Where are you now? 

After graduating, I decided to continue my sustainability education by completing a Masters in Sustainability Management at the University of Toronto. During my master’s program, I had the opportunity to complete internships at the UofT’s sustainability office and the City of Mississauga. I now work as a program assistant coordinator at the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) on a program called the Newcomer Youth Green Economy Project which provides experiential learning opportunities for newcomers who are interested in the Canadian environmental sustainability sector. I hope to continue exploring her interest in sustainability education.  

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?  

The minor really did impact me in terms of finding my footing and moving towards a career in sustainability. The first course I took was Sustain 2S03, which I loved with Peter Topalovic, and I took Sustain 3S03 at the same time. I really loved getting to work on the projects and to network with people in the community. I found it really inspiring to immerse students into these real-world projects. I didn’t really have the confidence to [work on projects] beforehand and it gave me the motivation to try to become a leader in sustainability, because Dr. Kate Whalen and all the Sustain professors really believed in our potential to use our own strengths to make actual sustainable change in the world. The Sustain courses were probably my favorite courses during my undergrad overall. I really wanted to continue doing work like that in whatever way that I could through volunteering or a career, so it motivated me to learn more through my graduate studies, and then pursue opportunities that were similarly meaningful to the kind of projects we worked on in Sustain. 

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?  

1. Find your niche and intersection of interests. See how sustainability can fit into your major whether its science, health, environment, medicine, physics, or whatever. Use the knowledge from those classes to conceptualize how you might want to make sustainable change.  Every single field needs people who have a sustainability mindset.  
2. Use your network created in classes. You’re probably going to find so many people who are passionate about sustainability and want to do cool things and make real change. Stay contact with those people; try to learn from each other; see where your interests overlap. You never know what kind of things you could come up with together.  

Where are you now?

Erik is launching his project called Sustainabus. It is a sustainable house in a school bus he built over the last 3 years. The bus is installed with solar panels and a wind turbine for electricity, rainwater collectors and a composting toilet for water conservation, a waste veggie oil fuel system, biogas digester for cooking and was built with primarily recycled or eco-friendly materials. The goal is to drive the bus from Alaska to Argentina carbon neutral. He is hoping this adventure will inspire people to live more sustainably.

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?

Where are you now?

Since graduating Katheleen joined Venture for Canada, and found work at a start-up downtown Toronto on their marketing team. She then transitioned into product growth, before making a difficult decision to leave and join her previous manager on her new venture, Lilia. There are two employees right now, and together they have raised almost 1 million in pre-seed funding. Their product is an at-home women’s fertility hormone test kit for women, and financing for egg freezing. They got into a start-up accelerator in San Francisco and are moving there in January.

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?

Where are you now?

After graduating, I began working for Ontario Power Management through a management program where I worked mainly In the nuclear reactor safety sector. Through my journey, I wanted to make a difference in mental health, and I co-founded a startup, LinkMentalHealth, designed to connect people to mental health services regardless of what they can afford. It helped over 100,000 people better understand their diagnosis at initial point of care and over a 1,000 connect to the right therapist. Currently, I’m working as a Staff Product Manager for GoTo. My daily tasks consist of stakeholder engagements and assessment of customers’ needs and wants to help define what to build next and in the future to help empower small and medium sized businesses to communicate and grow. 

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey? 

I worked as a Sustainability Intern for Dr. Kate Whalen for four months in my last semester of my undergraduate program, and I am so thankful for this experience of learning from Dr. Kate Whalen. I was able to practice self-directed learning which has helped me with my projects. I was able to gain a variety of different sustainability perspectives and learn about the idea of stakeholders, which continues to be relevant in my career. 

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?  

1. Have a general understanding of sustainability and industries involved.  
2. Define the value you can provide & problems you want to solve.
3. Continue to learn and seek knowledge. 

Where are you now?

After two years of working for a non-profit organization to improve walking and cycling conditions in downtown Hamilton, Elise is currently a Master of Public Health student and is conducting research to understand how built environments influence bicycling behaviour in a mid-sized Canadian city.

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?

Where are you now?

Jay works with a Hamilton-based real estate investment company, and has a direct impact on his city as part of a small and dynamic team taking on ambitious projects. He also work in a leadership capacity with Cycle Hamilton and Hamilton Community Land Trust, leveraging his skillset and experience to support important community initiatives.

