How My AWE Placement is Making My Degree Easier
And other surprises from completing a work term
Author bio: Nathaniel Haile is BA student pursuing a double major in Political Science and Economics with a double minor in International Studies and Philosophy and is currently on an AWE placement working for the Faculty of Arts as the Student Recruitment, Engagement & Communications Intern.
It’s been five months since I wrote, “Starting My Co-op from Home”, and just over six months since starting my Arts Work Experience (AWE) placement as the Student Recruitment, Engagement, and Communications Intern for the Faculty of Arts USS office. It’s been quite the experience, to say the least. I’ve never worked a day in the office (I’ve been working from home since day one), I haven’t seen my supervisors in person since my interview in February, I have worked on some really cool projects (like recording the Arts Tuesday Tips for the Faculty of Arts Instagram, contributing to a large project where our team made over 30 promotional videos in under a month, and writing cool blog posts (like this one)) and regularly go to meetings with the Dean and other individuals in Faculty of Arts leadership roles. I also have made a ton of mistakes! I worked on a social media campaign that got shut down because of my ideas, I had to redo a ton of takes for the video project because I provided low-quality audio recordings, and I fell behind/let projects slip through the cracks because I wasn’t on top of all my responsibilities. I make sure not to get too down on myself when I do make mistakes because, as D-Smoke said in one of his songs, “Struggle is a necessary investment for progress”, and without mistakes, how can I truly learn? It’s called “experiential learning” after all.
My biggest take-aways
I absolutely love being in a student intern position because I am in an environment where I can try projects that I would have never attempted in a classroom. More specifically, I can try projects without fear of failure because that’s what my intern position is all about — sure an internship is about getting a job done, but it’s also about giving the intern (me) a chance to learn. Two of the most valuable things I’ve learned are a) knowing what I want out of the rest of my degree, and b) knowing how the skills I learn in the classroom will apply to my future career. I’m also becoming more aware of what resources are available and more importantly, how to access them in a useful/meaningful way. And what I mean by that is I am much more intentional about the resources I access and why I access them. For example, prior to starting my internship I went to a ton of events hosted by the Career Centre to get help and hopefully learn something. Now, after starting my internship, I’ve learned to handpick what events I go to — I identify specific learning purposes and I have learning outcomes in mind.
How gaining professional experience has helped me:
For most of us Arts students, there is no one, linear path to the career of your dreams. It’s all about picking up essential skills and knowledge through experiences and education. The kinds of skills I’m developing during my AWE placement are already helping me perform better academically. I do various types of writing such as blog posts (like this one), promotional writing, scriptwriting, and presentation preparation. In all of those examples, they require a different tone of voice which really diversifies my writing skills. Now applying that to my education, I had a professor once tell my class that in most cases, the difference between an A paper and a B paper is the voice behind the argument and now I know what she meant! I look forward to applying what I have learned from my AWE placement back into the classroom.
How exploring my career options helped me:
At first glance, my role doesn’t have anything to do with being an Economics and Political Science double major, but it is teaching me a lot about what I can do with my BA. Having a work term that doesn’t have much to do directly with my school work has been a blessing in disguise. Immediately, I noticed that there are unlimited career opportunities for me out there and I even see it through my supervisors. One of my supervisors has a BA Honors in Drama and her focus is student engagement. My other supervisor has a BSc in Chemistry and Math and a BA in History and Sociology and he focuses on recruitment. I have begun to contextualize what career paths I want to pursue and, thanks to my supervisors, I’ve been able to see that it’s not always what you study that will get you to the career you want, it’s the skills you pick up and the experiences you draw on that will. What does this have to do with making school easier? Knowing that the courses I take are for the skills just as much as they are for the content of the course shifts my focus on not just learning for exams, but learning for real-world application. This makes school way more interesting and exciting — which provides me extra motivation to do well.
Earning income has helped me:
This might be super obvious, but making money while being a student has some great perks! I don’t need to take out loans anymore because fortunately, I have been able to put myself in a position where I saved, saved, and saved some more. More than just my tuition, I can afford to pay for experiences as well. If I wanted to Study Abroad, travel on my own, put some money into investments, or work less to focus on school more, now I can. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it can buy time — which will make the rest of my degree easier.
Networking has helped me:
Through the mentorship I’m receiving in this position, I now know what resources are available to me and I’ve been able to gain access to more opportunities. In addition to my AWE placement, I was offered a position to write for another blog on our campus, YouAlberta. I also became a Communications Director for OASIS, and I added two minors (International Studies and Philosophy). These were all experiences that I would have never gotten had I not pursued my placement and had the right mentorship. Also, mentorship and networking have taught me what essential skills are valued in the workplace and where I can gain those skills. I also got the opportunity to do information interviews with various staff within the organization. I got to know names and faces fairly quickly and even though I do not work with most of the people I did information interviews with very closely, they are now people in my network.
Enhancing transferable skills has helped me:
I’ve been to a variety of ArtsWORKS events, and time and time again, I have heard from the speakers on the panels that technical skills are great but everyone has them. So in addition to technical skills and knowledge that can at times be a little more specific to certain roles or industries, companies are looking for people that know how to clearly communicate, write succinctly, present confidently, foster inclusivity, and think creatively. They need people that can adapt and use these transferable skills across stakeholder groups and to keep up with evolving demands.
Knowing this, I am now looking for ways to strengthen these essential transferable skills. For example, prior to me starting my role, I didn’t think I was a good writer. Throughout my role, I have done a whole bunch of different writing projects and tasks, and when I return to full-time studies I will take what I have learned and apply it to the classroom. And after applying it to the classroom, I’ll reflect on the real-world application.
Because of my internship I have a much greater appreciation for all the times that I have heard how Arts students are one step ahead because they already have the essential skills that employers are looking for. We develop transferable and essential skills that are irreplaceable in the job market.
Next Steps
In a really weird way, I am somewhat excited to go back to school. I finally know what I want, I know where to get it, and most importantly, I made a plan to go out and get it. My AWE placement has given me direction and I am excited to go back to the classroom and continue my learning.
Like I’ve said to my friends countless times, I’m not trying to convince anyone to join AWE, but it really has changed the trajectory of my life for the better and I know it can do the same for you.
AWE applications opened December 1, 2020 for May 2021 placements.
If you are interested in learning more about AWE check out the website or email artsworkexperience@ualberta.ca.
