Founded in 1968, the School of Continuing Studies (SCS) celebrated its 50th anniversary on Oct. 11. To mark the occasion, the SCS hosted a reception titled Careers by Design: Building Futures in an Age of Disruption. Speakers shared how they found fulfillment by following their own instincts and continuing to pick up skills along the way.
Enza Cignarella, a McGill MBA who is currently a life coach and pharmaceutical executive at Novartis, spoke at the event about her personal career experiences.
“I am very excited about this event because ‘careers’ as we know them, the notion that we have one career for our entire lives, is probably not something that is true nowadays, and this is really exciting,” Cignarella said. “It’s an opportunity to network and connect with people who are facing career transitions.”
As a first generation university student who studied industrial relations and a first generation Canadian from an Italian immigrant background, Cignarella was exposed to harsh discourses about how careers would make or break her life. She found this to be extremely anxiety-inducing, and it, ultimately, derailed her business career. She has since redirected her professional life towards a dual career in both the pharmaceutical and the life coaching industries.
Chris Kelly, who works as a project manager of automation and rigging at Cirque du Soleil, had a similarly circuitous career trajectory. Kelly left home at 14 to strike out on his own and never finished his formal education, working a series of odd jobs before advancing in the automation industry.
“I always knew that I would be involved in entertainment somehow,” Kelly said. “Since a young age, I was doing musical theatre in school. I did ballet for six years. Originally, [I] was a performer and went to musical theatre for a very short while, and then discovered I was just as happy backstage doing technical production and just never looked back.”
The changing nature of careers as a reflection of a changing world was a recurring theme throughout the reception. Rommel Romero, a public relations professional, suggested that being proactive and engaging in pursuits that may not have an obvious outcome is crucial in today’s economy. Since graduating from the SCS with a degree in public relations in 2012, he has enjoyed many career iterations, including work in video game journalism, programming, and banking. He is now beginning a career in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
“When you are in PR, there’s no manual,” Romero said. “There’s nothing to tell you and to guide you as to how you can get into an industry. So I kind of had to make it up as I went.”
Kelly agreed with Romero’s statement, further emphasizing the benefits of a hands-on approach to career training.
“I’ve just fallen into a bunch of things [and] got a lot of unexpected results,” Kelly said. “Don’t wait until you are ready. Sometimes you just need to be able to go, do the thing, and discover what you need to know to be able to do the thing later.”
Cignarella emphasized the importance of schools of continuing education like McGill’s in enabling flexible career paths.
“Schools of continuing education are great places for us to get new skills, to establish new networks, and to reposition ourselves in what direction we ought to take in such a changing environment,” Cignarella said.
