Margaret Gleed
SASAH, Philosophy, Ivey School of Business
Why did you choose Arts & Humanities at Western?
I grew up surrounded by Western. I lived a 10-minute walk from the Richmond Gates, attended the occasional football game, listened to stories from Alumni in my family and parents' social network, and genuinely never questioned going anywhere else. I always assumed I would go to Western, but I only decided which faculty once I took Philosophy in grade 12. I loved how it made me think and question my beliefs and the ease I found in applying philosophy, particularly ethics and human nature, to business practices and standards. So, I decided on Philosophy as my major before attending Ivey because obtaining my HBA was my absolute goal.
After I had decided on Philosophy, I started to investigate other universities that offered programs combining philosophy and business. There were moments when I entertained the idea of attending St. FX in Nova Scotia and Ottawa. Both schools had programs that vaguely connected my two interests, but the programs were rigid and strict with course selection. I would have had little control over my classes, or the program's focus would have heavily favoured business rather than philosophy. Ultimately, I decided specifically on Arts & Humanities at Western because of the freedom to create my degree. I could take whatever courses I wanted and had the unlimited support of the faculty to create my own adventure. I am currently a student in the School for Advanced Studies in the Arts & Humanities (SASAH), philosophy, Scholars Electives, and the Ivey HBA program. The support I have received from A&H has been vital in creating my overall program between course selections, academic counselling, and internship opportunities where I can weave my philosophy and business concepts together in practice.
Why did you want to undertake an internship, and why did you select the internship you did?
Throughout my third year, I was adamant that I would not take on an internship between my third and fourth years or my five-year program. I wanted to spend the summer travelling and reconnecting with friends. I felt most internships wanted students to complete plug-and-play work where students were responsible for data logging for three months. If I was going to take on an internship, it had to be stimulating, creative, and impactful for my community. Something where the work completed during the internship was truly valuable to the organization. Youth Opportunities Unlimited fit my criteria. Through the Canada Summer Jobs program, they hired student interns to fulfill smaller roles that contributed to the Operations department. I interviewed for the Project Management Administrator position and received an offer.
I found that my experiences in the Arts & Humanities have offered me a range of skills, making me an adaptable worker best suited for collaborative thinking and organizations where I can have an impact. I found that in YOU, I could use my business background as a tool to let creativity fly with problem-solving and interdepartmental collaboration. The nature of YOU as a nonprofit organization meant that my ability to adapt was immeasurable as I maneuvered between small projects and assisted the Operations Manager in various tasks.
What is the most valuable lesson you learned during your internship?
Part of completing internships throughout university is finding the elements of an organization that make a good "fit." I don't mean the size, the location, or the health benefits. Yes, those things are important for future decisions, but those elements can be easily transplanted from one business's practice to another's. Part of what makes a good "fit" is identifying the leadership style you work best with. How much praise makes you productive? Do you enjoy the freedom to dictate your working hours schedule, or do you want a rigid structure and explicit delegation of tasks? Would you prefer a manager who takes time to chat between meetings, or do you want relationships in the workplace to be strictly professional? The little quirks make a workplace a good "fit," and internships help you test the waters. After my internship with YOU, I appreciate explicit task delegation without the micromanaging follow-up, meaning I want my supervisor to trust my work ethic and productivity. However, I still need them to set expectations and benchmarks. I also found that I worked best in the office rather than from home because it allowed me to personally connect with my team and create a personal investment in completing my task well so that my productivity benefitted my team.
What are your plans after graduation, and how has your internship helped you to advance those plans?
In theory, I know what I want to do after graduation. In practice, I still don't know how to get there. I want to be an "Ethical Consultant" who evaluates the options for an organization at any time and advises on which choice best reflects the interests of the stakeholders (everyone impacted by the organization) rather than just the shareholders (investors). This would be very similar to risk management or sustainability consulting. However, rather than focusing on one factor of an ethical decision, I want to ensure a sense of equitability between stakeholders.
How does this desired career directly relate to Project Management within a nonprofit like YOU? Simply put, it doesn't. However, I don't like looking at internship opportunities as legitimate stepping stones on a direct path to my future career. I don't know how to reach my desired outcome, but my path won't be misguided because an indirect path is still a path. I'm just taking the scenic route. On my indirect path, I will learn ten times more from miscellaneous experiences I can utilize later and professional relationships than from going directly from point A to B. Yes, there is value in a direct path, but for us Arts and Humanities students, our educational background lends us more towards collecting various sources of information and crafting them towards a thesis or end goal. Much is to be said about a person's ability to absorb multiple experiences and opinions and utilize them to be efficient and insightful in their future career.
What advice would you give to incoming Arts and Humanities students? Would you recommend undertaking an internship to other students? If so, why?
Whenever I am asked this question, my default answer is to take your first and second years to take a broad range of classes in various subjects. I say this for two reasons. One, it helps you cover your breadth requirements for Western. Two, taking courses you are interested in rather than courses that fit your desired major will increase your overall interest in what you are doing. I took a Multimedia studies course in my first year despite being an aspiring Philosophy major. I'm now in my fourth year and still utilize the skills I learned in that course. I also recommend joining student organizations like clubs or councils. Working with a student council exposes you to upper-year students with their own internship experiences, and they are genuinely on the council to help students in their faculty, including younger students on the council with them.
In addition to taking interesting courses and joining student organizations, I recommend taking on internships with your course load or in between academic years. Completing summer internships is a great way to stay productive and engaged in self-betterment when you aren't in classes. Internships during the school year can challenge your abilities to balance your responsibilities. However, you may find different passions in these opportunities that may not be open during the summer. In the same sense as taking classes because you enjoy them rather than because they seem like they will fit with something you want, take internships that challenge you to develop new skills while relying on abilities you develop in your courses. What you have practiced in labs or what resonates with you in lectures can be integrated with internships outside the typical scope of Arts & Humanities.
