Job Shadow Week begins Monday
Douha Al Wahidi, a second-year honours life science student, shadows Bhashmang Mehta, pharmacist at McMaster University Pharmacy. This year, more than 100 students will participate in McMaster's job shadow week, organized by the Student Success Centre.
Jimmy Tat, a Master of Biomechanics and Kinesiology student, will discover what it’s like to be a pediatric cardiologist when he joins Dr. Dragos Predescu at McMaster Children’s Hospital for a day. Constance Imbault, a psychology, neuroscience and behaviour student, will work alongside speech language pathologist Vivienne Epstein at Saint Elizabeth Rehabilitation Centre.
Both of these experiential learning opportunities (and many others) are part of McMaster’s annual Job Shadow Week, a chance for students to meet and interact with career professionals at their workplace.
More than 100 students are taking advantage of the opportunity to “try on” a career for the day, says Angela Fortino, employer relations and experiential learning coordinator. “It’s an important aspect of the career development process whereby students are encouraged to assess their personal interests, values and skills when it comes to career decision making.”
Alex Pogacean, a fourth-year commerce student and experiential program assistant at the Student Success Centre, helped coordinate Job Shadow Week. He says the program is a great opportunity for students to identify career options early, and adjust their efforts accordingly.
Fortino says students who engage in career mentorship opportunities form a stronger relationship between academic studies and career exploration. They also develop an attachment to the community.
“This year, our focus included outreach to university faculty and staff to provide opportunities and engage the University community in supporting students,” says Gina Robinson, assistant dean, Student Affairs and director at the Student Success Centre. “We coordinated 130 opportunities, an increase of 30 from last year, and we will continue to increase capacity to meet the demands of our students.”
Job Shadow Week is part of the MentorLinks program, which encourages McMaster alumni in Hamilton and the surrounding area to share their knowledge and expertise with students interested in a similar career path.
This year’s event runs from Nov. 5-9. To learn more about future opportunities, please contact the Student Success Centre.
