Engineering Science Students Job Shadow Alumni
Engineering Science students are rarely, if ever, thought of as followers. However, a group of thirteen EngSci first years happily followed EngSci alumni at their respective workplaces this past Reading Week 2010 as part of the Engineering Science Reading Week Mentorship Program.
Many first year students are unsure of the direction they’re headed. They seek advice within the division about their upper year Option and what opportunities await them at the end of their undergraduate career. Adding to those uncertainties are the academic rigours and challenges of the Engineering Science program itself.
The Reading Week Mentorship Program provides first year EngSci students avenues to explore possible opportunities and careers after graduating from this unique program. The experiences in this initiative helped students better understand the daily activities of a professional in the workplace. Through shadowing a professional, they evaluated their interest in and desire to explore future opportunities within the profession. This also increased their awareness of the value of their Engineering Science education. In essence, through job shadowing, students are able to envision future paths once they complete their EngSci studies.
The program matched thirteen first year students with Engineering Science alumni for either a half or full day of job shadowing, networking and informational interviewing. The students’ upper year options were aligned as closely as possible.to their career interests. An orientation session and networking seminar prepared students for their experience. They learned valuable life-long tools for interacting with alumni and tips on workplace etiquette.
The experience was remarkable. One mentoree said, “I had an amazing day today with my mentor in the department of chemistry experimenting with nano-particles. My mentor was great, I met a lot of cool people, did neat experiments, read research papers, and really got a feel for what it is like to be a researcher.” As a result of the job shadowing day, students’ widened their understanding of the range of opportunities available after their degree, “The best part of my job shadowing experience was learning about my mentor's path after EngSci. I learned that there are many other possibilities after EngSci and that I have the freedom to change my future goals even after picking a major.”
The benefits of participating in the program extended to alumni as well. They were called upon to sign up as mentors, to share expertise with a first year student, and to engage in their career development process. The dedication of EngSci alumni was remarkable. One alumnus remarked on the benefits of extending the initiative. “I'd encourage making the mentorship relationship ongoing; I think that mentors can offer the most through repeated consultation over the mentee's undergraduate career”.
For more information, or to become an Engineering Science Mentor for the Reading Week Mentorship Program in 2011, please contact Nicole Adoranti at nsci1_2@ecf.utoronto.ca
Students and alumni attend a post-shadowing ‘Mix and Mingle’
From left to right, Priya A., Teddy L, Aaron P. (alum), Alex H., Yasir M. and Jonathan Y.
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