Internship Profiles

Anil Wasif

Career interest and long term career goals

In the next five years I plan to become a Director of Policy, either serving the public interest or helping out a non-profit organization or one of the upcoming sharing economy mainstays. In the long run, I want to establish a public sector presence in Ontario, and build towards Ambassadorial milestones.

What I gained from taking ECO400Y

Professionalism. Peer Relationships. Industry skills and insight.

How this course assisted me with my career plans

This course helped me navigate through a critical time where I did not know what I wanted to do with my degree. In the end, it paved the pathway to my life in public service here in Canada.

My advice to future students interested in the course

Take the course seriously whether you like the workplace or not. You are a UofT Ambassador, and you need to remember that everyday at work. Go into it thinking of building relationships rather than building your resume.

Chinelo Okereke

Career interest and long term career goals

I describe myself in three ways: a project manager, a strategic analyst and creative thinker. With a background in economics (financial) and psycology, I wanted to merge those two fields into solving people oriented problems and providing data analysis-driven support. This leads my career stream into corporate strategy, brand and social business consulting, organizational behaviour and change management. I'm currently working at the Royal Bank of Canada in a role that consists of collaboration and user experience strategy, with social business consulting. Eventually I want to be the CEO of a film that provides corporate and brand strategy consulting, while project managing young creatives/entrepreneurs.

What I gained from taking ECO400Y

ECO400Y taght me three things: resourcefulness, resilience, and re-learning. Going into the real world is not easy; I am learning that first hand. Being able to have a full year internship experience with real professionals have given me a head start on my career plans. Learning soft skills like networking tips and how to align your goals with your reality was also a highlight of the internship program.

How this course assisted me with my career plans

This course helped my career path in two-fold:

• Interning at Environment and Climate Change Canada made me realize my love for project-management, as well as consulting. This naerrowed down the fields I looked for jobs and gave me clearer directions.
• My co-students: Hearing their stories, meeting twice a month and interacting with them made me more confident and comfortable in the sense that we are all learning and not alone.

My advice to future students interested in the course

Give it your all. Do not take any learning experience for granted. As a student, this is your opportunity to apply academic knowledge to a real-world setting. Make the mistakes and learn from them. Ask daring but intellectual questions. Connect with your colleagues because social capital will last forever. ECO400Y was awesome!

Pradhayini Ganeshanathan

Career interest and long term career goals

My goal is to become an Economist and I am specifically interested in the financial stability issues. I am currently working as a Research Assistant with the Financial Stability department of the Bank of Canada.

What I gained from taking ECO400Y

My internship experience at the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) has been a great platform in learning about the Canadian business environment and making my resume more attractive to potential employers. This internship gave me a chance to link my knowledge in Economics to practical experience. Further, I conducted extensive research and data analysis throughout my internship and this has helped me develop strong analytical skills. My interactions with my supervisor and my colleagues have helped me learn a lot about the industry and have helped me make informed choices about my career path and higher education. Moreover, the 200-hour work requirement was ideal as it only required one day of work and it made it easier to manage the time to balance my course work with the internship position.

How this course assisted me with my career plans

I had an incredibly amazing internship experience. I gained enough experiences and skills to fill up my resume. I was able to confidentaly talk about the skills I attained through think internship during my ointerview for the Research Assistant position with the Bank of Canada and was successful at obtaining the position.

My advice to future students interested in the course

I would strongly suggest taking this course. It's a great platform to evaluate your career goals. It's also a great opportunity to expand your professional network.