University grad finds college works as ‘finishing school’
 While she cherishes her degree in English from the University of Toronto, Carolyn Woodall knew that alone would not open a lot of doors for her in the fields she had hoped to work.
So like many university graduates, Woodall, now 32, considered attending one of Ontario’s 24 colleges as a form of “finishing school.”
She enrolled in Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations program as a natural adjunct to her English studies, plunging into lessons on how to write corporate newsletters, media releases and strategic communications plans.
She learned how to turn her love of writing and literature into commercial skills.
When she graduated from Centennial in 1999, she was job-ready and quickly garnered experience in the workforce creating newsletters, marketing brochures and other pieces of corporate communications, including basic website design.
It was a good start, but Woodall was craving more.
“I was looking for a different challenge,” she recalls. “I found I enjoyed creating graphics online, and I wanted a program to increase my skill set in that area.”
Having had a good experience at Centennial previously, Woodall returned to the college’s intimate downtown campus – The Centre for Creative Communications – and joined the New Media Design program in 2003.
The intensive 12-month program trains professional designers and producers who can work in corporate or freelance teams creating websites, DVDs, on-demand digital services and other interfaces, such as online games and interactive kiosks.
“It’s a young and growing industry that’s flexible, and it allows me to shape and change the direction the industry is moving,” Woodall says.
As part of her studies, the college sent Woodall to intern at Toronto broadcaster OMNI Television. There, she was asked to build a corporate website for the station around its mandate of promoting ethnic diversity.
“It was a great experience for me, since I’ve always had an interest in diversity issues,” says Woodall. “I redesigned the site and wrote a lot of stories to promote tolerance and cultural awareness.”
The broadcaster was so impressed with her work, Woodall was offered part-time employment after graduating from Centennial to continue building the site. She accepted, calling the job a “good fit” with her own goals.
But after a couple of years, Woodall grew restless and started looking for a new challenge.
She found it at the Leitch Business Unit of Harris Corporation, where she works as a web and new media associate in the marketing and communications department. Leitch is known for its broadcast equipment used by many television stations.
Her tasks include creating online advertising and product catalogues, and updating the company’s intranet.
“This job has forced me to be very resourceful, efficient and creative,” Woodall says. “Probably 90 to 95 percent of what I learned at Centennial I use on the job today. I’d say there’s a pretty direct correlation between the classroom and the workplace.”
Woodall loves her new role at Leitch: “I’m allowed to be creative; I’m learning to manage larger projects and take them to completion.”
Best of all, her multinational employer has global resources she has to engage to get her work done. “It means I get to work with people halfway around the world just to put together the new catalogue.”
Which comes back to her point about cultural awareness.
“In a global economy, you’re at an advantage if you’re culturally aware and sensitive to different ethnic groups and religions,” Woodall notes. “It’s so important in business today.” |
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