Any words of advice to new sustainability students? How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?

“Recognizing the unique opportunity to conduct meaningful research while engaging with a new community, the most valuable takeaway is to understand the principles of engagement. Meeting people where they are, seeking to listen and understand, and providing value where you are able and invited will be a lifelong skill applicable in every role.“

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?

Melissa first got involved with the Academic Sustainability Programs Office in her undergrad when she implemented the Sustainable Printing Initiative and Written Work Submission Guidelines.

Driven with the aspiration to provide graduate students with the opportunity for sustainability-related experiential learning, Melissa continued her work with us through the development of the GUCEL Program.

Where are you now?

I am a Project Manager at LURA Consulting – a Canadian leader in collaborative planning – by bringing people together, getting them engaged, and having meaningful conversations that help shape plans and projects that improve our communities and environment 

What are your current responsibilities/day to day tasks?

Planning, implementing and reporting on engagement activities to inform community-based plans in the fields of environment, transportation and health. 

How has the SUSTAIN program or minor impacted you or your sustainability journey?

Being a SUSTAIN intern taught me how to plan and manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders. 

Advice for current/new sustainability students?  

“I encourage all students to make the most of your time at McMaster – get involved! This could mean joining a club, participating in an internship program, working on campus – anything to make connections with the community. Pursue activities that interest you and relate to your career goals. When you put yourself out there, you never know what you will learn, who you will meet, or where it will lead you!”

anelle first left her mark at the Academic Sustainability Programs Office through her work on the McMaster Sustainable Procurement Guide. In the summer of 2013, Janelle joined us once again to take on a new project, Engage with Waste, with the goal to make McMaster’s waste reports more user-friendly and easy to interpret.

Where are you now?

“I am currently working at a small environmental consulting firm in Kitchener, AET Group Inc. So far, I have conducted environmental audits (including pesticide use and waste), helped to put together proposals and also helped coordinate a volunteer event for the office. I also just started volunteering with the Bruce Trail Conservancy and look forward to getting involved with this amazing organization!”

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?

“Getting involved is well worth it! It will give you an incredible competitive advantage, help you make connections, and also help you determine what exactly you want to do when you graduate.”

Where are you now? 

After I graduated from McMaster University with a degree in Arts and Science, I continued my education in law school at Queens University. While in law school, I was hired by my current law firm, Sherrard Kuzz LLP, as a summer student and did my apprenticeship to become licensed to practice law. I, then, got hired back as a lawyer and I’ve been working there ever since.  

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?  

Being a part of the Sustainability initiatives at McMaster was a really wonderful part of my undergraduate experience, and it helped develop an understanding of local projects and better understand the community outside of just the school environment. I believe the sustainability program enlightened the importance of professional networking and creating relationships with the community. In my career, a lot of clients are sustainability oriented, and it’s important to have that foundational knowledge to be able to relate and align your goals with the client. The courses are so applicable to all aspects of work. 

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?  

When I look back on my undergraduate experience, I see it as the best opportunity to broaden one’s experiences and try new things. I highly suggest using this opportunity to explore things you normally wouldn’t, because you think you may not be interested, but you turn out to really enjoy it and have a great time. Try new hobbies, create novel projects and meet new people. Learn beyond the usual textbook and SUSTAIN courses are a great place to start for this. 

Where are you now? 

I graduated from McMaster University in 2014 with a degree in Honours Life Sciences. I continued my studies at the University of Toronto to pursue a Masters of Science in Sustainability Management. Throughout my graduate studies, I completed co-op placements as an Associate for the Corporate Sustainability Group at RBC, and as an Intern for Advisory Services at Sustainalytics. After graduating, I began my career at CI Global Asset Management. I worked there for five years as an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) Director. I am now at Canada Post as a Senior Portfolio Manager in ESG Investing.

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?  

The Sustainable Future Program literally changed my life. When I started working with Kate at the Sustainability Office, the office was smaller and just starting out; it’s grown immensely since I’ve worked there. Kate is such a great leader, and I was able to gain so much experience from working with her as well as being a Teaching Assistant for the courses. I was able to start my own sustainability projects as well as support those of other students. It led me to complete a thesis on waste management on campus in my last year of my undergraduate studies. It also enabled me to work for Sustainable Hamilton-Burlington, a non-profit organization, as a summer intern for two seasons. I was able to apply the knowledge and experience I learned while working in the office to my work which really kick-started my career. Being involved with the office and the program changed my life and preceptive for the better.

