By Leanna Pankratz (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: March 7, 2012
It’s a question that all arts students have asked themselves. No one wants to be waiting tables while an English literature degree hangs on their wall. The variety of possible arts careers, however, often leaves students feeling overwhelmed. This confusion is what prompted the February 29 event.
“What Can I Do with my Arts Degree?” was attended by 30 students, UFV alumni, UFV faculty and staff. The event was organized by the Alumni Relations office, the Career Centre and English department instructor Rhonda Schuller. The event featured a panel of alumni mentors who provided experience-rich information regarding life and career opportunities after graduating from UFV with an Arts degree. The panel featured five UFV Arts alumni each representing different disciplines within the College of Arts, including History, English, Fine Arts and Geography. Several of the panel speakers are current and former members on the Alumni Association board,” said Alumni relations manager Nancy Armitage.
The panel was made up of five speakers who once called the UFV Arts Department their academic home. Melissa Kenzierski, a 2009 Geography BA, is now the Sustainability Coordinator of the City of Mission. Darren Penner, formerly a History student, forged a career as a lawyer. Helen Yannacopoulos utilizes her Bachelor of Fine Arts in her occupation as a Mission Secondary School Art teacher. English BA, Amanda Henderson now functions as the Abbotsford Heat’s ticket operations manager. Dana Boogard has put her Bachelor of English and History to use as a freelance copy writer and as a financial advisor for Sunlife Financial. The panel of alumni was well-received by attendees, who took obvious gratification in the company of Arts Department success stories. The event itself was conversational, informative, and informal – including a period for one-on-one networking, as well as a question and answer segment led by English instructor Rhonda Schuller. Refreshments were provided, and the air was full of ambition and inspiration. Students were visibly encouraged by the presence of former students who may be just a few years further down the road than themselves. “It was so good to hear from people who had actually graduated from my specific program,” said Matt Dawson, an event attendee in his first year of History studies.
“The joke is that there’s a million arts graduates out there working at coffee shops saying their “should’ve, would’ve, could’ves,” but to see tangible success by students like me, that didn’t have to travel across the continent to find it, was very encouraging… for me.”
A fourth year arts student, Emily DuGard is grateful for events such as this. “This being my final year of my Bachelor of Arts in English,” she shared.
“I’ve obviously had to consider the choices and decisions I’m making towards my future through my education, and have heard from more than a few naysayers when I tell them what my major is. ‘What can you do with your English degree?’ is a question I’ve heard often. When I see and hear the success experienced by other Arts graduates, I am certainly encouraged that the future is friendly, to use a cliché. For an Arts student, the world is wide open. There is success to be seen.”
