The MacCast Unconventional — Christa & Charnjot
Christa Wilson (’06) made twists and turns (literally) into a career she’s proud of
After earning her Engineering Physics and Society degree, followed a career path unlike any other
While working on her degree, Christa was also training and competing in figure skating at the national level. When she graduated, however, she found herself at a crossroad — look for a job in Engineering or find one in her chosen sport. After applying for jobs in both fields, she landed a job skating on cruise ships.
“I really loved it. Travelling the world. Getting to do what I loved and what I was good at — I really enjoyed it,” she says. “To be honest, I kind of fell into engineering. Because when I was finishing high school and was trying to decide what to do, I didn’t really know. I just knew I liked math and science.”
Christa worked on cruise ships for three years and managed to pay off her student debt. After taking a five-week break in Australia she returned to performing on cruise ships and met her husband who was a diver and acrobat at the time. Since then, she took her skills off the ice and focused on developing routines in the circus arts. Now specializing in acrobatics, aerial arts, and Cyr wheel, Christa has performed for audiences around the world including Mexico, Brazil, and Dubai.
Charnjot (MA, ’18) stumbled into his dream career when he was least expecting it
Mixing his interests in music, communications, and research has led to a rewarding career
Charnjot started his educational journey at Carleton University, thinking he would eventually end up in law school. But it was an elective course in communications and a group of friends involved in the music scene that would put him on a different path.
Before graduating from Carleton, Charnjot and his friends had launched a business called MVMNT Collective Inc., combining their interests and skills to help musicians get the media coverage and shows they need to grow their fanbase and overall success.
“We really did make a splash in the Ottawa music scene at the time…we really did start a movement in Ottawa,” he says. “We were doing something that we were really good at, so why not pursue it further? Why not get deeper into the philosophy of communications?”
Now working as a at HDR, a global company specializing in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services, Charnjot is still tackling those philosophical questions while working on client relationships and stakeholder engagement.
In this week’s episode of Unconventional, Charnjot shares his story about discovering a profession he never considered as a teenager, growing his skills through collaborations with friends, and realizing all the ways he can put his unique set of skills to work.
McMaster has more than 210,000 alumni living in 140 countries around the world, and they are some of the most amazing people you would ever want to meet. The Unconventional podcast will introduce some of our alumni who are working — in the arts, as cutting-edge entrepreneurs, leading the way in health, education, technology and more — to make our world a brighter place in their own unique way. Download the latest episode, or catch up if you’ve missed one, on Apple, Spotify, or Soundcloud.