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?  

My five main words of advice for students. My number one advice for students is to stay authentic. To be a true sustainability professional is to stay authentic and committed to one’s passion for sustainability. My second is that it’s okay not to know what’s next in your career path. Embrace being divergent during your career journey. Third, don’t be afraid to take risks. Sustainability can be applied throughout all different career fields, and you might not realize where it can really take you. Four, network as much as possible. Finally, prioritize meaningful connections over many connections. Quality over quantity.

Tommy was the first student to work with the Academic Sustainability Programs Office, and the catalyst behind the creation of the Sustainability Internship Program. His project, Permeable Paving Study, focused on the feasibility of incorporating permeable paving in McMaster’s Lot M.

Where are you now?

“I’ve had three engineering jobs since graduation, tried my hands at programming, then geotechnical work, then went back to my Metallurgy field. Currently, I’m working as a process engineer.”

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?

“OWN YOUR PROJECT! I cannot emphasize enough on that point, which alone can be the key to a successful project. Make sure it’s a topic/question/inquiry you are passionate about OR at least passionate about learning. The sustainability internship was one of the first chances I had to take control over my education. Much like the real world, I chose what to learn, when to learn and what resources to use.”

Simon got involved with the Academic Sustainability Programs Office hoping to apply his knowledge of labour markets to the issues of sustainable employment. To accomplish this, Simon took part in the GUCEL project Green Jobs: Bridging the Gap, and helped identify types of sustainability-related employment opportunities available to students and the types of skills required.

Where are you now?

“I’m currently on a co-op term at Environment Canada’s Economic Analysis Directorate. We look at potential environmental regulations and make projections of the future costs and benefits compared to the ‘business-as-usual’ case. Based on this, we make Regulatory Impact Analysis Statements (RIAS) which help Cabinet decide whether or not the regulation should be passed. The regulations span a wide array of environmental issues (greenhouse gas emissions, vehicle standards, production and trade of chemicals, etc.) The job requires a lot of technical understanding of both environmental issues and economic methods which is great because those are my two background areas. My role is primarily helping to construct the cost-benefit analysis spreadsheets and writing the RIAS’s.”

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?

“School can fly by pretty quick so you want to make the best use of your time. Figure out the type of thing you want to be doing after it’s over and the type of skills/expertise you’ll need by that point. How are your skills/expertise now compared to where they need to be? Pick your courses/extra-curricular activities with the goal of strengthening these areas. The GUCEL program is great both because it shows initiative and because it is flexible enough so you can make it into whatever experience you want it to be.”

Where are you now? 

After graduating in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Honours Biology, I pursued a Bachelor of Education degree at Brock University. During my undergraduate degree, I worked with McMaster Centre for Climate Change where I discovered a love for teaching through teaching about sustainability. I was able to build relationships with a variety of skilled professionals at McMaster and develop my networking skills. I worked at Sustainable Hamilton (Sustainability Leadership) as a Volunteer and Education Coordinator. I have been working at the Halton Catholic District School Board for nine years in different roles, currently as a PLAR and science teacher. 

How has the Sustainable Future Program or Minor in Sustainability impacted you/your career journey?  

The Sustainability Internship allowed me to practice working with a team and coordinating with so many different groups. I was able to build relationships with diverse individuals at McMaster and practice networking. All my roles thus far have been team based with a lot of moving pieces, therefore having the opportunity to run my own project during my undergrad provided me a great advantage heading into teaching, as teaching requires constant collaborating and good communication skills. It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my undergrad!

Any words of advice to new sustainability students?  

All students should take at least one sustainability course, because the knowledge and experiences you’ll gain can be integrated into any field. The sustainability field will only continue to grow in the workplace. I am so grateful for the experience and knowledge I gained through working with the Academic Sustainability Programs Office, especially with Kate and Facility Services. It was one of the best experiences of my undergraduate journey, as it was completely experiential-based, and a forest became my classroom. I still talk about my project 10 years later! This type of internship can completely change a student’s career path, and I highly recommend for all students to get involved in opportunities like this during their undergrad.