because you are the one making them.
- Get involved as much as possible in school. Getting good grades is important, but it’s not everything. Go to orientations and the initial meetings for various clubs. Spend time exploring extracurricular activities, volunteering, sports, and other interest-based communities. If your university offers a program to do a co-op or study abroad, look into the opportunity (it was life-changing for me). For me, living on residence to obtain the full first year experience was a non-negotiable; I met some of my closets friends through my living experience at UBC. If it’s not the people you meet and the memories you create, it’s the experiences that will teach you something about yourself and/or the world.
- Take different electives. University eventually asks you to specialize and hone in on your degree, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t pursue different electives to try a different way of thinking and doing. Electives broaden your perspective and your skills, and keeps your many options open.
- Learn to manage your time well. Dedicate uninterrupted blocks of time to focus on the task at hand before you move to the next activity (“Do Not Disturb” is more powerful than you think). Also, take water breaks and go for walks; this is the best way to stay calm and rested while juggling all your commitments.
- They say “take care of your network, and your network will take care of you”. The people around you make up so much of your school and work experience, and we need to help each other out to succeed. Treat the people around you well, and they will have your back as well.
Most importantly, take time for yourself, whatever that means for you. Take good care of your mental and physical health, and everything else will fall into place. If a career path doesn’t pan out, you will always have the opportunity to switch into something different. It’s never too late to pursue a different path. That’s the beauty of it all — you are always in full control of your own destiny.
